Norqain is about adventure, a brand that ‘dares to go its own way’.
We have three collections – Adventure, Freedom and Independence. Adventure is about the thrill of exploring nature’s playground. Freedom is about appreciation of the great outdoors that has a vintage-inspired design. Independence takes its inspiration from courage to do the unexpected; part of creating a brand is creating emotion and connection. We are humble guys and we continue to do what we do, and love what we do every day. Having some fun every day is the key!
Norqain is a new brand with a secret super-power… one of the watch industry’s superstars is an advisor. How has Jean-Claude Biver helped to shape its trajectory?
Jean-Claude Biver and I met and had an instant connection. We had recently launched the brand and he liked it, but asked me if we would be open to innovating. I said ‘yes!’. As we all know, he is very good at new materials…! We had a lot of ideas, and he has such a wealth of experience. We wanted to create something revolutionary – but it had to be affordable. That was the goal, because we didn’t want to change the brand. There are many independent brands that sell a few thousand pieces at a high price point – that isn’t Norqain. We want people to wear our watches and that younger generations, who may not have limitless financial possibilities, can still buy a great, fun product. That’s who we are.
The Wild One boasts a lot of impressive features and even has its own proprietary material, Norteq…
The fun thing about Norteq is we don’t always know what colour it will be! We mix the carbon fibres and high-performance polymers to make an ultra-scratch resistant material that is strong, super light and yet achieves a bright colour.
To achieve the design, we had to build 14 machines to create all the parts – with 25 parts to the case… it was complicated, but fun.