Hanhart Baselworld 2012: Pioneer & Primus

Hanhart is celebrating its 130th anniversary this year so I couldn't miss the presentation of the 2012 novelties at Basel!

Hanhart is a swiss/german brand with a very sharp strategy: to produce pilot and instrument watches taking advantage of its long and prestigious history on this field. If I'm not wrong, Hanhart is one of the very few (if not the only one) brands to still produce stopwatches dedicated to the world of vintage cars races. These watches are produced in Hanhart factory based in the german city of Gütenbach.

To celebrate its anniversary, Hanhart unveiled a specific LE, introduced a new material and presented new models in its Pioneer and Primus lines.

To give you a short picture of what is the current Hanhart catalogue, it is based on 3 lines:
- the stopwatches line named "Classic Timer"
- the Pioneer line which is very faithful to the spirit of the classic chronographs of the brand
- the Primus line which stays within the same atmosphere but with a more contemporary design: the objective of this line is to escape from the dependence on the Pioneer line which can be useful in some markets. The watches have a see-through caseback while the Pioneer line has solid casebacks.

Hanhart is currently well established in some European countries like its countries of origin and France and Spain. Hanhart wishes to get a stronger presence in Eastern Europe and in the US thanks to the vintage cars race world. China is not a key market for the moment due to the size of the watches.

I didn't have time to see the Primus novelties so I propose you to browse the Pioneer ones. Frankly speaking, I'm not very seduced by the Primus line despite its quality. In my mind, Hanhart is so linked to its history that I almost can't imagine a Hanhart chronograph with a different design than the "classic" one.

The watches of the Pioneer line are availables in different sizes, in 40, 42 and 45mm but the trend is the enlargement of the average size of the line, that is at least what I felt. But enlargement doesn't mean with Hanhart the unbalance of the dial lay-out. Thanks to the use of an exclusive Lajoux-Perret module, even with a 45mm case, the subdials are well positioned and the movement seems suitable for the case diameter.

Let's take this Pioneer Stealth 1882 Edition: its black coated SS case diameter is 45mm and the subdials are very close to the bezel. This watch, created to celebrate the 130th anniversary is a bit a gathering of know-how from Hanhart. It features telemeter and tachymeter scales, the usual reset red pusher (look at asymmetrical position of the pushers), a calfskin strap which lower part can be remove and a Sellita & Lajoux-Perret movement.

You will notice that there are two hands on the left sub-dial. It is actually the integrated hour counter in the second subdial. A nice way to insert a hours counter and to preserve the two subdials position.

The watch is obviously large and bulky, especially with the presence of the lower part of the strap but it remains comfortable. As an anniversary watch, I would have prefered a handwind movement but it is well made. But my heart is not totally seduced... I still prefer the usual watches of the Pioneer line especially  the TachyTele.

Fluted bezel version (limited to 130 pieces):
















Smooth bezel version (limited to 130 pieces):





The TachyTele is a 40mmn watch with the  both scales on the dial. I love its overall balance, the size is perfect and the red pusher combines perfectly with the scales colour. Dial is available in black and in ivory. Movement is based on a modified Valjoux 7753, the size doesn't require the use of the specific module. One of the main modifications is the asymmetrical position of the pushers, part of Hanhart DNA. My only regret is the presence of the "automatic" on the dial... it spoils a bit the beauty of the dial and I think that the owner of the watch knows it is automatic.

The Pioneer Mk I is a simpler version of the TachyTele with a pure dial without any scale and a monopusher chronograph also based on the Valjoux 7753. The Pioneer Mk II gets two pushers.

Mk I on the left, TachyTele on the right:


















Mk II:


































Mk I and Mk II with ivory dial are unveiled this year. To answer to clients' requests, a SS bracelet is also introduced.










The MonoScope keeps the same spirit than the Mk I (monopusher chronograph and dial without any scale) but with a 45mm case. So the 7753 caliber is abandoned  and replaced by the Sellita&Lajoux-Perret modular movement. Like with the Stealth 1882 Edition, the balance of the dial lay-out was preserved. This 2012 version gets a smooth bezel:






 








With the fluted bezel:





The TwinDicator features the hours counter inside the second subdial like the Stealth 1882 Edition and the dial style of the MonoScope. It uses two pushers, the classic reset red pusher being down right.


















But let's have a close look to this TwinDicator... you can't see it with the pics but its case material is the main innovation of the year for Hanhart: HDS is a steel which is treated in order to become better scratch and corosion resistant and due to absence of nickel, it reduces the allergy risk. I was impressed by the demonstration. With the knife, we tried to scratch the case and the result was self-explanatory. Of course, nothing can replace the real life experience but I'm pretty confident about the properties of HDS. The first watches with HDS cases will be launched at the end of the year.





On an overall basis, I was convinced by the quality of the watches which where presented with a great care of details and interesting evolutions in the collection. However, I have one big regret: I didn't see a single handwind watch and I think that Hanhart should not forget that a part of people interested in this kind of chronographs only consider them with handwind movements and not automatic. It is my way of thinking. If I buy a Hanhart watch, I would buy a handwind one and not an automatic.

I would like to thank a lot the Hanhart team for the warm welcome during the Fair.

Fr.Xavier