Chciago has a new watch brand. Haim Watch Company has launched with its first watch, the Legacy Chronograph. As Haim details, the Legacy is “an ode to the past with a contemporary aesthetic that balances beauty and function.” With famous chronographs having been worn by notable pilots, race car drivers, and other professionals, the Legacy aims to capture this history in a modern form.
The Legacy Chronograph’s specs have everything you’d look for in a modern, go-anywhere-do-anything watch.
Legacy Chronograph Specs:
Case size: 39.5mm x 47mm (lug to lug)
Case thickness: 13mm
Case material: 316L marine-grade stainless steel
Crystal: Sapphire
Lug size: 20mm
Water resistance: 10 ATM (100 meters)
Hands: Superluminova luminous
Bracelet: 316L stainless steel “beads of rice” bracelet with security clasp and 4 levels of micro-adjustments.
Movement: ST1901 manual wind mechanical movement with column-wheel.
Power reserve: 42 Hours
As an ode to its “legacy” heritage, I love the choice of a column-wheel chronograph in the ST1901. It’s something of a successor to the Venus 175 chronograph. Back in the 1960s, Switzerland-based Venus sold the rights and machinery for this movement to Tianjin Seagull, making it the only direct descendant of the Venus 175. What’s better, the movement is affordable, easy to service, and on full display through the watch’s sapphire case back.
The most noticeable — and beautiful component of the Haim Legacy is the dial. The chronograph is available in two dial variants: Sky Panda (blue) and Reverse Hunter (green). Both feature a beautiful sunburst that catches the light in different ways at different angles. On the edge of the dial you’ll find a tachymeter and a pulsometer scale, both traditional scales that pay homage to chronographs of generations’ past. Both dial colors also feel totally unique to the market: I can’t think of another watch that features a vibrant, sky blue sunburst or a rich green color.
The contrasting subdials give the “panda” feel to each colorway, but the dial stays remarkably balanced, letting the sunburst finishing do most of the work. I’m on record saying that I often prefer two subdials instead of three because of the balance and symmetry it provides the dial; the Legacy Chronograph is a testament to that minimal beauty and balance.
Haim Watch Company was started by Zakir Miah (Haim is his surname spelled backwards); it originally started as a passion project, what he describes as an effort to create what he thought would be “the perfect watch.” Above all, Zakir is a watch enthusiast who loves watches; that passion comes through in the meticulously thought-out design of this first effort.
Having had an early preview of the watches, I can say they live up to their founder and designer’s lofty goals: at 39mm and fitted on a classic beads of rice bracelet, the watches wear like the vintage chronographs we often feature in the pages of Rescapement. But, with a robust modern movement, stainless steel case and all the other trappings of a modern watch, it’s a timepiece that is clearly designed and built to be enjoyed and worn. Further, the watch doesn’t feel derivative of the mid-century chronographs upon whose legacy it attempts to build; it’s a modern interpretation of classic watchmaking.
Pre-orders are now available at Haim Watch Company, with delivery expected by early 2021 at the latest. The Legacy Chronograph is priced at $399, delivered on bracelet; a Milanese bracelet is also included with purchase. You can also opt to purchase the pair (both the Sky Panda and Reverse Hunter) for $699.
Learn more at haimatchco.com, or follow them on Instagram @haimwatchco.