lhooq Posted June 16, 2010 Report Share Posted June 16, 2010 I bought this one last year, before I was an RWG regular. It's a Poljot factory replica of the early-WW2 (i.e. pre-B-uhr) Hanhart pilot's watch. Alternatively, it can be viewed as a re-branded Poljot Kirova, which is a modern reissue of the First Moscow Watch Factory Kirova, which was a post-war watch manufactured using equipment appropriated from Glashutte Tutima, which produced a similar -and many say superior- chronograph to the Hanhart. Confused? In a nutshell, the Red Army brought this German chronograph back to the Soviet Union as spoils of war. The earlier 1MWFs were even powered by Russian clones of the UROFA 58/59, which was the beautiful and legendary chrono movement of the Glashutte Group. By the time the reissues were released in the 1990s, Poljot (renamed from 1MWF in the 1960s, in honor of Yuri Gagarin) was committed to its workhorse movement, the manual-wind 3133: Look familiar? It's a licensed clone of the Valjoux 7734, if, by clone, you mean, "superficially similar, but with no interchangeable parts whatsoever, and there's no way in hell you can use this in your Tudor Monte Carlo rep." Not long after the Kirova reissues emerged, someone at Poljot had the bright idea of re-dialing the watches to incorporate vanquished brands e.g. Hanhart, Tutima, even Junghans (Poljot made a decent copy of the Cal.88 chrono, as used by the post-war Luftwaffe). Unfortunately for Poljot, these brands had survived the separation and reunification of Germany, and were preparing to increase their own watch production. The Russians may have defeated Paulus and Manstein, but international copyright law is something else; there's a reason why fake Rolexes are assembled in small backrooms in China! Anyway, this is pure speculation on my part as no details of any legal action have ever been revealed. So enough with the history lessons and on with the rep. The watch is by no means a perfect rep of any vintage or modern Hanhart, but it's a simple, satisfying design that's very evocative of its era. The case is well-finished, and the polished coin-edge bezel looks spectacular. The 3133 movement is near-bombproof, and it winds smoother than any other watch I have. The strap that came with the watch was, like those on many of our Chinese reps, crap, so I replaced it with a reasonably priced, untreated leather Flieger strap from Stowa. However, there were still a couple of things that bugged me about this rep: First was the flat glass, which looked too modern for something so steeped in the 1930s. Second was the puke-green and weak-ass lume, particularly on the hands, which ought to be brighter than everything else! The greenness of the lume may not be so obvious in the pictures above, but trust me: it wasn't pretty. You may have seen Goin's threads on the Panerai forum. I'd never considered a relume before, but 1) Goin was in Taiwan, which is basically in my neighborhood and 2) the work he did on those sausage dials looked really good. I contacted him about fixing my green Hanhart and possibly replacing the flat mineral glass with a plexiglas dome I'd ordered from Ofrei. He delivered on both requests: This is a tricky dial, with many more digits than any Panerai, but the application was precise. In the dark, the lume shines as brightly as the indices on my gen Speedmaster: If you ever considered a relume, do send Goin a message. For now, this Hanhart is going back on my wrist. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1976 Posted June 16, 2010 Report Share Posted June 16, 2010 I love it,as i always loved poljot. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gran Posted June 16, 2010 Report Share Posted June 16, 2010 wow Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
redwatch Posted June 16, 2010 Report Share Posted June 16, 2010 Look familiar? It's a licensed clone of the Valjoux 7734, if, by clone, you mean, "superficially similar, but with no interchangeable parts whatsoever, and there's no way in hell you can use this in your Tudor Monte Carlo rep." Did you originally buy this in the hopes of a movement transplant? That is one beautiful watch!! I've been quite impressed by Goin's re-lume jobs as of late. The Grey themes re-lume he's been doing looks awesome! Nice find LH! Wear it well!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chrgod Posted June 16, 2010 Report Share Posted June 16, 2010 Great read, and a beautiful watch! The mods really makes it stand out! I have been viewing these Russian Hanhart and Tutima reps for a while. There is one seller on eBay who have them, but there are some variations in quality. Some are with date, and the dial varies. I regret not jumping on one he had a while back, with the correct brushed case.. Thanks for the excellent photos, they are the best I have seen of this rep..Guess iI have to go back to eBay. I made a topic some months ago on this: Hanhart and Tutima replicas! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lhooq Posted June 17, 2010 Author Report Share Posted June 17, 2010 Did you originally buy this in the hopes of a movement transplant? Not at all. My interest in this type of watch actually predates any love I developed for old Tudors--I got that from hanging around you lot! For most of 2008, my dream watch was a TAG-Heuer Targa Florio. This Poljot/Hanhart was a pretty close substitute at a fraction of the price. That said, you do see Russian chronos selling on eBay for peanuts, while even the ugliest 7734s are now going for $200 minimum. A cheap alternative to genuine Valjoux would have been nice, but someone on Timezone made a good comparison of the two movements and concluded that straight swaps would be impossible. I have been viewing these Russian Hanhart and Tutima reps for a while. There is one seller on eBay who have them, but there are some variations in quality. Some are with date, and the dial varies. I regret not jumping on one he had a while back, with the correct brushed case.. I got mine from RusCamera Store on eBay exactly one year ago. I believe he still has the one you're looking for (which does look a lot more like the old nickel/brass cases), but it's selling for a ridiculous $500. A few months ago it was listing at $289, and there's no way a brushed finish, red reset button and display back are worth that much extra. His stock does change from month-to-month, so I'd keep watching. I think the best option for now is the tachy/tele Hanhart, which is reasonably close to the gen, save for that ugly date window. I like the West German Junghans, too. I wish I'd seen your thread two years ago! I was scouring eBay for any "poljot hanhart" and "poljot tutima" hits for months (and nearly overbid for a second-hand model) before I stumbled upon RusCamera. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hackR Posted June 17, 2010 Report Share Posted June 17, 2010 this is really well done...information and pix... serious thanks for sharing this...beautiful watch and truly amazing mods... i miss my poljot 3133...a workhorse and nice looking movement... wear it well!... R- Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OSRep Posted June 26, 2010 Report Share Posted June 26, 2010 this is really well done...information and pix... serious thanks for sharing this...beautiful watch and truly amazing mods... Well said hackR.......I really like the vintage look of this watch, coin edge bezel, the lumed indices.......beautiful watch!!!!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pam027 Posted June 28, 2010 Report Share Posted June 28, 2010 What did you pay for the mods? I have one of the brushed case, red pusher and no date Hanharts with a 3133 left. And yes, it is a bit greenish in the numbers. Unless I don Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lhooq Posted March 8, 2011 Author Report Share Posted March 8, 2011 I was very lucky to find this buckle for just a few dollars. Such a tiny piece of hardware, but what a nice improvement to the rear view! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chiman12 Posted March 8, 2011 Report Share Posted March 8, 2011 Very nice M! Now I'm going to have to get all three variations from ruscamera...maybe the Tutima also...maybe! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lhooq Posted March 9, 2011 Author Report Share Posted March 9, 2011 Not only does the newer batch of Hanharts include the correct hands, white lume, domed crystal, and a matte-finish case, but I just discovered that the subdials are now (correctly) recessed, too. Very tempted to get another one. Unfortunately, the Junghans J88 rep seems to have disappeared. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pam027 Posted March 17, 2011 Report Share Posted March 17, 2011 I haven´t seen any with recessed subdials or do you mean the ones with date? Still the numbers are too fat, but the hands look good now. I found a dialmaker in Italy who is reprinting the gen Hanhart dials and also can make new dials. You will find infos in the German Military Watch Forum. cheers Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lhooq Posted March 17, 2011 Author Report Share Posted March 17, 2011 I haven´t seen any with recessed subdials or do you mean the ones with date? The ~$300 watches like this one have recessed dials, believe it or not. It's completely undetectable in the pictures of that listing, but a friend at RWI recently bought one and posted a closeup shot for a wrist-check. The indentation of the subdials was clear to see. I'll try to locate that picture. When you say reprinting gen dials, do you mean from the current Hanhart lineup or dials from the 1930s and 1940s? I would love to get a dial with the old, thin 'Hanhart' script! Better yet, I could really go for a dial with a proper snail tachymeter. The Poljot rep is ruined by the chunky numerals, and that date at 6. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mrboombasteke Posted March 17, 2011 Report Share Posted March 17, 2011 @LHOOQ: OMG! Thanks for resurrecting this very informative thread. I like these a lot esp with the 3133! Are you able to disclose your source for the buckle? I might have to get one of these...just don't know enough about them...yet. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lhooq Posted March 17, 2011 Author Report Share Posted March 17, 2011 Are you able to disclose your source for the buckle? It was a Timezone FS listing, though the buckles are readily available from Hanhart USA's website. Thing is, $20 for a signed buckle was a no-brainer for me. But $65 for a buckle... that's an entirely different proposition! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TK471 Posted March 17, 2011 Report Share Posted March 17, 2011 Simply gorgeous. I want one!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pam027 Posted March 21, 2011 Report Share Posted March 21, 2011 The ~$300 watches like this one have recessed dials, believe it or not. It's completely undetectable in the pictures of that listing, but a friend at RWI recently bought one and posted a closeup shot for a wrist-check. The indentation of the subdials was clear to see. I'll try to locate that picture. When you say reprinting gen dials, do you mean from the current Hanhart lineup or dials from the 1930s and 1940s? I would love to get a dial with the old, thin 'Hanhart' script! Better yet, I could really go for a dial with a proper snail tachymeter. The Poljot rep is ruined by the chunky numerals, and that date at 6. Yes, he is reprinting the dials from the 1940ies or just making new "looking old" ones. There are some pictures of his work in the other forum. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lhooq Posted January 20, 2014 Author Report Share Posted January 20, 2014 After nearly four years since this thread began, how about an update? Some of you already know that I was finally able to find the Junghans fliegerchronograph that I mentioned several times on this page. During the long search for that watch, I also had a couple of near-misses for Hanharts--one for a wartime example, and the other for a post-war Hanhart 417 (aka one of Steve McQueen's real favorites). Unfortunately, prices for all vintage Hanharts have been steadily rising since then, so it's unlikely that I'll be adding one to my collection anytime soon. Too bad, as they're lovely watches. How lovely? One of my friends has an amazing collection of vintage watches. It's mostly old Rolex, but also includes several Heuer Bunds and, more pertinently, a Hanhart 417 ES. The 'ES' denotes the rarer stainless steel model, as everything that came before was made of nickel-plated brass. I took a few pictures of his watches, along with my Junghans and my old Poljot rep. The Poljot-Hanhart scores low in terms of outright accuracy, but it hits the right notes. A good view of the difference in case profile and finish. It really does look a lot older than most watches from the mid 1950s: Wears comfortably on the wrist. Three generations of Bundesluftwaffe chronographs. Too bad we couldn't find someone with a Lemania 5100-powered Orfina or Tutima to complete the series. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xpletiv Posted January 21, 2014 Report Share Posted January 21, 2014 Nice! Me sooooooooo want! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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