From Germany’s Black Forest, Hanhart is a brand almost exclusively associated with chronographs. Its website is even titled “Hanhart Chronographen.” Though it also has a smaller association with motorsport watches, the brand is underpinned by a rich history of chronographs and timing devices, but had not ventured meaningfully into one of the most popular watch segments in modern times: dive watches. Now, that’s all changing. Teased with a limited edition earlier this year, Hanhart has just announced its first dive watch model, the Aquasphere, and is debuting it with the Hanhart Aquasphere FreeFall Blue.

Precision timing has always sat at the core of Hanhart’s business and has informed every timepiece the manufacturer has ever produced. Since it first started producing low-cost stopwatches in the 1920s to its first chronograph in 1938, the brand has always emphasized functionality and accuracy. Building on this legacy, Hanhart sought to expand beyond the skies and roads and into the deep blue sea. The Hanhart Aquasphere blends the refinement of the Pioneer collection — including icons like the 417 ES Chronograph — with the unimpeachable durability of the Primus collection, resulting in a wholly new timepiece that offers utility and beauty.

The new Hanhart Aquasphere is presented in a robust 42mm stainless steel case with a silhouette that is both familiar and uniquely Hanhart. The 49mm lug-to-lug is highlighted by the soft angles of the lugs themselves, while the side view sees the partially carved case flanks adding the first dash of personality. But the character doesn’t stop there. Like the lug design, the bezel is inspired by the Primus collection’s fluted bezel, though here it has been softened for a lower profile and a seamless integration that includes a blue ceramic insert. Of course, the fully-lumed bezel features the brand’s hallmark red marking, complemented by the red border surrounding the bezel’s triangle.

Reliability and functionality are further with the use of a sapphire crystal, a screw down crown, and a helium escape valve nestled at 10 o’clock. With this combination of features, the watch ably achieves 300m of water resistance. The Aquasphere is completed with a quick-release 20mm stainless steel three-link bracelet with a folding clasp and fine adjustment option. In addition to the steel bracelet, Hanhart offers the option of a coordinated blue textile Hookstrap™, offering a secure and comfortable fit. At 12.95mm thick on both the bracelet and the strap, the Aquasphere is sure to fit as well on a bare wrist as it does over a wet suit.

As with every timepiece it produces, Hanhart sought to make the most useful piece. The Aquasphere isn’t meant just to look like a dive watch, but to be used as one. Legibility was key. In addition to the bold numerals on the bezel, the matching blue dial features pronounced applied baton indices with an oversized 12 serving as a visual reference point on the dial when diving deep. The broad hands — including the bright red seconds tip — that expand as they reach the edges of the dial, before coming to tips, are filled with Super-LumiNova C1 for uncompromising utility and readability no matter the conditions. The dial is completed with a brushed silver chapter ring with minute demarcations and numerals at 5-minute intervals.

The screwed caseback shows a scene from the ocean floor — the true depths of the sea. Within, the Hanhart Aquasphere is powered by a Swiss Sellita SW200-1 in its no-date iteration, preserving the symmetry of the dial and ridding the diver of unnecessary clutter. The movement is known for its reliability and offers an average power reserve of 41 hours at 28,800 vph. But Hanhart has gone beyond the stock offering, translating it’s obsession with punctuality into the watch by regulating the movement to -0/+8 seconds per day. Because any negative deviation would make a person late, the brand only allows for positive deviation. With the watch fully designed and produced, the only thing left to do was to test it. Hanhart turned to record-holding German freediver Fabio Tunno — a Black Forest native.

Traveling the world practicing and competing in freedive competitions, Tunno took the Hanhart Aquasphere with him into the depths in Germany, Egypt’s Blue Hole, and the World Championships in Corsica. In each case, the Aquasphere easily mastered the extreme environments, diving up to 110m with the watch secured over his wetsuit. It was from freediving that the watch takes its name: a critical phase of any freedive is the freefall, when a freediver enters a weightless state, gliding downwards without effort to reach greater depths with maximum efficiency.

The new Hanhart Aquasphere expands the brand’s offerings without diverting from its core DNA. Elements from other collections are borrowed and signature flourishes included to ensure that the Aquasphere fits into the Hanhart story. In creating its newest release, Hanhart has once again demonstrated its commitment to exceptional watchmaking focused on reliability, functionality, and precision. The Hanhart Aquasphere is priced at $1,560 USD on the HookStrap and $1,840 USD on the steel bracelet. For more information, please visit the Hanhart website. 

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