Haim Annum: An Annual Calendar for the Microbrand Era

Microbrand watches have long punched above their weight on value, materials, and thoughtful design, but most still color inside the lines set by off the shelf movements. The Haim Annum redraws those lines. Built by the Chicago based Haim Watch Company to mark its fifth anniversary, the Annum adds a genuinely uncommon feature set to the microbrand landscape: a fully integrated annual calendar paired with a moonphase, delivered in a compact 38 mm case and finished with flourishes usually reserved for pricier pieces. If you have been waiting for a small maker to take a serious swing at calendar complications without drifting into fantasy pricing, this is that swing.

Annual calendar, explained the clear way

An annual calendar automatically knows the length of each month from January through December except for February in leap years.

In daily life that means far fewer date corrections than a standard date watch, and only one manual adjustment needed each year on March 1. A perpetual calendar goes further by tracking leap years too, but it is dramatically more complex to engineer and to service. The Annum opts for the sweet spot of practicality and ambition. For most owners, the differentiation that matters is simple: this watch handles month length changes for you all year and asks for a moment of attention once annually.

The movement: HWC 2 on a Miyota 9000 backbone

Under the hood is Caliber HWC 2, a customized automatic built atop Miyota’s proven 9000 series architecture

. That foundation brings modern specs 28,800 vibrations per hour for a smooth four hertz sweep and a 42 hour power reserve for real world reliability. Haim adds its own annual calendar module plus a classical moonphase, then dresses the whole assembly with finishing touches that aim to delight through the display back.

Look closely and you will see radially oriented striping across the upper plates, blued screws, and a balance cock with delicate gold filigree. The centerpiece, though, is the rotor treatment. Instead of a typical half moon weight, Haim uses a gold plated tungsten mass fastened to the winding assembly via a transparent disc. The effect is striking. You get the visual drama of a peripheral style rotor without the packaging burden of a true peripheral system, and you retain an uncluttered view of plates and bridges as the weight orbits.

It is a savvy way to elevate a familiar base caliber without overpromising or compromising reliability.

Case and control layout

The Annum’s stainless steel case measures 38 mm in diameter, 12 mm thick, and spans 45 mm lug to lug with a 20 mm strap width. The silhouette nods to cornes de vache style lugs, sharpened into a modern, slightly architectural interpretation that frames the round case middle. Surfaces alternate between brushing and polish to break up the mass, and a flat sapphire crystal with multiple layers of anti reflective coating caps the dial. Around the flank you get a signed crown flanked by four discrete pushers used to set the calendar indications and moonphase. Water resistance is rated to 30 meters. That is desk diving territory rather than pool party readiness, but perfectly adequate for incidental contact and everyday life.

Three dial personalities

Haim launches the Annum with a trio of dials that carry the same information but project distinct moods. Dark Cobalt and Stone White lean classic, each using a traditional solid construction that mixes a grain textured chapter with a CNC cut guilloche style center. Indices are crisply applied, calendar apertures are neatly framed, and the moonphase aperture sits like a little stage for the lunar disc. The Fumee option goes in the opposite direction with smoked translucent PVC that exposes the calendar module beneath. It is the conversation starter of the group, the one that will divide opinions in exactly the way a statement dial should.

Every version ships on a hand made two piece strap cut from French Epsom leather, color matched to the dial personality dark gray, blue, or light gray respectively

. The choice suits the refined tone of the watch, though a fitted bracelet option would likely broaden appeal for those who live on steel.

On the wrist

Photographs can render the mid case as a little slab sided, but the numbers tell a more forgiving story. At 12 mm tall, this is not a wafer, yet the profile is reasonable given the mechanical stack of an automatic with a calendar module and display back. The compact 38 mm diameter and restrained 45 mm span mean most wrists will find a centered, tidy fit. The curved lugs help the head hug the wrist rather than teeter on top of it. Pushers are small enough to avoid snagging a cuff and large enough to use without a toothpick.

Value case study and the microbrand moment

Two realities can be true at once. First, building and finishing complex calendar movements at scale is hard, and large Swiss maisons have historically charged accordingly. Second, the modern supply chain plus creative engineering lets small companies deliver meaningful complications at more approachable prices than we saw a decade ago. The Annum sits squarely in that second reality. With an official retail of 2,149.99 USD and an early reservation price of 1,649.99 USD at launch, it lands on the affordable side of the annual calendar spectrum while still paying attention to finishing, design coherence, and everyday wearability.

Does that mean microbrands have proven that everyone else was simply profiteering Perhaps not; industrialization and global service networks still cost money. But the Annum is compelling evidence that the once rarefied annual calendar no longer needs to be gated behind five figure price tags. The movement choice also telegraphs long term sanity. A Miyota base means parts availability and service familiarity should remain far less intimidating than exotic boutique calibers, even with the added calendar module on top.

Critique and wish list

No watch is above critique, and the Annum invites a few. Some will find none of the three dials emotionally irresistible, preferring bolder colorways or more dramatic textures. The smoked Fumee dial is polarizing by design, the classic duo is handsome but conservative. Water resistance at 30 meters is functional yet modest, and a bracelet option out of the gate would have made the proposition even stronger. Finally, while the pushers preserve visual tidiness, an owner must still learn the correct sequence for setting indications to avoid misalignments a quirk shared by many calendar watches.

None of these points undermine what Haim has achieved here. The finishing step up over typical microbrand fare is obvious through the caseback, the calendar execution is useful in daily life, and the size lands in that current sweet spot where dress and casual can overlap. If Haim continues to build recognition beyond its early chronograph successes, the Annum will read as a confidence statement a proof that the brand can design outside the usual playbook without losing touch with reality.

Key specifications

• Movement: Caliber HWC 2, based on Miyota 9000 series, automatic, 28,800 vph, approximately 42 hours of power reserve, annual calendar and moonphase
• Case: Stainless steel, 38 mm diameter, 12 mm thickness, 45 mm lug to lug, 20 mm lug width
• Crystal: Flat sapphire with multi layer anti reflective treatment
• Water resistance: 30 meters
• Functions: Hours, minutes, seconds, annual calendar with day date month, moonphase
• Dials: Dark Cobalt, Stone White, Fumee smoked translucent
• Straps: French Epsom leather, color matched
• Pricing and availability: Retail 2,149.99 USD; early reservation price 1,649.99 USD; orders open November 7, 2025

Bottom line

The Haim Annum is not the first annual calendar outside Switzerland, but it is one of the rare microbrand executions that balances ambition, finishing, and everyday practicality. It feels like a watch designed by enthusiasts who understand the difference between headline features and the small details that make ownership pleasant the rotor illusion, the careful pushers, the compact footprint. If the dial that sings to you is here and the modest water rating fits your lifestyle, this is a milestone piece that broadens what we can expect from independent makers in 2025 and beyond.