The New Hanhart Preventor9 S Limited Edition

A Swiss-born brand then relocated to Germany, Hanhart has a long tradition of making pilot’s watches. Mostly, its chronographs equipped with the calibre 40 and 42 have been some of the defining models for the genre, proving their reliability on battlefields and on the wrist of many airforces after conflicts. For its latest release, Hanhart however has decided to not include a chronograph function, but nevertheless retains some of the historic design cues alive. Strictly limited to 100 pieces in 2024 and sportier, and bolder than the classic models, here’s the new Hanhart Preventor9 S.

The basic design of the Preventor9 S is based on a historic Hanhart model from the 1950s, that of watches equipped with the chronograph calibre 42 and in line with the recent re-introduction of the 417 ES. What matters in this new edition is the presence of a small seconds at 9 o’clock, a feature that has been used in historic models too. The idea is that, if you remove the chronograph function from the calibre 42, with its central seconds hand and the minute counter at 3 o’clock, you end up with a watch displaying a running seconds at 9 o’clock. So Hanhart has been making some modifications, in its usual clever and accessible way, to come up with this new Preventor9 S.

A more modern, slightly bolder take on the concept of a pilot’s watch, this new watch is housed in a reasonable case of 40mm (which isn’t too large for a pilot’s watch). Contrary to chronograph models, this small seconds watch is not equipped with the brand’s signature rotating fluted bezel, but instead relies on a clean smooth bezel. A specificity of this limited edition is the mate black PVD coating on the case, a feature that’s used to avoid reflections in the cockpit – and the S in the name stands for the German word “Schwarz”, which translates to black in English. It is completed by a convex sapphire crystal with AR coating, a screwed back and a water-resistant rated at 10 bars.

The black dial of this Hanhart Preventor9 S features all of the familiar traits of the brand, without the chronograph counter. It comes with a railroad minute track and large luminous Arabic numerals, ensuring optimal legibility. The hands are, contrary to a 4117 ES, using a classic cathedral style, contrasting with the overall contemporary look of the watch. It’s clean, efficient and does what it’s meant to do, indicating the time in the most legible way possible.

Inside the blackened case is a reliable Sellita SW200-1 Automatic base that has been modified by Dubois-Depraz for the small seconds at 9 o’clock. This movement retains its 4Hz frequency as well as the rather short power reserve of 38 hours, but features a stop-seconds mechanism for precise timesetting.

Worn on a black calfskin strap with white contrast stitching and Alcantara lining, the Hanhart Preventor9 S is limited to 100 pieces in 2024, and priced at EUR 1,290 (incl. taxes). For more details, please visit www.hanhart.com.