Cost Of Entry: Norqain Adventure Sport 42mm Watch
When Norqain came onto the scene in 2018, it didn’t bother dipping its toes to test the waters or letting the market decide what it would be. It set up shop, declaring without any hint of doubt that it was a luxury Swiss watch brand. Entering into the $2,000-$5,000 space isn’t easy, yet Norqain did so in a way that made it look easy. Frankly, it’s a bit unclear if the brand was accepted into its self-proclaimed market segment or whether it was just so damned insistent that everyone eventually give up arguing the contrary and let it happen. The Norqain Adventure Sport 42mm was part of that introduction, paving the way for its current market position, and continues to represent the cost of entry for the now well-established Swiss brand.
Norqain as a brand fascinates me. It seems like it was just all of a sudden there. Most brands stumble and scrap their way to sure footing, but Norqain just showed up like an overconfident college grad with a Mary Poppins bag filled with watches and branding and a dealer network. “Here I am. You may now have the privilege of buying my watches.” It helped, undoubtedly, that the founders were from families with decades of experience in the Swiss watch industry. The independent brand is quintessentially aspirational: It leans as much on its designs as it does on what owning a Norqain means. As outlined by its three model lines, the brand trumpets Adventure, Freedom, and Independence. True to those values, it counts athletes, a lion conservationist, and musicians amongst the ambassadors it calls Norqainers. It also never hesitates to capture a branding opportunity, as with Nortide, Norteq, Nordura and Neverest. But in the end, that’s all fluff — what matters is the watches.
Norqain’s three lines have very different looks. The Adventure line consists exclusively of bezeled sports watches offered in steel, black DLC, and bronze; it includes the largest cases the brand offers, at 44mm. The Freedom line, has a vintage bent to it, losing the bezels for the brand’s cleanest look that includes chronos, GMTs, as well as the smallest cases the brand offers 34mm. The Independence line is perhaps the brand’s best-known. It’s here that you’ll find the Wild ONE watches, which were introduced following the announcement that Jean-Claude Biver had joined the brand’s board. The Wild ONEs, with their NORTEQ carbon fiber and rubber bumpers, are far and away the boldest from the brand, and perhaps some of the stronger designs you can get at the price. While the gold case Wild ONE Skeleton sets the brand’s high water mark at $14,150 USD, the line starts at just under $5,500.
In many ways, the Norqain Adventure Sport 42mm is just another sports watch with a bezel. I don’t think there’s anything wrong with that, and for most brands, these types of basic models are the bread and butter of the business. The stainless steel case is well done, with crisp brushing and a thin polished chamfer. The crown is perfectly sized and has a very satisfying feel when used. It lacks crown guards, but that’s not surprising or a problem on a watch that bills itself as a sports watch and not a dive watch (where that feature is more common). There are a few checklist items, like a sapphire crystal and 100m water resistance, as well as a customizable plate on the 9 o’clock side, that can be engraved with a (small) logo or text of your choosing. The bezel features a ceramic insert with a lume pip, and while it’s easy to grip and the action of each of the 60 clicks is very pleasant, there’s a small amount of backplay at each position.
On the wrist, I could really feel the presence of this watch. I’ve worn plenty of 42mm and larger watches, and maybe it’s down to my current collection being under 41mm, but the Adventure Sport 42 felt every bit of its dimensions. The 12.8mm thickness is actually quite reasonable for a 42mm watch, but the 50.2mm lug-to-lug, while not objectively large, made itself known on my 7-inch wrist. I actually came to enjoy this one on the wrist. It was a bit of a departure from those smaller watches I usually wear, and its size and heft made it feel purposeful and durable. The soft rubber strap imparts a pleasant experience. Years ago, I actually reviewed another version of this watch that came on the “Nordura” textile strap. It was stiff and made the watch sit awkwardly on my wrist. (My understanding is that it hasn’t been updated, so it might be best to avoid it.) The rubber posed no such problems, and it has a vented back so it doesn’t make you sweat too much. I don’t doubt that the bracelet wears well, but that option moves this model out of Cost of Entry territory.
The dial of the Norqain Adventure Sport features an embossed woven texture that the brand calls the “Norqain pattern” and says is inspired by the Swiss mountains. I can’t see it, but I’ve also never been to the Swiss mountains, so I may lack the firsthand visual experience to appreciate it. The 3D laser cut mandala pattern of the Wild ONE is a bit more intricate and engaging, but I rather like this weave pattern for a straightforward sports watch. No, it’s not Grand Seiko and Mount Iwate, but it’s also not played out like those watches.
Similar to the dial pattern and its inspiration, the stylized double-N logo is meant to represent the Swiss Alps, which I think is far easier to see. Beyond that, you have a fairly standard watch dial, with a color-matched date at 3 o’clock, a hashed minute track around the periphery, and polished hands and applied indices. Legibility is excellent given the contrast afforded by the dark dial, but in low light, the Super-LumiNova is a bit wanting. I don’t think it shines brightly enough, and there’s a noticeable difference in strength between the hands and hour markers.
Norqain got in trouble (a relative term here) a while ago with its movements. During the in-house craze (Is that done yet? I hope so.), it didn’t do a perfect job of identifying the source of its movements. As did many other brands, it relabeled Sellita movements, using “Norqain Calibre XX.” When it launched its manufacture calibers made by Kenissi, there was further confusion. Part of the issue was that some media outlets (not ABTW) misreported that the movement was in-house when the brand was making no such claim. Part of it was bad timing: the semantic debate between in-house, manufacture, and third-party was reaching its peak and people were tired of feeling misled. Norqain was engaging in a common practice with its relabeling of third-party movements and its use of “manufacture” for the Kenissi movements was well within the term’s norms. Unfortunately, the brand seemed to be caught in the crosshairs more than others, though it now appears that reason has prevailed.
The brand offers two manufacture calibers (a three-hand and a GMT), both made by Kenissi, which makes almost identical calibers for its part-owner Tudor. The Adventure Sport 42mm houses the Norqain Calibre N08, which is based on the Swiss automatic Sellita SW200-1, giving it a 41-hour power reserve at 28,800 vph and exceptional reliability. For those set on one of the chronometer-certified manufacture calibers, you can get a Neverest (also part of the Adventure family), a non-skeleton Wild ONE, or any GMT model.
The Norqain Adventure Sport 42mm was a smart way for Norqain to get things started six years ago. Especially at that time, mid-to-large size tool watches were king. That’s changed a bit, but so, too, has Norqain. The Adventure Sport really doesn’t get you everything for which the brand is now known; For that, the Wild ONE is the answer (the solid dial with the manufacture movement, and while you’ll need twice as much money, I think it’s twice as appealing, though I know that’s very subjective). The Adventure Sport remains a well-made, solid sports watch that checks all the spec boxes and has a bit of personality with its customizable plate and woven pattern. It’s a logical point of entry that might scratch the itch for an entry-level Swiss watch and one that I don’t think will disappoint those who do choose it. The Norqain Adventure Sport 42mm is priced at $2,390 USD on rubber or textile Nordura, and $2,790 USD on a steel bracelet. For more information, please visit the Norqain website.
