Sponsored: The Return of the Legendary Hanhart 417 ES


The reissue of the Hanhart 417 ES marks the return of a legend among wristwatches. More than 60 years ago, the original model served as the first pilot’s chronograph for the German armed forces. Today Hanhart combines the watch’s iconic historical design with the most modern production techniques to produce a robust chronograph suitable for both everyday life and adventure.

Robustness, reliability and readability: Hanhart built the first pilot’s chronograph for the German armed forces based on these three criteria from the mid-1950s. Engineering it for uncompromising use on pilots’ wrists. Hanhart supplied the 417 chronograph to the German armed forces for almost 10 years, until the brand started focusing on the manufacture of hand-held stopwatches in 1963. The few remaining pieces of the original 417 have become some of the most sought-after vintage chronographs from Germany.

With the Hanhart 417 ES, Hanhart is celebrating the return of this legendary chronograph. ES stands for the “Edelstahl” — German for “stainless steel.” You may not be able to travel back in time with it, but Hanhart has combined the most exciting details of the past with the most modern materials of our time. Its stainless-steel case measures a contemporary 42 mm in diameter, instead of the original 39 mm. Despite the heavily domed sapphire crystal, the thickness of the case does not exceed 13.3 mm. The goal was to design the 417 ES as slim as possible so that it is present on the wrist but not over-proportional.

A sharply drawn and polished finish marks the transition from the satin-finished horns to the flanks. As a typical stylistic feature of a Hanhart, the fluted bezel rotates smoothly in both directions. Its red position markings are as reminiscent of the historical 1950s model as the details on the watch’s dial. The bicompax layout and the vintage lettering appear to have been cut from the face of the early 417. In order to appeal to even the most die-hard fans of the vintage original, Hanhart has also adopted the numbers and fonts used back then.

New, however, is the use of modern Super-LumiNova luminous material in a discreet cream shade, applied to the white lettering and the hands, which form a pleasing contrast to the deep matte-black background. In addition, the new Hanhart 417 ES is the only watch in the current Hanhart collection — with the exception of special editions — to be delivered with the historical logo on the dial and the corresponding logo on the crown.

To ensure that its latest chronograph not only looks good but also runs precisely, Hanhart has installed the reliable, hand-wound caliber SW 510 behind the watch’s screwed stainless-steel caseback. In addition to a stop-second function, the high-quality Swiss Made movement offers a power reserve of up to 58 hours when fully wound. The historical 417 was also hand-wound, although its radius of action outside the cockpit was severely limited due to its low water resistance. By contrast, the 417 ES can withstand water pressures to a depth of 100 meters (10 bar).

A black calfskin strap with a leather underlay makes the watch comfortable to wear from Day One. For extra comfort on the wrist, the strap has Alcantara on the inside. A pin-buckle with the historic Hanhart logo ensures a good grip.

Click here to learn more about the Hanhart 417 ES.

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  1. Superb watch! But I would have liked this to have been offered in the original 39mm case size.

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