Something Completely Different

From Hanhart -

In truth, despite the modern iterations including the PRIMUS, when we think of Hanhart, we think mostly of black dial flieger chronographs. Not that there's anything wrong with that. That's why the new PIONEER Silva is such a revelation.

Courtesy of Hanhart

Available with either a white dial or black.

Courtesy of Hanhart

And on a leather strap or Milanese stainless steel bracelet -

Courtesy of Hanhart

Courtesy of Hanhart

The case is of stainless steel and measures 38.5 mm in diameter with a height of just 10 mm. The movement is the SW 200 from Sellita.
The new Hanhart PIONEER Silva can now be ordered in both bracelet variants for EUR 890.00 incl. 19% VAT.

Hanhart Desert Pilot

Courtesy of Hanhart

Okay, yes, I realize that I am somewhat Hanhart obsessed.  That perhaps, I don't know, maybe I've got Diessenhofen "on the brain".  But the new Desert Pilot from Hanhart has got to be just about the singular coolest thing that I've seen in some time.  I got to see it and try it at Basel and again in Las Vegas - and I have to admit that my Pioneer Mk I is starting to get a little bit jealous of all of the time that I am spending admiring this new Primus model.  It is really that great!

Courtesy of Hanhart

I think what I like most about it is the complete sense of departure from previous Hanhart Primus models - this is something completely different.  But that departure has not forgotten the DNA of the Primus line.  There is nothing wrong with Black or Silver - but this is a really great change of pace - something at once different but familiar.  


So here are the specs - 

PRIMUS Desert Pilot

Movement: HAN3809 modified automatic chronograph movement (bicompax), based on the Valjoux 7750 calibre; 28,800 vibrations per hour, 4 Hz; 28 jewels; rotor with a skeletonised Hanhart logo; power reserve of min. 42 hours

Functions: Small seconds at 9 o’clock, 30-minute counter at 3 o’clock, date display at 6 o’clock

Case: Sand-blasted stainless steel; anodised aluminium red reset button; fluted bezel with inlaid red marking; convex, internally anti-reflective sapphire glass; screwed-down, internally anti-reflective sapphire glass case back; large screw-in crown; flexible lugs; diameter 44 mm, height 15 mm; water-resistant to 10 bar/100 m

Dial: Sand-coloured; with black Super-LumiNova®-coated, luminous Arabic numeral, index marks and hands

Strap: Fabric strap; folding clasp with inlaid red marking (anodised aluminum) made from sand-blasted stainless steel

For you North Americans out there, the really good news is that there is now an OFFICIAL Hanhart Distributor who will be bringing Hanhart-goodness to a friendly neighborhood retail partner near you in the coming months!  

Catching up with Thomas Morf and Hanhart

James Henderson - Congratulations on another successful BaselWorld - what were some of the highlights to come out of the 2012 edition?

Thomas Morf - Well, everything we’ve presented was received extremly well. Starting from our revamped booth with all the decoration what Hanhart is all about, to the product novelties and the markets which show interest in the brand.  Now we need to follow up.

JH -  With the launch of the PRIMUS Dessert Pilot, it would seem that the rumors of the PRIMUS collection going away might be unfounded?

Courtesy of Hanhart

TM - The Primus line, although some hard core Hanhart fans see it different, is attracting many people due to its different design. So we’ve decided to present the Primus Desert Pilot. The feedback was phenomenal. Very cool……………..

JH - Obviously the Pioneer Stealth 1882 Limited Edition is an important piece for this anniversary year, but what are are one or two of the other interesting new models that people should know about?

TM - Well the Pioneer MonoScope single push button chronograph with the subdials on the outer edge, or the Pioneer Preventor9, a 3 hand model that’s based on a classic Hanhart with the small second at nine.

Courtesy of Hanhart

JH - Another piece of possible news - I heard that there might be a new distribution partner for North America?

TM - Yes, this is true, we’ve decided to work with a well known expert in the American market and we will be debuting Hanhart together with our new partner at Swiss watch by JCK. We already have very good appointments with retailers from across the country.

JH - And any truth to the buzz about a refurbished Hanhart Museum/Manufacture?  Anything you can share with us?

TM - The manufacturing side and a museum of a watch brand today is a very important thing.  It gives a brand legitimacy and credibility  That’s one of the reasons why we’re investing in our infrastructure and to improve the quality of our products with state of the art machinery, tools and processes.

What watch would Lawrence of Arabia wear - an alternate view

This is another new offering from Hanhart that I got to try on at BaselWorld -

Courtesy of Hanhart

This is the Primus Desert Pilot - and it is REALLYYYYYYYY cool!

Here are the specs - straight from Hanhart:

Movement:

HAN3809 modified automatic chronograph movement (bicompax), based on the Valjoux 7750 calibre; 28,800 vibrations per hour, 4 Hz; 28 jewels; rotor with a skeletonised Hanhart logo; power reserve of min. 42 hours

Functions:

Small seconds at 9 o’clock, 30-minute counter at 3 o’clock, date display at 6 o’clock

Case:

Stainless steel; anodised aluminium red button; fluted bezel with inlaid red marking; convex, internally anti-reflective sapphire glass; screwed-down, internally anti-reflective sapphire glass case back; screw-in crown; flexible lugs; diameter 44 mm, height 15 mm; water-resistance to 10 bar/100 m

Dial:

Sand; with Super-LumiNova^®-coated, luminous Arabic numerals, index marks and hands

Strap:

Textile; folding clasp with inlaid red marking (anodised aluminium) made from stainless steel

Reference number:

740.250-372

You know I'm a sucker for all things Hanhart and this one was no exception!

www.hanhart.com 

Final Day with the Hanhart Primus Racer...

Today is the final day with the FANTASTICALLY COOL Hanhart Primus Racer.  Sadly, it is time to sum up and return the watch to its rightful owners.

Photo Courtesy of Hanhart

Final write up to appear tomorrow.

Stay tuned!

New Releases from Hanhart

Hanhart Primus Pilot

Hanhart will have some exciting new takes on the Primus Chronographs and these new models will make their debut at BaselWorld this year.

Above is the Pilot model, and below the Racer.  There is also a new Diver model, but I will have to ask you to visit back to see it.  I know, a bit of a tease!

Hanhart Primus Racer

I will be posting additional photos and details later today and tomorrow.  For now, here is what Hanhart has to say -

 Primus – Pilot, Racer and Diver models in elegant black 

The new models in the Primus collection, which are being launched by Hanhart at Baselworld 2011, are distinguished by their pure, cool style. The Swiss-German watch brand has opted for an elegant black design for its Pilot, Racer and Diver chronographs. 

Hanhart is known for its high-precision, 100% reliable and robust instrument watches for use in the air, on the ground and in the water. 2009 saw the Swiss-German watch brand launch with Primus a collection of mechanical chrono-graph wristwatches which builds on the long standing tradition and expertise of the own-brand watch manufactory and combines this with the latest technology and progressive design. This year, the Pilot, Racer and Diver models are now being introduced with black ADLC-coated cases. 

A contemporary take on tradition 

Reminders of the watch manufacturer’s tradition are deliberately made clearly recognisable on all three models in the Primus collection: one of the brand’s distinctive features, the red button, underlines the relationship between Hanhart’s first pilot’s chronographs, its mechanical stopwatches and the new collection. It has been a distinguishing characteristic of Hanhart watches since 1939 and was previously intended to prevent pilots from unintentionally resetting the stop time. For the models featured in the Primus collection it has been finished with anodised aluminium. The striking fluted bezel with inlaid red marking is also reminiscent of the design of the watch manufacturer’s legendary chronographs. 

WWW.HANHART.COM

Timing...continued

                                                                      

Okay, so far in terms of overall time keeping, the Hanhart has held steady at + 2 seconds per day since the 15 day review started.   That is +2 seconds EVERY DAY folks - i.e. phenomenally accurate and no deviations from that "going rate"!

It goes without saying that a quartz watch is always going to be more accurate.  Which begs the question, why would you want a mechanical watch?  Of course we crave the mechanical aspects, that human hands have created and crafted our watch, and that human hands again will service it.  That the watch, even if slow or fast has it's unique characteristics.  But when you have a mechanical watch - and a chronograph at that - with such great time keeping it is something altogether different - and wonderful!

So far, so very, VERY GOOD!

Timing...

Today will be all about timing.

A quick preview -

More this evening with the first set of results - stay tuned!