Jewellery & Watch News
At only four years old, NORQAIN has established itself in the big leagues, crafting durable, reliable and attractive watches for the outdoors. Just recently, they announced a new Advisor to the Board, luxury watch legend Jean-Claude Biver, who according to NORQAIN CEO, Ben Kuffer, sparked the idea for the brand’s latest release: the NORQAIN Wild One watch collection. The four new designs, which include a special limited edition launched in collaboration with Dean Schneider, debut the Swiss manufacturer’s new NORTEQ case.
The new NORTEQ watch case has been created alongside BIWI, a Swiss company largely reputed for making rubber straps alongside watch parts and other composite materials. The material itself is insanely lightweight, engineered from an ultra-resistant carbon fibre composite with a polymer matrix containing 60% of bio-based material. This allows the brand to mass-dye the carbon fibre composite into a range of striking colours. When we say the new NORQAIN Wild One watches are lightweight, we mean it. On the wrist, each watch is only 84 grams which is six times lighter than steel and three-and-a-half times lighter than titanium. The feel of the 42mm cases is also distinctively different to traditional watch metals, offering an almost silky texture.
As mentioned, there are four NORQAIN Wild One watches to choose from: one with a black NORTEQ case, khaki rubber shock absorber, black dial and khaki rubber trap and another with a black NORTEQ case but with the rest of the elements in blue. There’s also two limited editions, the first is part of a 200-piece run with an extraordinary burgundy-coloured NORTEQ case, a grey rubber shock absorber, a grey dial with rose gold hardware and a grey rubber strap. The second NORQAIN Wild One Limited Edition has been created alongside brand ambassador Dean Schneider, founder of a wildlife reserve Hakuna Mipaka in South Africa. Suitably named the Norqain Wild One Hakuna Mipaka watch, the design is limited to 500 pieces and features a black NORTEQ case, beige-coloured shock absorber, and a black strap and dial decorated with a lion fur pattern.
The dials of the other three NORQAIN Independence Wild One watches boast their own eye-catching texture, one which has been laser cut into a intricate pattern replicating the NORQAIN double N logo. The displays are then paired with silver or gold hardware for the hours, minutes and seconds. The former two hands are neatly skeletonised while the seconds boasts an arrow-shaped tip, all joined by X1 Superluminova inserts. To match, the baton-style markers around the circumference also glow in the dark.
Under the hood of the NORQAIN Wild One watches is the COSC-certified calibre NN20/1, made by Kenissi. It’s an automatic winding movement with a 70-hour power reserve, 4Hz frequency and 28 jewels. It also comes equipped with a transversal balance bridge for greater stability and a stop-seconds mechanism. You can enjoy the movement through the case back of each NORQAIN Independence Wild One watch where you can see the matte surfaces of the bridges and the skeletonised rotor decorated with NORQAIN’s double N logo. Completing all four of the NORQAIN Wild One watches is an integrated vegan-certified rubber strap. This material, like the bio-sourced polymer used to craft the NORTEQ cases, continues NORQAIN’s message for sustainable watchmaking.
If you’d like to learn more about the new NORQAIN Wild Ones watches and shop the full collection for yourself, head over to the W Hamond website here. Alternatively, get in touch with the team by calling 01957 603330 or send us a message at info@whamond.com.
Specifications:
- Case Size: 42mm
- Case Material: NORTEQ carbon fibre composite
- Bezel: Fixed
- Glass: Sapphire crystal with anti-reflective coating
- Crown: Screw down
- Case Back: Exhibition
- Water Resistance: 200 metres
- Movement: Manufacture calibre NN20/1, automatic winding
- COSC: Yes
- Functions: Hours, minutes and seconds
- Power Reserve: 70 hours
- Jewels: 28
- Frequency: 28,800vph
- Dial: Textured with NORQAIN double N logo in black or blue, or “lion mane” pattern in black
- Strap: Vegan rubber
- Buckle: Folding
- Limited: 200-piece limited edition with grey dial and 500-piece Hakuna Mipaka limited edition
- RRP: Starts from £4,290
