By Brent Robillard
When History Learns a New Trick
Every Hanhart chronograph tells a story, but some feel as though they’re in conversation with their own past. The new Red Lion Mk II—a 200-piece collaboration with TGV of The Urban Gentry and his design studio, Gentry Labs—is exactly that kind of watch. It isn’t a remake or a reissue; it’s a thought experiment made metal: What if the 417 ES, the legendary pilot’s chronograph, had been allowed to evolve naturally into the 21st century?
Hanhart’s answer comes in the shape of a compact 39 mm steel chronograph that leans confidently into utility. The design language is unmistakably rooted in the historic 417 ES, but here that DNA has been sharpened, clarified, and pushed forward—an everyday instrument built from the logic of real-world use.
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A Familiar Face, Reimagined for Function
You see the evolution immediately in the dial. The matte black surface is intentionally distraction-free, with crisp white Arabic numerals and the vintage Hanhart signature at noon. But the eye is drawn to the oversized 30-minute counter at 3 o’clock—a deliberate “Big Eye” that places the chronograph’s most important readout front and centre. Its red-tipped chronograph hand, coated in Super-LumiNova C1 X2, jumps sharply against the dial.
Legibility, always a Hanhart hallmark, is the watch’s governing principle. Hours, minutes, and seconds glow cleanly after dark thanks to Super-LumiNova C1 X2 across the handset and numerals. Even the date window at 6 o’clock is discreetly integrated—useful, but never distracting.
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A 12-Hour Bezel With a Pilot’s Sense of Pragmatism
Where the Red Lion Mk II distances itself from its ancestor is in its bezel. It’s still stainless steel, still grippy, and still bi-directional—but now it clicks precisely through 24 positions. That subtle redesign transforms it into an intuitive, tactile way of tracking a second time zone. There’s no GMT hand here, no visual clutter—just a simple “GMT-light” system that works exactly the way pilots have used 12-hour bezels for decades. Rotate according to the offset, read the time at a glance, carry on with your day.
It’s the kind of solution that feels almost too straightforward in an era of complications layered for their own sake. Yet it’s deeply functional.
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The Beating Heart: A Flyback Built to Be Used
Flip the watch over and the mechanical scene changes from stark instrumentality to elegant engineering. Beneath a sapphire exhibition back—the “Gentry Labs Watermark” barely visible unless you know to look—beats the hand-wound Sellita AMT5100 M. It’s a column-wheel flyback calibre, regulated by Hanhart to run between 0 and +8 seconds per day.
It’s robust, it’s shock-resistant, and it delivers a 58-hour power reserve. But more importantly, it preserves the functional soul of the 417 ES. A flyback chronograph isn’t a luxury here; it’s a tool for those who measure back-to-back intervals on the fly. There’s a directness to the action that suits the watch’s character.
And yes—the red pusher is present, rendered in HyCeram® with the same blend of lore and practicality that has defined it since the mid-century: a bright reminder not to reset your timing mid-mission, and a symbol of Hanhart’s most endearing bit of mythology.
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Built for the Day-to-Day, Not the Display Case
At 39 mm wide, 13.6 mm tall, and 46 mm lug-to-lug, the Red Lion Mk II sits in that sweet spot where vintage proportions meet modern presence. The case is a mix of brushed and polished surfaces, capped with a highly domed sapphire crystal that reads cleanly from any angle thanks to double-sided anti-reflective coating.
Ten-bar water resistance, DIN 8310 compliance, shockproof construction, and a choice of either a stainless-steel bracelet or an FKM rubber strap round out the package. The rubber option is especially compelling—FKM is a material more at home in aerospace and automotive engineering than in weekend wear, and its comfort and durability are immediately apparent.
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Final Thoughts, Pricing & Availability
This isn’t the first Red Lion. The original was one of the earliest special editions of the modern 417 ES era. But the Mk II feels less like a continuation and more like a conversation—the moment when Hanhart and Gentry Labs ask not what the past can reproduce, but what the past can inspire.
The result is a chronograph that feels purposeful, technically mature, and unmistakably Hanhart. A watch that respects the silhouette of its ancestor but refuses to be defined solely by nostalgia. A watch that understands the romance of history only matters when paired with the logic of modern function.
Only 200 examples will exist. It is available from the brand website: $4 445 CAD on the bracelet and $4148 CAD on the FKM rubber. All orders received before December 10th will ship before Christmas!
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About the author
Brent Robillard is a writer, educator, craftsman, and watch enthusiast. He is the author of four novels. You can follow him on Instagram.
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