Norqain Adventure Sport Auto DLC Review

Manufacturer: Norqain | Price: £1,680 GBP ($2,200 USD, €1,980 EUR approx)

As most people who read my reviews, they should know by now that I love affordable watches. Affordable being under £1,000. This doesn’t mean that I’m not keen to review watches that are on the more ‘out of reach’ (for me anyway) side of things. I love to compare what a $2,000+ watch gets you compared to something that costs say, $600 for example. I chat on a regular basis to other reviewers like The Time Bum, Watch Clicker, WatchitallAbout and Relative Time to name but a few and Mike from The Time Bum recently mentioned his review of the Norqain Adventure Sport DLC. After reading the review, I decided to reach out to Norqain to see if they would send me one for review. So, the watch has been here now for around a month and I’ve wore it regularly to get a good feel of it. So, does it justify its price? Let’s find out shall we…

Specifications

Dimensions: Case Diameter – 42.1mm, Thickness – 12.4mm, Lug to Lug – 48.7mm, Lug Width – 22mm
Movement: Norqain NN09 (ETA 2824), Automatic, 28,800vph (4Hz), Hackable, Self Winding, 38hr Power Reserve
Case Material: DLC 316L Stainless Steel with Polished Accents
Strap: Nordura Fabric, Leather Inner
Crystal: Double Domed Sapphire, Underside AR Coating
Bezel: 60 Click Unidirectional, DLC 316L Stainless Steel
Water Resistance: 100m / 10ATM / 330ft
Lume: Swiss Super Luminova® Old Radium
Crown: Screw Down, Signed Caseback: Screw Down, Sapphire Exhibition Display
Warranty: 2 Years Where to Buy: Norqain
Options: Strap: Black Rubber, Black Nordura, Kaki Nordura | Engraving (+£160)

Norqain - The Company

"Family-owned and independent, Norqain is a watch brand that dares to go its own way. Based in the heart of Swiss watchmaking, in Nidau (just outside of Biel/Bienne), we’re driven by the excitement that comes with exploring the road less travelled. Our three collections – Adventure, Freedom and Independence – feature our exclusive mechanical movements and original striking design elements. Every Norqain watch is Swiss made with absolute attention to detail and ready for whatever adventures await. For us, “Swiss made” is more than a designation on our watch dials. Norqain itself is Swiss made, and it was built on a solid foundation of family tradition. For more than four decades, our family has been creating and developing watches. Now, with Norqain, we have united our experiences and expertise – an exciting adventure for all of us. This know-how allows us to offer top-quality watches that meet the highest Swiss watchmaking standards. Norqain was founded by Ben Küffer in 2018 and he brought on his father, Marc Küffer, as Chairman of the Board. Marc has over 45 years of experience in manufacturing Swiss luxury watches and spent 25 years on the Board of Directors for the Swiss Watch Industry Association. Ted Schneider, a member of the family that owned Breitling for nearly 40 years, and Mark Streit, the Swiss ice hockey legend and Stanley Cup winner, are also part of the management and board. The fact that Norqain is independent means that our unique values will continue to distinguish our brand, and our customers will always be our inspiration."

Ben Küffer

Founder, Norqain

Case & Crown

The case of the Adventure Sport DLC has a diameter of 42.1mm. The lug to lug is 48.7mm and the overall thickness, including the sapphire crystal, I measured in at a very nice 12.4mm. The entire case, caseback, bezel and crown are all DLC coated 316L stainless steel. The finish of the watch is mostly brushed with a rather gorgeous chamfered polished edge that runs along the side of the case and down over the end of the lugs. You should be able to see in the pictures, a small polished lip around the edge of the bezel too. I have to say, I like these little attention to details a lot, as not only does it look fantastic, but also gives the watch a very premium look & feel. I can only imagine it looks great on the normal stainless steel version too.

The Adventure Sport DLC has a water resistance rating of 100m, thanks to the screw down caseback & crown. This rating is perfectly acceptable for a sports watch, so no complaints there. The proportions of the watch, in my opinion, are great for my 7″ wrist, with it’s more than acceptable lug to lug length of 48.7mm, any bigger though, and I think it’d be too large. The Adventure Sport DLC wears very well on wrist and it is very comfortable, although not on the supplied strap (more on that later in the review).

The signed crown is very nice, looks great with it’s deep stamped Norqain logo, and there is absolutely zero wobble when the crown is pulled out to any position. You also feel a very nice pop as you unscrew the crown and you can see and feel the amount of work that has gone into the crown, making it feel very premium when in use. The caseback is great too with it’s sapphire exhibition display showing off the Norqain NN09 movement, which is basically a modified ETA 2824. There is also the usual various specifications of the watch around the edge as you can clearly see in the picture below.

Strap

The strap that comes fitted to the Adventure Sport DLC is quite disappointing if I’m honest. It’s very stiff and isn’t comfortable whatsoever. I’ve tried it for weeks, thinking that the strap would break in over time, but having tried the standard strap yet again today, it’s just as stiff as it was on day one. If I bought this watch, the first thing I’d do is change the strap to something much more comfortable. I would however, change over the buckle & tang to the new strap as it’s fantastically made and suits the watch perfectly. That’s if you change the strap to something that can accept the buckle.

The strap that comes fitted to the Norqain Adventure Sport DLC kind of reminds me of the optional strap offered with the Christopher Ward C60 Trident Pro Mk3, as they are both manufactured with the same kind of fabric. I however, swapped out the standard strap for an all black Nick Mankey Designs Hook Strap with DLC hardware as shown below, and holy sh*t, what a massive difference! It totally transforms the watch, not only aesthetically but makes it very comfortable.

Movement

The chosen movement for the Adventure Sport is the Norqain Calibre NN09 (ETA 2824). The NN09 is self-winding, has 25 jewels and the oscillating weight spins up giving a 38 hr power reserve. The balance runs at 28,800vph (4Hz) and the movement is also hackable. Checking the accuracy after running the Norqain Adventure Sport for a few weeks, both on wrist as well as in my winder, I was very pleased with the results, with the Norqain Adventure Sport showing an average of just +3.9 seconds per day.

Norqain Adv Sport DLC