The New Hanhart 415 ES Panda and Reverse Panda Chronograph

Founded in 1882, Hanhart gained fame as a producer of stopwatches in the early 1920s, followed by Flieger chronographs for pilots in the late 1930s. Today, it is one of the go-to brands for retro pilot watches updated with contemporary materials and movements. The newest release captures the design of a 1960s chronograph that was revived last year as the Hanhart 415 ES. Now available with a Panda and a Reverse Panda dial, the 415 ES is an exceptionally legible and attractive vintage-fuelled chronograph with modern specs and an accessible price.

The Hanhart 415 ES of the mid-1960s was Hanhart’s first chronograph with a bidirectional rotating bezel with 60-minute graduations and the first to feature the new winged logo (the ES in the name refers to Edelstahl, the German for steel). The successors of the 1960s model come in a 39mm stainless steel case with a thickness of 13.5mm, a lug-to-lug measurement of 46mm, retro pump-style pushers, a knurled winding crown, and a sealed caseback to ensure the 100m depth rating. Highlighting the most salient feature of the original, the fluted bidirectional 60-click bezel has a matte black ceramic insert with engraved 60-minute markings and an inverted triangle at noon but lacks luminescence.

In a departure from the recent 415 ES models, which feature a tachymeter scale and a red 100-unit scale, the new models have removed these scales to produce a sharper dial with slightly larger counters and more breathing room to enjoy the black-and-white scenery of the Panda and Reverse Panda dials.

Originally created in the 1960s, the excellent legibility of two-tone Panda dials became a favourite among racing drivers. Sticking to the high-contrast Panda (white dial, black totalisers) and Reverse Panda (black dial, white totalisers) dials, the counters and Arabic numerals are now positioned closer to the perimeter with its minutes/seconds scale. The sub-dials for the small seconds and elapsed 30-minute chronograph times are snailed with contrasting markings. However, the novelty here is that the sub-dials are now treated with green-emission Super-LumiNova, matching the large Arabic numerals and the three central hands.

Other attractive features include the slightly bent tips of the minute and central chronograph second hands, the pronounced dome of the sapphire crystal, which produces distortions along the dial’s periphery, and the vintage winged Hanhart logo.

The new Pandas are powered by a reliable Sellita SW510 manual-winding movement (an alternative to the Valjoux 7750) with an extended power reserve of 58 hours. The anti-magnetic case protects the movement and is equipped with the Hanhart damping system to withstand shocks.

By popular demand, the Hanhart 415 ES Panda and Reverse Panda are now fitted with a stainless steel bracelet with a folding clasp and tool-free fine adjustments of up to 10 mm. They retail for EUR 2,690 (incl. tax). The watches are also available with more classic calfskin straps in dark brown, light brown or black with a pin buckle for EUR 2,490 (incl. tax). More information at hanhart.com.