Every year has its own color trend, or at least it has in the past. In 2024, color in general is all the rage, with gorgeous hues across the palette. Of course, a true “evergreen” on watch faces is black. No other shade exudes such timeless elegance and can be combined with other colors and nuances in so many ways. The great Coco Chanel was well aware that “black is simply beautiful” and preferred to wear and work with this shade, which is by definition an achromatic color. The iconic designer made the “little black dress” fashionable in 1926. Henry Ford understood the timeless elegance of black as well: “Any customer can have a car painted any color he wants, as long as it is black,” the automaker said back in the 1920s.
In the world of watches too, black offers a bold and often strikingly sporty look. The latest example for this is Hanhart’s Preventor9 S which seamlessly blends past and present. A picture-perfect pilot’s watch the newcomer made in the small town of Gütenbach located in the Black Forest region in Southern Germany takes to the skies in a 40mm stainless steel case with a black PVD coating and is water-resistant to 100 meters.
In addition to the black dial, a prerequisite for a pilot’s watch, the intensely luminescent Arabic numerals and vintage cathedral-style hands allow for perfect nighttime readability, ticking the boxes of the genre. The railroad minute track is another nod to the past, as are the prominent small seconds sub-dial at 9 o’clock and the bold crown.
Behind the closed case back is a modified SW 200 automatic caliber with a power reserve of 38 hours. It has been refined by Dubois-Dépraz.
Limited to 1,000 pieces per year, the watch retails for €1,290 (incl. 19% VAT) or $1,380 when converted to USD. The Preventor9 S comes with a black calf leather strap and is available at select retailers as well as via the brand’s online store.
To learn more, visit Hanhart, here.
