When people talk about independent watch brands, independence is often presented as a bold statement.
A clear-cut decision.
Almost a manifesto.
The truth, at least for us, is far more simple - and far more honest.
PANOM didn’t start with a master plan to “stay independent at all costs.”
It started with a project we wanted to control, understand, and carry ourselves.
At the beginning, there were no partnerships to refuse.
No shortcuts offered.
No big doors to close.
There was just an idea, two people, and a watch we wanted to bring to life properly.
Independence as a necessity, not a strategy.
Very quickly, we realized something essential:
if we wanted PANOM to make sense, we needed time.
Time to learn.
Time to make mistakes.
Time to understand design, production, constraints, and compromises — not from slides or advice, but from experience.
Going too fast would have meant delegating decisions we weren’t ready to delegate.
Accepting solutions we didn’t fully understand.
Moving forward without truly knowing why.
So independence wasn’t a claim.
It was a condition.
A way to stay close to every decision, every doubt, every adjustment.
A way to make sure that nothing moved forward without meaning something to us.
Building before expanding
Today, PANOM is still small.
Deliberately.
We are learning how to produce.
How to communicate.
How to listen.
How to improve.
And we are doing it step by step, with TheHive as our foundation, our very first and major stone.
We know partnerships will come.
We know discussions with retailers, suppliers, and collaborators will happen — some already have.
But independence, for us, means something very simple:
not growing before we are ready,
not promising what we can’t deliver,
not multiplying projects before the first one is fully understood and mastered.
Freedom comes with responsibility.
Being independent doesn’t mean doing whatever we want.
Quite the opposite.
It means taking responsibility for every choice.
Every delay.
Every imperfection.
There is no one else to blame.
No structure to hide behind.
And strangely enough, that’s exactly what reassures us.
Because it keeps us honest.
With ourselves.
And with you.
PANOM is still at the beginning of its journey.
We’re not trying to define what it will become in ten years.
We’re simply making sure that every step we take today is solid enough to carry the next one.
One watch.
One decision.
One step at a time.
Thank you for being here.
Thank you for taking this journey with us.
Paul & Quentin
Co-founders of PANOM