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Hanhart Aquasphere
Hanhart has been making watches for 140 years and today marks the release of their first dive watch, the Hanhart Aqausphere, this one is dubbed the FreeFall blue because of the ocean-colored dial and bezel. Fans of the German brand might remember the Primus Diver and yes, this case was released a few months earlier in the form of the Fly Navy watch, which is more of a pilot/diver hybrid. This Aquasphere shares the case and bracelet, but the dial, hands, and bezel insert are all new, as is the case back. Housed inside that beautiful embossed back is a Sellita SW200-1 and the pricing for this 42mm diver on the bracelet is $1,840.
Specifications
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42mm Stainless Steel Case
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12.95mm Thick
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49mm Lug to Lug
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20mm Lug Width
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178 Grams in Weight
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300m Water Resistant
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60-Click Unidirectional Bezelย
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Ceramic Bezel Insert
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Sapphire Crystal with AR coating
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Sellita SW200-1ย
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Bracelet or Hook Fabric Strap
Price as shown- $1840
https://www.hanhart.com/produkt/aquasphere-freefall-blue-42mm-stahlband/
I have been a fan of Hanhart watches ever since I got my hands on one, which is probably over 8 years ago now, on loan from a friend of Watch Report, Chris Shortell. I believe it was the Monopusher chronograph and since then I have gone on to review many of their German-made watches, which are mainly pilots or field watches. If you know the brand, you know they have a long history of producing that style of watch, and the only time they dabbled in what was labeled as a diver, was the Hanhart Primus Diver. That watch was a large chronograph, very modern compared to the more traditional style of watches Hanhart produces, and it was a cool watch, but I wouldn’t say it was a true dive watch, more like a dive-inspired pilot watch.
The Primus Diver played a role in the design of this Hanhart Aquasphere though. They took some of the best elements of that watch and used it as a base for this new model, and incorporated some of the elements from that piece into this new 42mm dive watch. The first model to use this case was the Fly Navy Aquasphere, which like I said, was more pilot than diver, especially with the style of hands and overall dial layout, but this one Hanhart went all in on to produce something modern yet traditional, and taking the best of Hanhart and incorporating it into the future of the brand.
And make no mistake, I think the Hanhart Aquasphere is the future of the brand. I don’t mean they are going to switch to making all dive watches, that would be silly, but this is a more modern approach to case design than the brand has ever done before. While the case design with those cutouts is modern, Hanhart opted for what I consider a traditional dive watch look, with some unique touches. It’s somewhat hard to describe really. The cutout case and this new handset are not your usual dive watch design elements, but when you look at the watch as a whole, you see a traditional three-hand dive watch. One that is easily readable and legible from a glance, with a round fat bezel and a large screw-down crown.
As the specs above tell you, the Hanhart Aquasphere is not a dive watch on looks alone. This is a real dive watch with 300m of water resistance, a double gasket screw-down crown, a helium release value if you happen to be a saturation diver, and a bracelet with an old-school dive extension clasp. It also utilizes a 60-click unidirectional timing bezel, with a matte ceramic bezel insert and the signature Hanhart red bezel marker around the triangle.
Why 60 clicks? I am sure it was an informed choice, and as I said, I do not dive, but the main difference between the two is that immersion can be set to either the minute or the half minute, and some say that 60-click bezels have a more satisfying and tactile feel. This is not a loud ratcheting style bezel either, the clicks are softer yet the bezel stays in place where you put it. It’s not a hydraulic feeling bezel, but it is satisfying to turn.
The screw-down crown is pretty much flawless though in my opinion. Not sure how Hanhart did it, but at least in my example it is not only very easy to grip due to the channeling on the large crown but it is just so smooth when winding or screwing it back down. I handle and review a lot of watches and at $1,840 this is not what you call a very expensive watch, but this crown action is better than some watches twice its price, and yet the movement is a Sellita SW200-1. While I know it has been regulated and I am sure tested over and over, there was a lot of work done here to give the crown this type of feeling and feedback. And for those wondering, yes this is not a phantom crown either as Hanhart did a proper date delete.
The case sides are very interesting as well, and though Hanhart is not the first brand to do cutouts on the case, they opted not for a full cutout and did a partial one instead where they just kind of end and flow into the brushed finish. The inner parts are lightly blasted, and I dig the look, though I wonder if it would look better with a defined edge as opposed to the blednign transiontin, but either way, I dig it. It’s not functional at all nor does it make it a better dive watch, but it does give it a very distinct look. And true to Hanhart’s build quality, every part of the case is smooth to the touch with no rough edges at all.
The case back depicts an underwater scene and in a world of dive watches that have sea creatures and dive helmets, I love the simple scene on the Hanhart Aquasphere. The embossed scene has multiple finishes that make it pop, and while it is easy to see what this is, you don’t feel any of this artwork on your wrist.
The dial of the Hanhart Aquasphere is a thing of beauty in my opinion. The dial color is a somewhat faded blue, and this is both by choice as it’s called FreeFall blue, so more of an underwater blue, but also the dial texture plays a role in how this dial color comes off. Hanhart opted for a matte dial that matches the matte ceramic bezel and it’s possibly my two favorite details of the entire watch. I love dials that don’t reflect a lot of light and some may argue these dials are too plain, but I disagree.
The bling or pop factor comes from the large 12 on the dial and those rectangle indices, outlined in polished steel, and it’s one of the first things you notice about this dial. In combination with the bezel insert, it does have a very slight Breitling Superocean feel, the last-gen Superocean, but when you combine it with these massive and interesting-looking hours and minute hands, this dial is distinctly Hanhart. It’s uncluttered, has a great seconds hand tip, and there’s no date ruining that symmetry. Take a close look at those hands too, the tips have a frosted or blasted texture that matches the case side cutouts.
This new model comes with a choice of straps, you can get either the Hook fabric strap (for a few hundred less) or you can opt for the bracelet model as I have here. Both the bracelet and Hook strap were offered on the Fly Navy model, and I could be wrong, but the bracelet does seem to be the same style if not the same bracelet that was offered on the Hanhart 417 ES. Overall it is a solid bracelet, with thick wide links, and it’s very comfortable on my 7 1//2 inch (19.05cm) wrist and is easy to size with screw links.
The one area I feel could be improved would be the clasp. Don’t get me wrong, it’s completely functional and it looks nice enough if not a touch plain, but in 2024 many are expecting a clasp that either has a lot of micro-adjustment holes or one of the on-the-fly extension clasps. This does have an old-school dive extension though I have been told countless times that true divers don’t use bracelets but opt for rubber or long wrap-around straps if they choose to use a traditional dive watch for diving.
In the lume department, Hanhart used C1 Super-LumiNova and at first, I thought with a watch of this level, why didn’t they use C3 or the newest X1 C3? I am not sure what grade this is, or if it’s X1 anything, but I will say this, it lights up more than sufficiently and looks great in the dark, and it won’t be dimming for quite a few hours.
I have been waiting to share my thoughts on the Hanhart Aquashere for almost a month now. I was also honored to be one of the first to review this new dive watch, and what the brand is calling their first true dive watch. I don’t want to make more out of this than it is or overstate it, but I also don’t want to understate what Hanhart did here. Putting out a dive watch in a fiercely crowded market when you are not known for making dive watches is a risk.
I think the risk will pay off though, as this is an incredible-looking dive watch, with everything (okay, most everything) you could want out of a dive watch in 2024. I would like to see the clasp updated and in the video, I mentioned a COSC movement, but that is when I thought the price was much closer to $2,000 and some of the examples that do use a COSC SW200 are now priced over $2000. Here’s what I know. I love it. The case, the dial, the look and feel on the wrist. If you have been on the hunt for a new dive watch, this one is at the very least one to consider.
