When in 1882 a small watch shop was opened in the Swiss town of Diessenhofen, one wasn’t yet to know that the name Hanhart would later stand for Europe’s largest producer and the market leader in the mechanical stopwatch sector, playing a leading role in the German clock industry.
The company’s breakthrough came in 1924, when Willy Hanhart, the sports-loving son of the founder, launched the first affordable mechanical stopwatch. In 1938 then came its second great era: Hanhart became a pioneer in the production of pilot’s chronographs and with its Calibre 40 paved the way for the development of these nowadays extremely coveted collector’s items. From the 1950s onwards, Hanhart increasingly focussed on manufacturing mechanical stopwatches and consequently attained global reach through their use in sporting time measurement. Hanhart stopwatches became indispensable at important car races and sporting events, as well as for general school requirements.
Only a short time ago, a new watchmaking workshop was established in Gütenbach, where the fine Hanhart wrist chronographs are produced. Right next door to this workshop, Hanhart’s unique corporate history is showcased in a museum of precious exhibits and timepieces that the watch manufactory has produced since the time of its foundation.
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