For an industry devoted to creating devices that measure time in hours and seconds, four years is barely the blink of an eye when it comes to discussions about a brand’s history. And yet, in that short span of time, Swiss independent and family-owned watch company NORQAIN has carved out an impressive niche for itself in the ever-competitive sports watch market, thanks in large part to the generational knowledge and industry experience behind the brand. NORQAIN is led by CEO and founder Ben Küffer, and his family has been producing Swiss Made timepieces in the Bernese Jura region of Switzerland for over four decades. Since its inception in 2018, NORQAIN has assembled a solid and wide-ranging catalog of robust, reliable mechanical timepieces that reflect the brand’s proudly intrepid and trailblazing spirit.

There are three main collections in the NORQAIN catalog, each of them named after the core values of the brand: Independence, Adventure, and Freedom. The Independence collection contains unique and innovative watches, with a specific focus on modern design and materials. The Adventure collection consists of sturdy all-around sports watches distinguished by the signature NORQAIN dial pattern, rotating bezels, and are the epitome of the go-anywhere, do-anything timepiece. Finally, the Freedom collection offers a distinctly vintage-inspired aesthetic: restrained dial design, hand-applied indices, boxed sapphire crystal, as well as vintage-styled straps with NORQAIN stitching. Each of these collections added a number of new models in 2022, and we’ve rounded up a large selection below.

One of the newest additions to the Adventure collection in 2022 is the Adventure Sport 42mm in bronze, the first model in the Adventure lineup to receive the bronze treatment. The overall aesthetic has a decidedly warm and earthy palette, with the NORQAIN dial pattern rendered in khaki green and the bronze-colored faceted handset filled with beige Super-LumiNova. The watch is powered by an automatic winding NORQAIN calibre NN08, based on the reliable Sellita SW200-1 movement, and is visible through the exhibition sapphire caseback. Pricing is $2,950 USD. 

Launched in recognition of International Women’s Day, the NORQAIN Adventure Sport 37mm offers a colorful and vibrant rendition of the classic three-hander look, with a deep purple dial accented with hand-applied, faceted gold-plated hour markers surrounded by a purple unidirectional aluminum bezel with gold indices. The Adventure Sport 37mm operates on the same NN08 NORQAIN movement as its larger, 42mm-cased sibling, and comes on a matching stainless steel bracelet. Pricing is $2,190 USD.

The Freedom collection sees two new bronze stablemates added to the lineup in 2022. First up is the Freedom 60 GMT in a handsome 40mm-wide bronze case and matching bezel. The midnight blue dial features a split black-and-white center GMT to denote nighttime and daytime hours, respectively, with a red-tipped GMT hand for contrast and legibility. Inside, the watch is equipped with an exclusive automatic-winding manufacture caliber created by movement manufacturer Kenissi for NORQAIN. The GMT calibre NN20/2 utilized here is a COSC-certified “true GMT” movement with a jumping hour feature for setting the local time and offers a generous 70-hour power reserve. This particular reference is limited to 300 pieces, and pricing is $4,150 USD. 

For those in search of a more classic chronograph look, the Freedom 60 Chrono 40mm Bronze is an excellent alternative. As its name suggests, this piece comes in a polished and satin 40mm-wide bronze case, continuing with the smaller case size introduced to the Freedom 60 Chrono lineup earlier in the year (from 43mm to 40mm). The Freedom 60 Chronograph 40mm Bronze comes on a black vegan-certified Perlon rubber strap produced by BIWI SA in Switzlerand, and is limited to 200 pieces. Pricing is $4,190 USD. Of course, the classic stainless steel versions of the Freedom 60 Chrono 40mm lineup (also launched in 2022) remain available in two dial variations: deep blue and anthracite, both with cream-colored chronograph subdials and white outer tachymeter ring. Pricing for these watches is $3,920 USD on either a durable Alcantara or upcycled plastic Nortide strap (both vegan-friendly), or $4,190 USD with a stainless steel bracelet.

The Independence collection is where NORQAIN seeks to push its own technical and design boundaries, and the Independence 22 Skeleton Special Edition is a continuation in theme of the sold-out DLC skeletonized special edition released by the brand last year. The Independence 22 Skeleton features a 42mm-wide 316L stainless steel case with brushed, polished, and sandblasted surfaces, but the obvious star of the show is the COSC-certified NORQAIN calibre NN08S on display through the transparent dial. The skeletonized movement is handsome and legible, thanks to the Super-LumiNova-coated white hour markers and red-tipped seconds hand, and with a hardy water resistance of 10m/330ft, the Independence 22 Skeleton Special Edition is ready-made for any adventure. Pricing is $3,990 USD.

Lastly, the most exciting addition to the Independence lineup is the Wild ONE, a top-flight, ultra-robust sports watch that represents an impressive step forward in innovation for the brand. The Wild ONE was created in collaboration with watch industry legend Jean-Claude Biver, who recently joined the NORQAIN leadership team as an advisor to the board. The case of the watch is constructed of NORTEQ, a proprietary composite material that is six times lighter than stainless steel, and 3.5 times lighter than titanium. NORTEQ can be produced in a number of different colors, which is an industry-first process for a material that, until now, could only be produced in a standard black carbon-fiber tint. Twenty-five different components are used to assemble the case, including a protective cage and rubber dampening system that is tested to pressures of up to 5000G to ensure shock resistance and reliability, no matter the activity. An intricate three-level, laser-cut dial features the NORQAIN double-N logo rendered in a three-dimensional textured pattern, providing a sense of depth and contemporary styling for the skeletonized handset, and inside is the NORQAIN Manufacture Caliber NN20/1, which offers the same 70-hour power reserve and double-bridge construction as its NN20/2 sibling. This combination of cutting-edge materials, along with an extremely rugged and lightweight construction, make the Wild ONE the ultimate in luxury sports watch performance. Pricing for the Wild ONE collection starts at $5,290 USD.

The Wild ONE is offered in a number of different color configurations, but a unique option is the black and white limited-edition version made in partnership with the TCS New York City Marathon. NORQAIN serves as the Official Timekeeper of the renowned marathon, and this particular version of the Wild ONE sports a dial that displays the race course outline as it winds throughout New York City. Limited to 262 pieces, pricing for the Wild ONE TCS New York City Marathon is $5,490 USD. One other limited-edition colorway is available: the Wild ONE Hakuna Mipaka Limited Edition, designed in partnership with NORQAIN international ambassador and wildlife sanctuary founder, Dean Schneider. The watch features a black NORTEQ main case construction, while the vegan sand-colored shock absorbers have been mixed with sand from Schneider’s Hakuna Mipaka wildlife oasis in South Africa, creating a subtle speckled effect. Both the dial and vegan-certified rubber strap sport a wavy lion fur pattern, and the Hakuna Mipaka spear-and-shield logo at 6 o’clock provides a matching pop of color. The Wild ONE is completely free from any animal products, which is a natural extension of NORQAIN’s promise in July 2021 to discontinue the use of leather goods for all of its new product launches, as well as to phase out leather straps for all existing models. The Wild ONE Hakuna Mipaka Limited Edition is limited to 500 pieces, comes in a special Hakuna Mipaka watch box along with a signed card from Schneider, and ten percent of the earnings from sales of the watch being donated to the Hakuna Mipaka Oasis. Pricing is $5,590 USD.

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