The First German Pilot's Chronograph
The Hanhart 417 ES Chronograph is one of the most legendary watches produced in the history of Hanhart, and was the very first pilot's chronograph made for the German armed forces. It featured the Hanhart Caliber 42, a manually wound column wheel chronograph movement.
The Hanhart Caliber 42 was released in the 1950s, evolving from Hanhart's earlier designs released a decade earlier - the Caliber 40 and Caliber 41.
The "ES" in the title of this watch refers to the German word Edelstahl, which translates to stainless steel.
Although Calibers 40, 41 and 42 are no longer in production, Hanhart has chosen the two register SW510 M manually wound chronograph caliber to power this watch.
This watch features a highly domed sapphire crystal, but Hanhart was able to keep the overall height of this watch to only 13.3 mm by using a special case design and a manually wound chronograph movement.
The Return of a Legend
The Hanhart 417 ES Chronograph is a combination of vintage inspiration and modern technology.
While the watch looks and feels historic, this recreation benefits from state of the art watchmaking and 21st century materials. It is even more durable and dependable than its trusty predecessor.
The original Hanhart 417 ES Chronograph featured domed Plexiglas, as was common for the era. This watch has been upgraded to a domed sapphire crystal with interior anti-reflective coating.
This watch is water resistant to 100 meters.
Historic Design
The historic two register chronograph layout of the Hanhart 417 ES Chronograph features a 30 minute register at 3 and small seconds at 9.
In keeping with the original design of this historic watch, Hanhart has chosen to use the vintage Hanhart logo on the dial, crown and buckle, as well as the "shockproof" designation on the dial.
If you look closely, you may notice that the tips of the hands are actually bent to reduce the parallax effect.
The case is in stainless steel, and is fitted with a fluted bi-directional rotating bezel with a red indicator. The bezel is a friction fit, as was the bezel on the original Hanhart 417 ES Chronograph.
Important features of this watch include:
- Domed sapphire crystal with interior AR coating
- Screw down case back
- Matte black dial with C3 SuperLuminova
- Power reserve of 58 hours
- Two register design
- Manually winding chronograph movement
- Water resistant to 100 meters
Quick Adjust Bracelet
The bracelet on this watch features a quick adjust buckle for tool free micro adjustments.
The bracelet can be lengthened or shortened by up to 10 mm with the quick press of a button, allowing the wearer to dial in their preferred fit without needing to search for a spring bar tool.
The bracelet has a satinized finish and the quick adjust buckle features Hanhart's historic logo.