Not all images were able to load for printing. Please close the print window and try again. The Hanhart 417 TI Desert Pilot Flyback, The First 417 Titanium Model
Hanhart’s classic pilot’s chronograph returns in a robust and more technical titanium case with a sand-coloured dial.
Founded in 1882 in Switzerland before relocating to Germany in 1902, Hanhart gained fame as a producer of stopwatches in the early 1920s, followed by Flieger chronographs for pilots in the late 1930s. The Hanhart 417 was introduced in the 1950s as a pilot’s chronograph for the German armed forces and re-edited in 2020. While the original matte black dial is featured extensively throughout the collection, Hanhart has toyed with white and even brown dials. Inspired by the contemporary Primus Desert Pilot chronograph, the 417 TI Desert Pilot features a sand-coloured dial and replaces the classic “ES” stainless steel case with a “TI” titanium case.
Marking a first for the 417 Pilot’s collection, the TI version flaunts a Grade 5 titanium case, underscoring the watch’s instrumental character and giving it a modern, more technical look. Like the sandblasted steel case of the military-inspired Primus, the titanium is also sandblasted, producing a stealth, matte effect. Both the 39 and 42mm cases share a thickness of 13.6mm (11.55mm without the domed sapphire crystal) and are water-resistant to 100 metres.
Capturing the retro design language of the 1950s model, the distinctive fluted bezel, now in titanium, rotates in both directions and features the hallmark red marking; the chronograph pushers are piston style, and a highly domed sapphire crystal sits over the dial. The sand-coloured dial preserves the bi-compax layout with syringe-style hands, Arabic numerals and Hanhart’s historical logo. As the brand explains, although the hands and numerals are treated with Super-LumiNova, the luminescence is weak due to the black colour of the numerals and the sand colour of the hands.
Like the sporty Primus, the 417 TI is paired with a matching sand-coloured rubber strap with a woven texture and a titanium pin buckle.
The new 417 TI Desert Pilot is powered by the Sellita AMT5100 M manual-winding column-wheel flyback chronograph movement based on the SW510. Beating at 28,800 vibrations/hour and offering a power reserve of at least 58 hours, it features hacking seconds. Each movement is regulated in-house at Hanhart’s Gütenbach manufacture to strict tolerances of 0 to +8 seconds per day. A soft-iron inner case protects the movement against magnetic fields up to 16,000 A/m.
As mentioned, both sizes are limited editions of 200 and share a retail price of EUR 2,990 (incl. 19% VAT). More information at hanhart.com.
5 responses
I like the colors and the titanium case but lumebis very minimal. After checking Hanhart’s website, I think the lack of lume is a showstopper for me.
It is interesting that they even admit the lume is weak.
Beautiful dial, runs the Mocha version close
Pity about the titanium, would’ve been much better in steel. Not every man wants his watch to feel like a feather on the wrist.
Here’s hoping the good folks at Hanhart get back to automatic chronographs soon. I really miss the opportunity for a signed rotor and the far more masculine thickness of 15mm, which a silent majority of actual men prefer – presence and heft on the wrist !
The way these trends are going, one day the watch will disappear completely and it’ll be hailed as the greatest achievement ever … Emperor’s New watch anyone ?
To their credit, Hanhart at least made this piece available in 42mm as well, not limiting us to the 39mm for 12 year old boys
We’re to get one
@Pilot Chrono: weird, first time I see somebody complain about a chrono not being 15mm thick. 😀
Also there are plenty of thicker and heavier automatic steel chronos to choose from. For me personally this was exact reason why this was an instant buy – there are barely any thinner manual wind as well as lighter titanium chronos in 38-39mm around. God knows how long I’ve been waiting on a titanium and manual wind Sinn 356. So Hanhart it is then.
The only thing I am a bit sad about is that they didn’t go for a full lume dial instead of the black Superluminova. But hey, at least I get to finally have a titanium manual wind chrono.