Hanhart 1882
About the company
Tradition and expertise since 1882 When a small watch shop opened in the Swiss town of Diessenhofen in 1882, no one could have known that the name Hanhart would later stand for the largest European manufacturer and market leader in mechanical stopwatches and play a leading role in the German watch industry. Apart from a short period after the Second World War, Hanhart has maintained an uninterrupted manufacturing tradition to this day. The company achieved its breakthrough in 1924, when Willy Hanhart, the sports-loving son of the company founder, launched the first affordable mechanical stopwatch. 1938 marked the beginning of the second great era: Hanhart became a pioneer in the production of pilot's chronographs and, with the Calibre 40, paved the way for what are now extremely sought-after collector's pieces. From the 1950s onwards, Hanhart increasingly focused on the production of mechanical stopwatches, achieving worldwide reach through their use in sports timekeeping. Hanhart stopwatches were indispensable at major motor races and sporting events as well as in everyday school use.--The company responded to the so-called "quartz crisis" from the 1970s onwards by setting up its own plastic injection moulding facility and developing its own quartz movement, the Calibre 3305, which has sold in its millions. From the late 1990s, Hanhart drew once again on its own pioneering achievements and presented the legendary pilot's chronographs as carefully crafted re-editions. This marked the birth of the forerunners of today's Hanhart collection. The highest standards: "Made in Germany" Only recently, a new watchmaking workshop was set up in Gütenbach, where the fine Hanhart wristwatch chronographs are created. Right next door, a museum showcases the company's unique history through precious exhibits and timepieces that the watch manufactory has produced since its foundation. The Gütenbach plant has its own in-house toolmaking and parts production. Following development and design, a wide variety of parts for mechanical movements, from the tiniest gear wheels to mainplates, are made at the site in the Black Forest. In numerous production steps, milled, stamped or eroded components, among others, are first assembled into modules. During final assembly, watchmakers put all the components together and fit the dials and hands. The result is high-precision wristwatches and stopwatches with specially developed additional functions and the "Made in Germany" seal of quality. If this has aroused your curiosity, you are warmly invited to visit the Hanhart Museum on Wednesday afternoons. Take the opportunity to look over our watchmakers' shoulders, let