Hands-On: the Haim Viajero Worldtimer

I’ll be honest, I started off my experience with the new Viajero coming from a pretty far off and distant place. No, not some cool and remote corner of the world, but as a person who was largely unfamiliar with both Haim as a brand and also the concept of a worldtimer. While I have a GMT in my personal collection, the idea of tracking several time zones via a worldtimer never seemed like something on my radar. Am I classy enough for this? Is a worldtimer even worth the typically large price tag that they command? I remember seeing an Omega worldtimer that was pretty cool…oh right, that’s pushing $10k and not exactly at the top of my spend-ten-thousand-dollars-on-a-watch list. 

When the Haim Viajero came across my desk, the first thing I thought was how interesting it is to get a worldtimer complication for a fair amount under a thousand bucks, and that’s exactly what the watch accomplishes. Pack your carryon and prepare for a few layovers, we’re going worldtiming.

Case

A 38.5mm diameter is a pretty nice spot to be if you’re a watch case. It often hits that goldilocks “just right” feeling, especially on my 6.75” wrist. At 45.5mm lug-to-lug and12mm tall, the watch is firmly in mid-sized territory. The Viajero is largely circular from the top down, featuring lugs that borrow heavily from the celebrated Vacheron Constantine “Cornes de Vache”. The result is nice and clean, and it looks as though the sharp, yet curved lugs are holding up the case in an elegant manner. In profile, the mid case makes up the majority of the thickness with the crystal and bezel taking up some room up top, while the display case back hangs slightly below. The case features a mix of polished surfaces with some light brushing on the bezel that provides some nice contrast to the watch. 

On the right side of the case, you’ll see the main crown for adjusting the time and at 10 o’clock, another crown that rotates the inner bezel that’s imprinted with cities from across the globe. The main crown operates like a GMT movement, but we’ll talk more about that later. It doesn’t turn a fourth hand, but instead is mated to the internal rotating hour bezel. I will say that the crown at 10 for the internal rotating bezel is a little tough to use. It’s small and pretty stiff, which can end in a case of sore fingers if you have to use it a lot. 

Dial + Hands

There’s a lot going on when it comes to the dial. We’re going to start in the middle and work our way out. At the center of the dial is a 3D relief of the globe. There are Roman numerals at the cardinal numbers with small gold dots making up the space in between. A set of protractor-inspired hands are present for the hour and minute and are rendered in a shade of gold to match the indices on the dial. The branding on the watch is extremely subtle, with the brand and “Chicago, IL” spelled out in a subtle script at the very bottom of the dial. Moving further out, there’s a bi-color 24-hour wheel, and finally a rotating bezel that features 24 different cities. There’s a lot going on, but the elements are balanced out. 

There are some things about the dial that admittedly aren’t the highest of quality. When you get up close, it’s hard to tell if the 3D relief is meant to look like watercolor or if it’s of poor printing quality. The handset is quite rough around the edges and isn’t super easy to read unless the light hits just right. Print quality on the outer rotating bezel is not very crisp and appears spotty in some parts. I understand that we’re talking about a watch that starts well under $1,000, but I’ve seen many other brands in this price bracket achieve a higher quality finish on the dial and hands. 

Reading the dial is pretty straightforward once you get the hang of it. The hand set points to the current hours and minutes. When setting the watch, you put your home city at 12 o’clock (in my case, New York) and then the 24-hour disc can be lined up with each city to tell the time it currently is there. For example, the main hours in the photo below read 2:35pm. The 24-hour bezel shows halfway between 14 and 15. If you wanted to know the time in Tokyo, it’s currently between 4 and 5am. It took me a little while to get the hang of setting it, but once I understood how it worked, it was smooth sailing. I found the complication to be super fun, even more so than a standard GMT. 

Movement

Inside the Viajero is the Seiko-made NH34A GMT movement that’s been modified to show the world time as opposed to a fourth GMT hand. Instead of being mated to a 24-hour hand, the gearing is attached to the 24-hour dial that rotates as the hour hand moves. It’s a really neat way of achieving worldtimer functionality with an off-the-shelf movement that’s proven affordable and reliable. 

The movement still beats away at 21,600 bph with a 41-hour power reserve. It can be hand wound or stay topped off via the movement of your wrist, courtesy of the custom globe-shaped rotor. It was a great move for Haim to use this movement, which certainly helps keep that price point attainable for many. 

Strap + Wearability

My review sample of the Viajero came equipped with the French Epsom leather bracelet with a signed clasp. It’s a high quality strap and both looks and feels premium. On the wrist, the Viajero is easy to wear. It’s a great size and thickness and the slight heft is enough to know that you have a watch on, but not so much that your wrist feels weighed down. I found that after wearing the watch for a short while, you kind of forget it’s even there. It’s not that it’s super thin or anything, but it is definitely comfortable and easy to wear. 

Conclusion

The Viajero from Haim isn’t a perfect watch, but it has a lot to like. The fun complication and clever integration of a GMT movement really make it shine. Sure, the dial and furnishings could benefit from a bit more quality printing and some cleaner edges, but at $699 on pre-order, I don’t think the fit and finish are too out of line. 

The Viajero launches today with a pre-order period beginning on July 26 via the Haim Watches website (delivery is expected in August/September). If you’ve been worldtimer-curious but afraid to drop serious cash on the complication, the Viajero is definitely a great way to get into it without breaking the bank. If you find this watch intriguing, some other great places to start would be the Farer Roché (not the candy), or the Ball Trainmaster. Haim

Editor’s Note: Haim informs us the watch reviewed here is a prototype and that finishing flaws have been corrected on the production version.