Based in Portland, Oregon, Vero is among a small group of American watch companies making a laudable effort to produce as many components in the U.S. as possible. Also central to the brand’s philosophy is combining sport-watch durability with everyday wearability, and this approach results in a look that helps Vero stand out.
The SW watches’ dials seem to draw on the pragmatic legibility of aviation, motorsport, or military watches and the 41mm-wide case is water-resistant to 200m. A colorful (blue or orange) seconds hand and rubber strap (black or gray) also make the Vero SW sporty, but its moderate size, design restraint, and ergonomically curved case lend it handsomeness and versatility. Mixing genres is hard to get right, but Vero seems to have created a coherent package thanks to a focus on simplicity and quality of execution.
Important to Vero’s personality is using cases made and hand-finished right in Portland, and the dials are actually made in-house, according to the brand. Inside are automatic movements from Switzerland, a Sellita SW 200 for the automatic versions or a SW 330 in the GMT version. Vero also assembles the watches in-house and tests them extensively. Some independent microbrands might be offering bargains with parts sourced from around the world, but Vero hopes that its finishing, details, rugged specs and American provenance will make the case for prices of $1,650 for the automatic in steel, $1,720 in DLC black, and $2,150 for the currently out-of-stock GMT version.