Press release
Hanhart is the only watch brand in the world to use a certain kind of nickel-free stainless steel for its wrist chronograph cases. This steel has been treated using a special finishing process, making it extremely hard and therefore improving its scratch resistance by more than 10,000%. The use of this finishing process is patented for the watch- and jewellery making industry under the brand name HDSPro®.
Hanhart is an undisputed specialist in producing robust and hard-wearing instrument watches for use in the air, on the land and on the sea. In extreme cases, these timepieces may be put under high levels of stress as they help guide their users safely and reliably through whatever challenges they face. This is why the Swiss-German watch brand has opted to use HDSPro® steel for the cases of its mechanical chronographs in the future, making it the first manufacturer in the watch industry across the world to do so. This steel offers the perfect combination of hardness, resistance to corrosion and nickel-free composition.
An innovative finishing process gives the watch case a surface structure that is at least three times tougher than before. Compared to the varieties of stainless steel previously used, this results in a more than 100-fold, and thus more than 10,000%, improvement in scratch resistance. This means that watches that are put under a lot of stress will look as good as new even after years of wear! Aside from its exceptional scratch resistance, this processed steel is also distinguished by its outstanding resistance to corrosion, which is comparable with any of the highest quality stainless steels available. Since the steel is not coated during the finishing process, the authentic look and feel of the material is retained and, moreover, there is no risk of chipping any layers of coating that have been applied.
Last but not least, this steel does not contain any nickel, so watch cases made from this material do not pose any known allergy risk.
The first Hanhart watches with cases made from scratch-resistant and nickelfree HDSPro® stainless steel are due to be launched in 2012.
The properties of Hanhart's new scratch-resistant and nickel-free case steel at a glance:
