Update 6/29/22: In light of the recent Supreme Court decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, Haim has pledged to donate half of the profits of each watch sale to organizations providing financial and logistical aid to women who need abortion services.
Originally published November 20, 2021
If memory serves, I reviewed a green Haim Legacy back in March of this year. The mid-sized, vintage-style chronograph was nicely done and showed great promise for this new Chicago-based brand, so I was anxious to see what they would cook up next. Well, I didn’t have to wait long. Haim has two new watches open for pre-order, the revised Legacy SE chronograph and the all-new Descent dive watch. I’ve got prototypes of both on my desk for this review, and they are mighty impressive.
Legacy SE
I’ll start with the Legacy Special Edition because it is so damn pretty. Like the original Legacy, it has a domed and anti-reflective coated sapphire crystal, 100m water resistance, and a detailed dial with both tachymetre and heart rate indexes. This one is copper and, oh my God, just look at it!
The salmon/copper color range has been hot this year, and we have seen multiple variations at that end of the spectrum. Some lean pink, others orange. Haim calls this one “Copper River,” and it is perhaps the most coppery I have seen, like a newly-minted penny. Of course, different lighting will bring out different colors, but it just blazed to life in the golden hour sunbeam crossing my desk.
Check out the heat-blued hands and azure railroad minute track. Note too, the reddish-brown color of the chapter ring with its copper printing, the inverse of the colors printed on the dial. If for some reason, copper is not your thing, the SE can be had in a marvelous black and gilt “Midnight” version too.
While the layout is the same as the original Legacy, notable changes have raised the SE’s game. Where the first edition was flat and printed save for the hour markers, the new model has more texture and dimension. Sunray brushing gives way to a hammered finish in between the applied and polished hour markers. The numbers 12 and 6 are also applied.
One wouldn’t expect this style of chronograph to be a lume monster – and it isn’t – but it does have a useful SuperLuminova fill in the hands and numbers with a tiny pip behind each hour marker. It does the trick.
Tearing myself away from the dial, I turned to the brushed and polished case. It is 39.5mm wide, 47mm long, 13mm thick, and nearly identical to its predecessor but lacks crown guards, and I say bravo for that. They looked perfectly fine, but I found they interfered with my ability to use the crown. Obviously, I had no such issue with this version. It’s a good thing too, because with a hand-wound Seagull ST1901 inside, one needs to operate that crown every day or so.
This leads us to another difference. Haim is offering the SE in both mechanical and MechaQuartz versions. The latter uses Seiko’s excellent VK64 hybrid movement (quartz timekeeper, mechanical chrono module, best of both worlds), which shaves 2mm off the thickness and $50 off the Kickstarter price. Of course, this sacrifices both the ST1901’s mechanical charm and the view of its blue and gold decoration through the display caseback (the hybrid has a solid back, and to be fair, the VK64 isn’t much of a looker), but I think many buyers will find the tradeoff worthwhile. It’s also worth mentioning that the VK64 will only be offered during the Kickstarter campaign. Once funded, there will be no more, so MechaQuartz fans may very well be purchasing the more exclusive of the two SEs.
The Legacy SE will arrive on a 20mm leather strap with quick-release pins and an 18mm engraved buckle. On the Copper River, it was an oxblood color that paired beautifully with the dial and chapter ring. Haim will offer it in both standard (115/75mm) and short (105/60mm) lengths.
DESCENT
And now for something completely different. The Haim Descent is their take on a dive/tool watch, with a fancy touch or two tossed in for good measure. Please note that this Royal (blue dial) prototype was put together shortly before the Wind-up NYC show, and as such, it may be a little rough around the edges.
The Descent is a mid-sized watch, even more so than the Legacy. It measures 39mm wide, 45mm long, and 12mm thick. These compact dimensions appear to shink even tighter as the brushed steel bezel focuses your eye on the dial and the bowed and polished case sides make the edges disappear. It’s a tidy, compact package that wears especially well on smaller wrists like mine. A domed sapphire crystal with an anti-reflective coating tops it off.
My loaner arrived on a 20mm black leather strap like that on the Legacy, but the production model will also have a fitted rubber strap with quick-release pins. Leather straps are available in both regular and short sizes.
Given the name, you would expect the Descent to be dive-worthy, and you won’t be disappointed. It is good for 200m water resistance and boasts a helium release valve, which I guarantee you will never use, although it looks cool.
I can’t tell you too much about the bezel’s operation because I understand it is still being refined, but its “Duo-Bezel” appearance is fully developed and certainly unique in that it features both 60- and 12-unit markers on the same cardinal points so the top center is “60 ⋅ 12” and so on. It is a novel approach that allows you to use the bezel as either a 12-hour poor man’s GMT or a 60-minute timer.
It’s a clever take, but it does have its downsides. There is no lume pip or easily identifiable central marker, which makes orientation difficult, and although the engraved numbers are filled in black for legibility, it still requires a squint. I’d say this kills its diving utility, but then again, I don’t believe that is really what this watch is all about — and with that, let’s turn to the dial.
Haim went fancy on the Descent’s dial. It is multi-layered with a gold-on blue index that steps down to a hammered textured ring containing the rose-gilt, chisel-tipped, applied markers, which in turn, steps down to a guilloche center. Like the markers, hands are also rose gold and filled with SuperLuminova. Even in its slightly uneven prototype form, it glowed brightly.
It’s a pretty dial that is still highly legible and may yet be more so as that the surface around the markers may be toned down to reduce reflection further. Between the dial, the polished sides, and the unorthodox bezel, the Descent edges into dress-diver territory or at least dress-sport.
Inside is a premium Miyota 9039 automatic. Like the rest of the 9000 series, it is smooth (28.8k bph) and robust. This one has the advantage of being even slimmer. You get a view of it through the sapphire caseback, showcasing its custom rotor.
Purchase
If either the Descent or the Legacy SE have caught your attention, I’d suggest you head over to the Kickstarter page now, as the low intro prices are almost all gone. Early bird pricing started at $299 for the hybrid Legacy and $350 for the mechanical. Those ships have sailed, but the next tier of $250 and $400 is still available and still very appealing. [Update: as of this instant, one mechanical has popped up for $350 – move fast!] Expect a retail price of $525.
The Descent starts at $399, and only four remain at this price. It will jump up another $50 for the next tier. Full retail will be $600.
Whichever you choose, your purchase gets you your choice of watch and strap along with a leather watch roll. Package deals are also available.
I enjoyed both of these watches. Although I believe the Legacy SE is the more refined of the two, I do not doubt that the compact proportions, detailed dial, and Duo-Bezel of the Descent will attract a fair share of tool watch shoppers. The presale campaign ends November 26 at 10:00 am EST. For more, visit HaimWatchCo.com.
