SimplyAbuDhabi XLII

Can you share insights into NORQAIN’s approach to sourcing materials and ensuring the highest quality in your timepieces? Our family’s long history in watchmaking has enabled us to work with the best Swiss suppliers for materials and components, and we ensure all our watches go through extensive quality controls before they leave our production site in the Bernese Jura in Switzerland. With NORQAIN’s focus on outdoor and sporty designs, how do youensure that thewatchesmaintain their performance and durability invarious conditions? All NORQAIN watches are indeed made for an active lifestyle but the Wild ONE is the most robust due to its revolutionary case construction and the NORTEQ® material. Together with Jean-Claude Biver and our partner BIWI, we wanted to create the ultimate high- performance sports watch and are proud of the result, which is a mechanical watch that has been tested to 5000g and is ready for high impact sports at only 84g. In the world of horology, complications play a significant role. Could you describe some of the notable complications featured in NORQAINwatches? We are proud to be able to partner with Kenissi, allowing us to offer high-quality manufacture calibres, but we are excited to be adding a new complication to our collection next year! More will be added in the future, but for now it is very important to us to build the product offering in a sustainable and strategic manner. We want to offer our customers fantastic complications and complications will certainly be added to the collection, but very exclusively and mostly in limited editions. NORQAIN has a strong commitment to independence. How does this ethos translate into the production and innovation of your timepieces? Our independence enables us to make decisions free from any shareholder pressure. This means we can produce products on our own terms, in line with our vision and values. Innovation is a key element in our daily decisions and in the design of our watches. And our independence can fuel this innovation since we know we are free to create and think outside of the box. Sustainability is becoming increasingly important in the luxury industry. How does NORQAIN address sustainability concerns within its watchmaking process? We lay a lot of focus on working with Swiss suppliers and sourcing ethical and environmentally friendly materials. For example, the proprietary NORTEQ® material we developed with BIWI for the 100% Swiss Made Wild ONE collection is bio-sourced and the by- products from production are 100% recycled and upcycled – an important example of how innovation can lead to a smaller ecological footprint and part of the policy that has led our CO 2 -NEUTRAL certification by Swiss Climate. We have also partnered with #tide for the production of straps made from recycled ocean-bound plastic. Can you discuss the significance of Swiss watchmaking heritage and how NORQAIN preserves this legacy while embracing innovation? Swiss watchmaking heritage holds a special place in the world of horology, known for its centuries-old tradition of craftsmanship and precision. At NORQAIN, we deeply respect and honour this heritage, recognising that it represents the pinnacle of quality and craftsmanship in the watch industry. We are committed to preserving the Swiss watchmaking legacy while embracing innovation. We understand that innovation is essential to stay relevant in a rapidly changing world. To achieve this balance, we have adopted a two-fold approach: quality craftsmanship and innovative design and concepts. Watch enthusiasts often appreciate limited-edition models. Could you share any plans for exclusive or limited releases in the future? I think it’s key that limited editions have a story. So, at NORQAIN when we have limited editions it is typically linked to an exciting partnership and/or important cause. For example, for the Wild ONE Hakuna Mipaka we integrated sand from the oasis in the rubber shock absorber and are able to support the Hakuna Mipaka oasis with 10% of the proceeds. The future sounds very exciting for NORQAIN. We’ll be looking forward to what’s next. Thank you so much for sharing your story with our readers. Thank you! It’s been a pleasure, and there’s so much more to come! 192 | Simply Abu Dhabi