Hands-On With The Hanhart 415 ES Chronograph
As soon as the Hanhart 415 ES came out, I knew a hands-on experience with it would be a load of fun. The quirky design matched with a decent set of specifications would surely make for an enjoyable review.
This is not the first time I’ve reviewed a watch from this German watchmaker. Last year, I spent time with the more well-known 39mm Hanhart 417 ES 1954 Flyback Reverse Panda. Indeed, the 417 series contains probably the best-known models produced by the brand today.
In 1954, Hanhart released the original version of this watch. The post-war West German Air Force needed wrist chronographs for navigation, and Hanhart was tasked with producing something to meet this need. Thus, the original Hanhart 417 (in a chrome-plated brass case) and 417 ES (short for edelstahl, the German word for stainless steel) were born.
A Hollywood icon’s connection to Hanhart
It’s believed that far fewer than 1,000 of the latter were produced. These were never for civilian sale but strictly for the West German military. Even so, Hollywood actor (and a man with good taste in watches) Steve McQueen ended up owning one. McQueen was pictured wearing it on a Bund-style strap.
Besides the fact that the watch was only available to the military, McQueen having been a fan of it is another cool aspect of that particular design. Today, though, we’re looking at something slightly different. The Hanhart 415 ES utilizes the same 39mm case as the 417 ES 1954 and comes packed with many of the same specifications (that’s a good thing). But it also provides a quirky character all its own. Let’s dive in.
The Hanhart 415 ES
Let’s start with the specifications. The Hanhart 415 ES has a stainless steel case with a 39mm diameter and 13.5mm thickness, including the domed sapphire crystal. While this makes the watch a tad on the chunky side, it’s certainly not overly thick. This is also helped by the comfortable 46mm lug-to-lug, allowing it to wear well on my roughly 16cm (6.25″) wrist. The rotating bezel is bidirectional and contains a matte black ceramic insert.
The oversized push-pull crown provides nice winding action, and the pump-style pushers have a snappy feel when activating the chronograph function. Sellita’s chronograph calibers have proven themselves rugged workhorse by now, so there’s no surprise that the winding action also feels so satisfying.
A colorful layout, classic logo, and reliable movement
The dial of the Hanhart 415 ES is matte black, which helps with legibility considering the array of colors present here. To start, the Super-LumiNova hour markers are goldfish yellow. Then, the tachymeter and sub-dial scales are stark white, while the 100-unit scale is red. The hour and minute hands have a simple and direct double-tapered shape, a nice golden finish, and an application of yellow Super-LumiNova X1. On the dial, Hanhart uses its 1960s winged logo, which is quite cool. I’m surprised the brand doesn’t use this logo more often.
The caliber inside is a Sellita SW510 M. This is a hand-wound movement that provides 58 hours of power reserve. The watch also comes with a healthy 100m water resistance rating.
Taking the Hanhart 415 ES underwater
Of course, given the opportunity to spend some time with one of Hanhart’s latest releases, I had to take it underwater. You see, my ears always prick up when I hear a brand has released a watch with surface-swimmable water resistance. If I ever get an opportunity to do a hands-on with a watch that has this capability, you can bet your bottom dollar I will be taking it into the ocean!
Thankfully, Sydney has just come through a period of beautiful weather. The aquatic conditions have also been wonderful, with clear water and relatively calm seas. All of this makes for ideal conditions to take this Hanhart for a little aquatic adventure. So when I had some time off, I decided to take the Hanhart 415 ES for a swim.
A watch built to last
The Hanhart 415 ES feels very rugged. Its weight and bezel action create the instant impression of a well-made timepiece. Utilizing the bezel underwater is a breeze too. The mix of inward-pointed markers and Arabic numerals on the dial makes for easy time telling under the surface of the water. This translates to even better legibility above it. This is where the combination of colors works well in Hanhart’s favor. The contrasting hues create a sort of color map your brain can use to quickly read the dial. At least this is what happened to me after a while of using the watch.
One component of this is the color used on the hour markers. This has been a point of contention among some reviewers. It’s a little unusual, not being quite faux patina nor gold. Earlier, I called it “goldfish yellow,” though the tone seems to change slightly depending on the lighting conditions, so I’ll leave you, dear readers, to come up with your impression of exactly what shade it is from the images. What I can say is that I liked this color when I saw the watch in the metal. This surprised me because I was not a big fan when seeing the watch in online renders. Once again, online renders have not done a watch justice.
Concluding thoughts
I didn’t think this color combination would work. But upon taking the watch out of its Hanhart box, the combination quickly began to grow on me. Overall, the Hanhart 415 ES is an intriguing chronograph. It straddles the line between vintage (in looks) and modern (in build). The 39mm case size coupled with the short lug-to-lug is a delight to wear and should make it comfortable for wrists of many sizes.
Although this color combination just works (and is a fair representation of one of the originals), it would be great to see Hanhart release a version with a more classic monochromatic colorway. Hanhart is a great and relatively underappreciated brand. It’s good to see the designers there beginning to experiment more with some of their vintage designs. But what do you think, Fratelli? Is this a watch you could see yourself owning? Let me know in the comments.
