Hanhart is synonymous with reliable and robust high precision watch instruments for use in the air, on land and on water. The Primus Pilot is a perfect example of this, underscoring this Swiss/German brand’s tradition and unique know-how. Hanhart has chosen an elegant black for this re-interpretation of one of its legendary aviator chronographs.
Movement
Automatic, HAN38 chronograph calibre, 28,800 vib/h, 4 Hz, 25 jewels, 42-hour power reserve
Functions
Hours, minutes, seconds, date and chronograph
Case
Steel with black ADLC, 44 mm
Red pushpiece at 2 o’clock
Fluted bezel
Flexible horns
Anti-reflective convex sapphire crystal front and back
Water-resistant to 100 m / 10 ATM
Dial
Black
Hourmarkers and hands with Superluminova
Minute and small seconds counters at 3 and 9 o’clock respectively
Date window at 6 o’clock
Strap
Black leather
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HANHART – Primus Diver
The Primus Diver from Hanhart is in tune with its time. Nevertheless, references to the brand’s past are not lacking. These include its famous red pushpiece, one of the brand’s identifying features since 1939, designed to make the chronograph more user-friendly for fighter pilots, the fluted bezel and the bi-composite dial. The 2011 version of the Primus Diver is clean and cool in its black ADLC-treated case.
Movement
Automatic, HAN38 calibre chronograph, 28,800 vib/h, 4 Hz, 25 jewels, 42-hour power reserve
Functions
Hours, minutes, seconds, date and chronograph
Case
Steel with black ADLC, 44 mm
Red pushpiece at 2 o’clock
Fluted, rotating, unidirectional bezel
Flexible horns
Antireflective convex sapphire crystal front and back
Water-resistant 100 m / 10 ATM
Dial
Black
Hourmarkers and hands with Superluminova
Minute and small seconds counters at 3 and 9 o’clock respectively
Date window at 6 o’clock
Ball Watches have always caught my fancy, especially since they combine the coolness of Tritium tubes with fine Swiss horology. While they have not yet created their own in-house caliber, they have made some contributions such as the Amortiser anti-shock system for watches. Currently all their watches use modified ETA movements.
This is the Engineer Master II Diver, which seems to be one of the more popular Ball Watches that I’ve seen around. They are available in a few different colors besides green, such as Orange and White. The inner dive bezel is operated by the crown at 2 o’clock. The watch features 53 Tritium tubes on it’s dial, which has a wave sunburst pattern.
Clasp is a semi-hidden button lock variety, which is odd for a diver. I’ve seen this watch offered with a flip-lock style bracelet as well. I’m not sure which is correct, or if it was changed partway through production or if it was possibly an option.
The watch case measures 42mm, but due to the rounded edges of the case sides, wears a bit smaller than most watches of a similar size. For those of you that have not owned a Tritium tube lume watch, the Tritium tubes tend to be slightly duller than SuperLuminova after its been charged, but while SuperLuminova needs charging, Tritium tubes do not. They simply glow and glow for their entire lifespan, which is rated from 20-30 years, depending on the make. They glow at a similar rate as SuperLume once its settled down after about 15-20 minutes in the dark.
The caseback features an engraving of a submarine, with Webb C. Ball etched on it, representing Webster Clay Ball, The company’s namesake and also the company’s founder. The screwdown caseback offers 300m of water resistance.
There’s the watch shown on my 6 3/4″ wrist. As you can see, its a decent size. The bracelet is fairly narrow, at approximately 21mm, and has no taper. The inner bezel freely spins, so its hard to make it line up perfectly because when the crown is screwed in it sometimes moves slightly. Overall its a nice watch, and I really did like it, but I found that it sat funny on my wrist, making the watch overall have an odd appearance. Ultimately I liked it better in the pictures than I did on my wrist, so I won’t be keeping this one. Hope you guys enjoyed the review.
Specs:
Movement: ETA 2836-2
Functions: Illuminated rotating inner bezel
3 hands and day, date
53 micro gas tubes
Shock resistance: 5,000Gs
Water resistance: 300m
Antimagnetic: 4,800A/m
Case: 42mm made with stainless steel, height 14.9mm
Anti-reflective sapphire crystal
Screwed-in crowns
I’ve just posted a video review of my Oris TT1 Pro Divers Regulator 1000m, also known as “Der Meistertaucher”. I took this watch with me on a vacation, and it performed wonderfully. Fantastic water resistance and the lightweight titanium makes it very comfortable to wear. Features a 44mm diameter, and helium escape valve. Movement is a ETA2836-2 base movement modified and called the Oris 649.
One of the many debated topics on the Breitlingsource Forums is whether or not it is appropriate to wear your Breitling watches on a rubber strap, particularly the Diver Pro rubber, especially when the watch is not one of the Dive or Professional models. In particular, I’m talking about models like ones from the Windrider and Breitling for Bentley series of watches.
I had been hankering for another Breitling Headwind since I sold mine, and was really hoping to get one with a white dial. So, when I saw a Headwind on Diver Pro Rubber, I had to snag it – even it was on rubber! My first Breitling purchase in quite a while, since I got married almost a year ago and had the matching Breitling SuperOcean Heritage watches engraved.
The beautiful white dial is probably one of the nicest I’ve seen in this price range. The technique used to create the Headwind dials, particularly the blue and white ones, is amazing. Patek Philippe of course makes superiorly finished dials 😉
I have always loved the precisely machined crowns on the older Windrider models like the Headwind. They are cut more sharply and the high quality is easily seen in the crown and much harder to duplicate. As you can see from these close-up shots, the Headwind shows quite well on the diver pro rubber.
Now this shot really shows the rubber and headwind combination. I used to be anti-rubber on my Breitling watches, but I’ve really warmed up to this one, and have seletected it as my Vacation watch for my upcoming trip to Asia. This means I will have to use this same watch every day for over two weeks! This is not an easy task for me!
As you can see, it has the newer Diver Pro with the raised logo on the buckle. I often prefer not to use the keeper that is built-into the buckle, as it makes the watch harder to remove and put on, and usually the extra security isn’t necessary. I do use it when I am swimming with it.
Overall, a very good presentation on Rubber, at least in my opinion. I don’t think I would wear my Breitling for Bentley on Rubber, but this Headwind does seem to work for me!
I picked up this 1000m TT1 Regulator used on Timezone and it has become one of my favourite beater watches. This specimen has some scratches on the bezel, and I decided against sending it back to Oris for replacement. As a beater watch, I figured I would be getting scratched anyway, and I would care less about dings and dents if I just left it the way it is.
The case on the all-titanium Oris TT1 Regulator measures 44mm in diameter, but wears perhaps a tiny bit smaller due to the signature Oris case shape, which tapers from the back to the front. The bezel is uni-directional, and has a red 15-minute segment, with the rest in black.
Luminous markers are very bright and are charged very quickly. The small hour hand is luminous as well as the second, hour and minute indicators but the hour hand is more difficult to read, while the large minute hand obviously stands out and is easy to read. This makes the watch slightly more difficult to read than a traditional centre mounted layout. The second hand is not luminous, oddly.
This model is the newer version with the wave-pattern dial, in matte black. Date window is at 6 o’clock and has nice bevelled edges giving it a very completed and professional look. The crown is located at 4 o’clock and a helium release valve is located at 2 o’clock, giving the watch a balanced crown look that I really like. Another watch that has this look is the Doxa GMT. The Helium release value has a red dot on the top to differentiate from the crown. The helium release valve aids in allowing the watch reach depths of 1000 meters.
The Oris TT1 Titanium watches are one of the few rare Titanium watches on the market that have a polished finish. The Case is a two-tone polished/brushed combination, with the center links on the bracelet being brushed, and the outer links polished.
While the case is Titanium, it is not all that light compared with other Titanium watches I have owned. The bracelet on the other hand is extremely light and feels almost a bit cheap because of the weight. The quality of the bracelet is so-so, kind of a medium quality bracelet with good finish, but the pins bend easily when it is sized, and the clasp is not a solid as it could be, however these are minor points.
Movement in the watch is an in-house modified ETA Caliber, which Oris does a good job with. Oris offers excellent value with their modified movements. Oris watches keep excellent time and have recognizable and unique designs.
Overall the Oris TT1 Regulator Diver is an excellent choice if you can live with the Regulator layout of the dial. The watch is light and comfortable, and has served me well since I purchased it.
