Introducing the Peren Nera, a Value-Packed Watch Now Available on Kickstarter

It can feel like a real slog to trudge past the marketing blather and hype and get to the guts of a Kickstarter campaign. Sometimes it can be worth it. The Kickstarter blurb for the Nera watch from Peren seeks to make the most of its “ethereal existence” and “neo-vintage design code,” but save for a few slightly quirky design choices what we have here looks to be an interesting watch with pretty good specs for the early bird campaign prices.

As a bit of background, Peren are a Transylvanian brand who have two successful Kickstarter campaigns under their belt—both for Swiss-made quartz chronographs. The Nera is their first mechanical offering and takes inspiration for the dial and case detail from Transylvania’s Nera gorges (in particular the Devil’s Lake).

The unusual dial color is one of the more interesting aspects of the watch—the murky, deep blue-green is taken directly from the Devil’s lake. The Nera’s dial may look like a generic dark color at first glance, but the depth in color coupled with the depth at which the dial itself sits within the case does offer something slightly different. Peren also indicate that the cave accompanying the Devil’s Lake is echoed in the PVD black bezel and rehaut. Whether or not you appreciate the tale of the watch’s inspiration, the depth and shadows given by the matte black rehaut and the hour markers cut into it are a nice touch that match the dial well.The hands and indices feature BGW9 Super-LumiNova for a pure white look in contrast with the dark dial, but the recessed hour markers may end up being obscured at certain angles.

The case of the Peren Nera is made up of three primary finishes. The mid-case is bead-blasted stainless steel, which gives the watch a toolish look. The bezel then consists of two contrasting areas; a fixed bezel with circular brushing closest to the dial and a uni-directional rotating PVD bezel on the outer edge. This combination gives the watch a distinct look, though without any obvious distinguishing markers the bezel is going to be more of a fidget spinner than anything else.

Despite the imposing looks the Peren Nera has a diameter of 39mm and a lug-to-lug length coming in under 50mm. However, the case isn’t particularly thin measuring 13.5mm to the top of the domed sapphire. Much of that height is visually provided by the sloping bezel. Kickstarter watches are often furnished with quartz movements or Miyota automatic calibers but the Peren Nera comes with an ETA 2824-2 movement that is visible through a display back. ETA movements appear to be much easier to obtain for independent brands now than over the last few years and Peren are taking advantage of that and offering the Nera at an attractive price for the specifications.

The first tier (which quickly sold out) was priced at CHF 380, but at the time of writing there are still slots available at the CHF 418 level (about $451). Full pricing after the Kickstarter campaign has finished is expected to be CHF 590.

The Peren Nera has already met its target for funding, and an ambitious timescale for first deliveries starting in May has been set. Check out the campaign here.