Before lending themselves to the world of watchmakers and collectors, new brands have a decision to make—whether to stand out with something unconventional or play safe by walking the line. Vieren chose to stand out. Launched in March of 2020, when the whole world was shutting down due to a pandemic, Vieren, which means ‘to celebrate’ in Dutch, embodied the ethos of its name and debuted in Toronto through digital campaigns and Covid-restricted mini launch parties.
Expectedly, co-founder Jess Chow describes it as a challenging time. Along with business partner Sunny Fong, the creative vision behind Vieren watches, the duo introduced designs that drew inspiration from architecture, music, and retro Studio 54 aesthetics. Their first was the Matte White Watch, a gender-neutral ode to modernist architecture, geometry, and minimalist design. Part of the OG Automatic collection, the rectangular 41.5 mm x 27 mm x 9.2 mm 316L stainless-steel watch had a matte-white dial with matching indexes, debossed seconds markers, and a logo at 12 o’clock. Steel hours and minutes hands contrasted its matte-white seconds hand, and there was a date window at 5 o’clock. An 18-karat gold rehaut, seen in all timepieces from the brand, added another design facet. The case came flanked by a seven-row, single-link bracelet in polished 316L stainless steel. Eventually, a Matte Black version with matte-black DLC plating on the case and bracelet was also created. Only 100 pieces of each iteration were made.
In fact, all Vieren watches are numbered limited editions. “We’re a brand that values quality over quantity, and especially as a modern brand that’s all about identity. I don’t want to be wearing something that everyone else has. I think the reason that makes it special is that someone really took the time to craft something that only exists for a certain amount of time,” says Chow.
Today, also part of the OG Automatic collection are White and Black Diamond, featuring 31 hand-set diamonds as hour markers sitting atop a geometric patterned dial; and White and Black Croc, a play on the classic leather watch with the dial matching the calfskin strap. “We actually took the leather all the way through the dial. So, it’s genuine leather behind sapphire crystal. It’s a very different and edgy style for a leather watch,” says Chow. The White Croc is currently sold out. Vieren watches start at US $3,500 and go up to US $12,500.
Hailing from a family of watchmakers—her parents, who were both working in the watch industry, met at Baselworld in the 1980s—Chow grew up visiting watch manufacturers. “I used to travel to factories seeing how watches were made, smelling the oil, how components were manufactured. It was something that I really enjoyed,” she says. Working as a management consultant for over a decade, Chow always dreamt of having a business venture of her own. It was during this time that Chow met Fong, fashion designer, season 2 winner of Project Runway Canada, and founder of the luxury womenswear label Vawk. Fong and Chow instantly bonded over their love for watches when Fong narrated the story of how he designed a watch for a competition when he was 10. The duo soon set about creating a team for the brand and Vieren was born.
In 2022, Vieren unveiled five limited-edition watches in its Stereo Collection, inspired by the retro aesthetics of Studio 54. These watches feature a skeleton dial inside a 41.5 mm x 27 mm x 9.2 mm gold-plated, stainless-steel case, and a reimagined date disc at the centre with etched marking on an inner bevelled ring that’s inspired by volume metres. There are polished gold hour and minute hands, and a matte-gold seconds hand. The rest of the dial is covered in 93 diamonds in the Gold, Steel and Black Diamond Stereo models. The other two models in the collection are Gold Sunray, featuring a brushed sunray gold dial and debossed hour markers; and Gold Mirror, featuring a polished gold-tone dial.
Settling on the right rectangle case shape wasn’t a breeze, and was perfected over a year. “There were many iterations, [we were figuring out] exactly how the angle will fit within the wrist, how the lugs will taper down into the bracelet, so that everything is seamless. It was definitely a labour of love. It wasn’t something we dreamed up overnight, but I think being able to be so thoughtful through that process and then deciding to launch is one of our strengths. And they’re all designed to be gender neutral because it’s 2025 and we want to lead with designs that are inclusive and diverse. So, we have one case shape that’s really ideal for all wrist sizes to highlight the versatility of
our timepieces.”
All Vieren watches are crafted in La-Chaux-de-Fonds, Switzerland, and are powered by the Swiss ETA-2671 automatic movement offering 44 hours of power reserve. The ‘Swiss-made’ stamp was also key to Chow. “I wanted to create something that represented me and the new generation of what we stand for. A lot of young people care about how things are crafted. To be able to continue this generational heritage of Swiss watchmaking and how things are really made by hand. It’s a very beautiful story and I’m sure fellow watch lovers will appreciate the beauty of something that actually takes time to be crafted.”
Images: Courtesy Brand
This story first appeared in WatchTime India’s Watches for Women 2025 issue
