Alas it seems as if the rumors swirling around Hanhart appear to be true. Thomas Morf has left Hanhart and the brand is now being led by Ronald Grob who is acting as the Interim CEO. Again, while this rumor has been in motion for quite some time, I wanted to be sure of the details, and this morning received word from the Head of Communication & PR for the Gaydoul Group, which is the holding company that owns the majority shares of Hanhart.
So with the absence of Hanhart at this year's BaselWorld, and closer to home most likely not attending SWISS Watch JCK in Las Vegas in June (anyone with more definitive info on that please feel free to let me know!), it becomes a question as to how Hanhart will move forward from here. On the one hand it would seem that at least one key person remains on board - Klaus Eble, a 40 year Hanhart veteran will be responsible for the production side. But to be very honest, I am not sure if things really can be the same. In the past, Hanhart had some interesting watches, and a rich (if not well publicized) history. I think of it a lot like Wonka's chocolate factory. It was there, but until Willy Wonka revealed himself, and the factory, it hadn't really come to life.
Enter Thomas Morf in 2010 and suddenly there was interest, there were things to talk about! New products started to appear, and slowly but surely, more and more people became aware of Hanhart. Two of the most anticipated releases are yet to arrive - the Desert Pilot and the Racemaster. I guess for me, it just seems somehow unfinished. My sincere hope is that Hanhart, and I guess more appropriately the Gaydoul Group will find a way to get things settled, and hopefully not completely lose the momentum gained in the past 24 months. Thomas Morf was a champion of the brand, and that kind of enthusiasm, vision and charisma you don't always find in one person.
I myself do not want to see Hanhart disappear, and by that, I mean return to the quite, anonymous little brand that it was not so long ago. I know and accept that I am a hopeless romantic, and my sincere hope is that there is at least one more "twist in the tale" so that for those of us Hanhart fans out there, there will be a happy ending.
It's hard not to be romantic about watches.
So with the absence of Hanhart at this year's BaselWorld, and closer to home most likely not attending SWISS Watch JCK in Las Vegas in June (anyone with more definitive info on that please feel free to let me know!), it becomes a question as to how Hanhart will move forward from here. On the one hand it would seem that at least one key person remains on board - Klaus Eble, a 40 year Hanhart veteran will be responsible for the production side. But to be very honest, I am not sure if things really can be the same. In the past, Hanhart had some interesting watches, and a rich (if not well publicized) history. I think of it a lot like Wonka's chocolate factory. It was there, but until Willy Wonka revealed himself, and the factory, it hadn't really come to life.
Enter Thomas Morf in 2010 and suddenly there was interest, there were things to talk about! New products started to appear, and slowly but surely, more and more people became aware of Hanhart. Two of the most anticipated releases are yet to arrive - the Desert Pilot and the Racemaster. I guess for me, it just seems somehow unfinished. My sincere hope is that Hanhart, and I guess more appropriately the Gaydoul Group will find a way to get things settled, and hopefully not completely lose the momentum gained in the past 24 months. Thomas Morf was a champion of the brand, and that kind of enthusiasm, vision and charisma you don't always find in one person.
I myself do not want to see Hanhart disappear, and by that, I mean return to the quite, anonymous little brand that it was not so long ago. I know and accept that I am a hopeless romantic, and my sincere hope is that there is at least one more "twist in the tale" so that for those of us Hanhart fans out there, there will be a happy ending.
It's hard not to be romantic about watches.
f....hell - let's face it ! remember the strike when morf left cf bucherer . since then..nothing happens . obvious multimillionairs have other issues then just watches. yes, the(ir) heart is missing! like there,we might expect similar issues at hanhart.
ReplyDeletenevertheless - the keymaster will be back again: look closely at "kienzle"....