One of the things we’ve learned over the past two years:
Creating a watch is complex...
But creating a watch that truly reflects who we are, building a brand that means something, and doing it as a team of two - that’s a whole different challenge.
It’s not just about design, components, suppliers, or timelines.
It’s about accepting that there are two minds, two sensitivities, two visions - and trying to turn them into one coherent direction.
At first, we thought we needed the perfect method.
A clean, structured, almost academic process.
The truth?
We eventually realized that our strength lies in the opposite: less pragmatism, more intuition.
The duo: two personalities, one obsession
Working as a duo means accepting that nothing ever goes exactly as planned.
It means accepting that the other person will see what you don’t.
It means questioning what you thought was “final” just yesterday.
For us, it’s simple:
Paul
→ fast, structured, pragmatic
→ the operational eye - always asking: Is it doable? Is it reliable? Does it make sense in the chain?
Quentin
→ observant, sensitive, instinctive
→ the creative eye - always asking: Is it beautiful? Is it right? Does it tell a story?
On paper, that sounds easy.
In reality… let’s just say this combination sometimes creates sparks (the good kind - the ones that fuel the fire).
Because we don’t just want to make an object.
We want to create something powerful and meaningful - technically, aesthetically, and emotionally.
Our method (or rather, our non-method)
Over time, we’ve learned to accept that our creative process would never be a straight line.
It’s not:
Brief → Design → Prototype → Validation.
No, with us it’s more like this:
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We talk - a lot.
Sometimes over coffee, sometimes in the middle of the night, sometimes with no clear goal.
That’s when ideas sneak up on us. -
We question everything.
Absolutely everything.
A line, an angle, a texture, a color, an entire concept.
Nothing is sacred - everything is open for discussion. -
We sketch (and doodle).
On iPads, on laptops, in notebooks... on restaurant napkins too, if we’re being honest. -
We test.
The prototype arrives.
We turn it, wear it, live with it.
And sometimes... we start all over again. -
We feel.
That’s our only real criterion.
Not “Will people like it?”
But rather:
“Does it feel like us? Does it spark something? As clients ourselves, would we want to be part of this story?”
When the answer is yes, everything aligns.
When it’s no, we throw it away — mercilessly.
We’ve learned to listen to that inner no, even when it comes after three months of work.
Disagreements, doubts, and flashes of intuition
Let’s be honest:
Creating as a duo also means:
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endless debates,
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“let’s start over” moments we don’t want to hear,
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times when everything feels blurry,
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moments of complete disagreement.
But it also means:
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ideas suddenly unlocking,
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prototypes that feel like Christmas morning,
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late nights when everything finally makes sense,
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strange moments when the watch already exists in our minds — and all we’re doing is making it real.
Chaos is part of the process. So is discipline.
That mix is what gives PANOM its soul.
Why are we telling you this?
Because we want you to know that PANOM isn’t a machine producing objects.
It’s a human project, handcrafted in spirit, built with honesty.
Every decision, every adjustment, every detail is filtered through our minds, our instincts, our emotions - those of two passionate friends.
There’s no team of twenty people around a big table.
Just us - sometimes aligned, sometimes not, but always moving toward one goal:
To create a watch that exists for the right reasons.
Not to fill a market.
Not to follow a trend.
Not to just “look nice.”
But to tell a story.
To tell our story.
And hopefully, a little bit of yours too.
TheHive is our first act.
The next article will tell its origin story.
Thank you for being here.
Thank you for reading.
Thank you for being part of this — through the chaos and the victories (and hopefully many more to come).
Paul & Quentin