I first heard of Peren through my friend and unofficial watch scholar, Luigi Bonifacio. When I later checked out the website, I was immediately struck by the language. Not just the design language but also the actual words describing the pieces and the philosophy behind them.
It all felt both unique and timeless. Bold, but also very cerebral. In other words, perfect companions for an overthinking desk-diver like me who occasionally actually makes it outdoors. But as someone who generally aims to have fewer watches, not more, I managed to eventually resist the temptation and moved on.
In the Old Town
A few months later, hanging out at Dario’s, the young watchmaker in the old town, he introduced me to someone called Andy Bica. Andy had heard of this blog and we started chatting. After a while, I realized I was talking to the man behind Peren.
I switched to fanboy mode and Andy kindly walked me across the street to show me his workshop. A tiny room where he designs his watches, gathers the parts from various suppliers before bringing them to Dario’s for final assembly, and generally manages his business.
From Transylvania to Bienne
As we continued the conversation over coffee some time later, Andy told me there was nothing particularly interesting about his background. Looking at the depth of his watches – not the 200 meters but the actual sentiment they inspire – I couldn’t believe him. So I pressed a bit harder.
After growing up on a farm in Transylvania, Andy initially studied to become a priest. Then, he pivoted to almost becoming a spy. Yeah, all pretty standard stuff I guess. Finally, following his love for both a woman and watches, he moved to Switzerland.
A One Man Show
Like a horological version of a One-Man Band, Andy runs everything at Peren completely on his own. He not only conceives of and designs each watch, he also sources components from suppliers, looks after their production over at Dario’s or specialized partners, runs the website and literally handles each shipment.
Collector Perspectives
Many people fantasize about owning a watch made by an independent. And by independent, in today’s watch world, we typically mean a small brand with unique, highly hand-finished movements, and equally high prices.
Personally, as much as I admire the quality and craft of so many such pieces, I’ve never felt the desire to own one. Even finances aside. Why? I like to think of a very high end watch as almost eternal. That means being able to pass it on to the next generation, knowing they’ll easily be able to have it serviced and hand it over to the generation after.
Unfortunately, for the vast majority of “independents” today, I just don’t have sufficient confidence that will be possible. We’ve seen how volatile the watch market is. We’ve seen how so many independents have grown like mushrooms with the current trend of being sold out before the first watch is ever made. I’m just too worried the tables could turn back as quickly to ever consider placing the cost of a car better than mine into a timepiece produced with unique components by a company that may no longer exist by the time I retire.
Micro-brand or Independent?
Now back to Peren. Many would refer to Peren as a micro-brand. I’ve never liked that term. It’s just unattractive. It evokes hype, Instagram, short term, lack of soul. Some brands out there I would precisely refer to as micro-brands because what I just listed best describes them. But others deserve better.
Peren, founded in 2014, is a fairly recent brand. But its vision is long term. Andy plans for it to be around until he retires (and he’s a lot younger than me), and beyond. It’s called Peren for a reason, after all. It may be small, but it’s not micro. At least, it doesn’t operate out of a micro mindset.
Peren in fact has more in common with many independents than it does with many micro-brands. While the watches cost one hundred times less than what most independents ask for today, each piece is the child of a single soul having conceived it and carefully looked after every step until it reaches your wrist. Bonus, the standard Sellita movements will be easily serviceable around the globe for decades to come.
Of course, many components outside the movement have been produced thousands of miles East of Andy’s work station in Bienne, just like most other “Swiss” watches under 10k. But if they don’t come out exactly as Andy intended them, he will send every one of them back. The benefit of such passion combined with the small quantities produced is that even at Peren’s price point, you get the obsessive attention to detail that anyone should expect in a respectable mechanical Swiss watch. Andy actually showed me his after-sales dashboard and the number of returns is arguably the most “micro” aspect of Peren.
Plat du Jour
A bit like those restaurants with only a few freshly made dishes on the menu, Andy’s catalogue is tiny. Eight models are displayed on his site, four of which are fully sold out. At just under one thousand US dollars, they’re considered very affordable for a high quality Swiss Made automatic watch. But let’s not forget: that’s still luxury. A $20 Casio will tell you more precise time, and won’t need a service every few years.
Somewhere between a micro-brand and an independent, I like to think of Peren as an affordable independent. Unique character, a single human soul poured into each step from the pencil to the wrist, and something most of us can afford as a treat, even if we don’t really need it.
Top Performer at the Charity Watch Sale
Peren has also been an inspiration for the Charity Watch Sale for Terre des hommes. The one of one Nera Rogue with a light blue dial Andy contributed sold for twice the estimate. To all of us organizing the event, it was an eye opener into how much even a single component change making the watch unique could impact the hammer price, and thus the funds we can raise for the children supported by the NGO. Watch this space for how we aim to put this learning into practice for the 2026 edition.
Coffee, and My Watch
In three days from now, Andy and I will have coffee again at Farel. He’ll be handing me the Nera Rogue X I ordered before the holiday break. The way he kept me posted on every step of production has further sparked my enthusiasm and impatience to hold it. While not as cool as a watch, I’ll also surprise him with a copy of this article before publishing it later in the week – and ask for a few photos to illustrate it. Update: as you can see in the picture I took above, the fanboy in me asked Andy to autograph the warranty card. Oh, and I’m even happier than expected with the watch.
You can find out more about Andy and Peren watches by visiting the website.
All photos courtesy of Peren
