A Watch with This High-End Feature Shouldn’t Be Anywhere Near This Cheap

I saw a whole lot of very cool watches this past weekend in Manhattan at the dueling watch shows of Windup Watch Fair and WatchTime New York.

Most came from the usual suspects, but one of the coolest — and almost certainly the most surprising — was the Annum from Haim. Haim is a Chicago-based microbrand that was founded in 2020, but the brand didn’t cross my radar until last year.

That was when I covered the Viajero, Haim’s dynamite-looking sub-$1,000 worldtimer. The watch was notable for incorporating a complication normally associated with haute horology pieces at a seriously affordable price.

But the Viajero isn’t the only affordable worldtimer on the market, so while notable, it wasn’t necessarily groundbreaking. The new Haim Annum, though? Well, it’s a bit more impressive.

Haim

Mark your calendars

In watchmaking, there are multiple levels of calendar complications. The most basic is your simple date function. Next is a day-date, which displays both the day of the week and the numerical day of the month.

Triple-date calendars, also called complete calendars, up the ante a bit more, incorporating the month, as well. It’s also common, but not necessary, for calendar watches at and above the triple-calendar level to also track the phases of the moon.

Haim

Triple calendar watches have long been a mainstay of high horology, especially among vintage watches, before annual and perpetual calendars became more commonplace. Some of the most sought-after vintage Rolex watches are triple calendars (and The Crown is currently rumored to be bringing them back).

Yet, somehow, Haim has come out with an affordable triple calendar of its own. Even more impressive, the brand did so by creating its own proprietary complete calendar module.

The Annum runs on the Haim Cal. HWC-2, a Miyota automatic movement topped with Haim’s custom complete calendar module. The module contains four subdials arranged symmetrically on the dial. The month is tracked at 12:00, the date at 3:00, the day at 9:00 and there’s even a moonphase display at 6:00.

Haim

Each of these subdials has its own dedicated pusher on the side of the case for adjusting (two on each side), so while it’s not the most elegant complete calendar mechanism out there, you’ll forgive that when you see the price.

Like the Viajero worldtimer, the Annum isn’t just mechanically impressive; it’s also damn good-looking. There are three dial variants at launch. Two are classically styled versions in blue and white with applied indices and CNC-machined guilloché dials.

The third — my favorite — is more contemporary with a smoked PVC glass dial giving you a view of that custom mechanical module. This one skips the applied indices to give more room to the translucent dial, but all three versions have the same leaf hands.

Mechanically impressive, good-looking … I know what you’re thinking. This thing must be a chonker, right? Wrong! The case dimensions are 38mm across, 45mm lug-to-lug and just 12mm thick. That’s pretty close to Goldilocks territory, if you ask me.

Speaking of the case, it’s stainless steel and features a mix of brushed and polished finishing, with at least some of that — according to Haim — being done by hand. The watch is equipped with fancy lugs inspired by the Cornes de Vache style seen on some vintage Vacheron Constantin references, and there’s a sapphire crystal up front and an exhibition caseback.

Through the rear of the watch, you get a nice view of the Cal. HWC-2 automatic movement. And, surprise, surprise, it’s decorated better than it has any right to be. There’s even some engraving on the balance cock and a customized gold-plated tungsten rotor designed to mimic a peripheral rotor; seriously impressive stuff.

Haim

The watch has just 30m of water resistance, but this is a calendar dress watch, so that’s to be expected. You wouldn’t want to get the strap wet, anyway, as it’s a quite nice handmade French Epsom leather strap with quick-release spring bars.

Pricing and availability

Now, for the best part. The Annum has a retail price of $2,150, which is incredible. But during the preorder window that begins on November 7, the watch will be available for only $1,650, which is just stupid. That’s a stupidly low price for this watch.

There was a lot of buzz surrounding the Annum at the fair, so I won’t be surprised if this first batch sells out pretty quickly. But fear not: Haim says the plan is for the Annum to be part of the brand’s permanent catalog.

Editor’s note: A prior version of this story referred to the Annum as an annual calendar based on information in the watch’s original press release. The brand has since updated its information to clarify that the Annum is a complete calendar watch and not an annual calendar.

Haim

Haim Annum

Specs

Case Size	38mm
Movement	Haim Cal. HWC-2 automatic complete calendar (Miyota base)
Water Resistance	30m

• $1,650 at Haim
  $2,150 (23% off)

Want to stay up to date on the latest product news and releases? Add Gear Patrol as a preferred source to ensure our independent journalism makes it to the top of your Google search results.

Related Topics