Norqain - Independence Wild ONE

Norqain is launching today the Wild One, a new high-performance sports watch made with NORTEK. Prices start from €4,890. Special edition Hakuna Mipaka

Norqain, the family-owned Swiss watch brand based in Nidau (Biel/Bienne), is launching today a completely new high-performance sports watch, the Independence Wild ONE.

This is the first Norqain's model developed with the support of visionary Jean-Claude Biver which joined the team earlier this year as Advisor to the Board (you can read more about this announcement here), the development of a collaboration started more than two years ago.

The result is a new line of high-performance wristwatches with an eye-catching design and made with a ground-breaking composite material: NORTEQ. This proprietary material is six times lighter than steel, 3.5 times lighter than titanium and available in different colours.

Jean-Claude Biver confirms: “When I began working with Norqain, my first step was to challenge the team to innovate; to create a lightweight and shock-resistant timepiece that reflects the brand’s active DNA. This watch concept is exactly the kind of revolutionary development I was hoping for. The Wild ONE collection is the result of close collaboration between the best of the best Swiss suppliers and Norqain’s passionate, knowledgeable team. This collection is a 3-in-1 because it combines unique design, a revolutionary new concept and high-tech material. NORTEQ is the optimal material on every level: aesthetics, light weight, robustness and ethical production”. 

100% Swiss-made, the Wild ONE collection introduces four models, including one limited edition piece designed together with wildlife ambassador Dean Schneider. 

Their 42 mm x 12.3 mm case has separate top and bottom NORTEQ parts, developed by strategic partner BIWI, which serve as a protective cage and are connected and secured with custom-made screws engraved with a mountain-peak design. Between these parts we find a rubber shock absorber that surrounds a titanium container in which ticks the NN20/1 Manufacture Calibre. 

The BIWI rubber bumper reliably absorbs shocks during even the most extreme activities. Thanks to this innovative construction, the Wild ONE largely exceeds industry standards for shock absorption easily withstanding laboratory tests conducted at 5000g.

The new Wild ONE weighs just 84 grams, which is 50% lighter than a stainless steel Norqain watch, and guarantees water resistance to a depth of 200 metres / 660 feet, also thanks to the screw-down crown overmolded with black rubber and Norqain logo.

The Norqain plate on the side of the Wild ONE matches the colour of the case and can be personalised and engraved with a reminder of an important moment. 

The launch references are configured as follows:

Ref. NNQ3000QBK1A/B002/3W1KBR.20BQ with black NORTEQ case, khaki rubber shock absorber, black dial and khaki rubber strap. Price: Euro 4,890.

Ref. NNQ3000QBA1A/A001/3W1AR.20BQ with a black NORTEQ case, blue rubber shock absorber, blue dial and blue rubber strap. Price: Euro 4,890. 

The Khaki and Blue versions can optionally be matched to a black rubber strap.

Ref. NNQ3000QUG1LA/G001/3W1GR.20RQ with a burgundy NORTEQ case, grey rubber shock absorber, grey dial with red gold indexes and hands, and grey rubber strap. This model is a limited edition of 200 pieces with a price of Euro 5,390.

Ref. NNQ3000QBX1LA/B001/3W1BR1.20BQ with a black NORTEQ case, sand-coloured shock absorber, black dial and black rubber strap. Designed together with the brand’s international ambassador Dean Schneider and limited to 500 pieces, this edition incorporates a piece of Dean’s wildlife: the vegan sand-coloured rubber shock absorber has been mixed with sand from his Hakuna Mipaka oasis in South Africa. The black dial is decorated with a lion fur pattern as well as the sanctuary’s spear-and-shield logo. The same pattern is found on the black vegan-certified rubber strap. Schneider's message about humankind’s relationship with animals is engraved on the caseback: “We need to learn to love them exactly the way they are and not the way we wish them to be!”

The Wild ONE Hakuna Mipaka Limited Edition has a price of Euro 5,190 and comes in a special Hakuna Mipaka watch box along with a signed card from Dean. Ten per cent of the earnings from sales of this watch will be donated to the Hakuna Mipaka Oasis.

The three-level laser-cut dial features an intricate mandala-like pattern of NORQAIN’s mountain-inspired double-N logo. Each level is separated by 0.05 mm giving the pattern an eye-catching 3D effect. The rectangular indexes are skeletonised and enhanced with a spot of X1 Super-LumiNova. 

The hour, minute and seconds hands of the Wild ONE timepieces are also skeletonised, a feature characterising all the watches in the Independence collection.  

The brand’s NN20/1 three-hand proprietary Calibre produced by Kenissi boasts an impressive 70-hour power reserve and has a sturdy construction featuring a traversing bridge with two-point fixation. Beating at 28,800 vibrations per hour (4 Hz), it is COSC-certified as a chronometer. 

Visible through the transparent caseback, the movement is enhanced by several decorations such as the golden “double-N” Norqain logo, symbolising the Swiss Alps, on the oscillating weight and the brand’s core values and Norqain collection names - “Adventure, Freedom and Independence - engraved on the bridge.

Integrated into the case and characterised by a petite-Milanese structure, the vegan-certified rubber strap (22 mm lug width) is secured to the wrist by a NORTEQ buckle. norqain.com