Norqain debuts its first watch as the Official Luxury Sports Watch of the NHL
Zach Blass- Two months after Norqain announced its partnership with the NHL, its first NHL-licensed watch has been revealed.
- The Norqain Adventure Sport NHL Limited Edition is a limited edition of 1,917 pieces in honour of the NHL’s founding year, 1917.
- It uses hockey elements such as a “scratched ice” dial, a “face-off” running seconds register, and a rubber strap made with real hockey pucks.
Partnering with a major sports league like the NHL is a massive deal for a brand like Norqain. From a corporate, watch industry-sense, it is laudable that such a young brand like Norqain has a timepiece partnership of this scale when it is typically the more longstanding players (TAG Heuer and F1, Rolex and tennis, Breitling and the NFL, et cetera et cetera) who score such licensing and partnerships. But on the spectrum of completely random to unimpeachably makes complete sense, Norqain and the NHL teaming up firmly rests closer to the latter.
Throughout our coverage of Norqain, you have likely heard of Ben Küffer (CEO of Norqain) or Jean-Claude Biver (watch industry legend and advisor on Norqain’s board). But for this partnership, the name you need to know – or may already know outside the context of watches if you are a big fan of the sport – is Mark Streit, co-founder of Norqain and a Swiss gentleman who is a former NHL All-Star and Stanley Cup winner. With ice in Norqain’s veins since the beginning, it would have been criminal for any other brand to have a partnership with the NHL.
This explains why Norqain’s first watch as the Official Luxury Sports Watch of the NHL has been, in my opinion, executed so tastefully and perhaps a textbook example of how a sports league-licensed watch should be done. It would be easy to get overexcited and try to plough the dial, case, and other elements with as much branding as possible. The Norqain Adventure Sport NHL Limited Edition, however, avoids feeling like a gimmick and instead showcases Norqain’s measured approach and design skill to incorporate the best of both brands, with neither of the two overriding the other.
So, what are the NHL/hockey elements that make this limited edition special? The NHL shield logo is very discreet, nestled within the elapsed hours counter of the chronograph at 6 o’clock. At 9 o’clock, Norqain has created what almost feels like a mystery running seconds sub-dial with a “face-off” running seconds register that has two crossed hockey sticks framing a puck that indicates the running seconds.
Norqain has outfitted this watch with a “scratched ice” white dial, a very crisp white in hue, with its scratched lines simulating the ice after being skated on, revealing themselves dynamically as you reorient the dial under light. The last subtle (but cleverly cheeky) hockey-inspired element on the dial is a remixed pulsometer scale rehaut that is positioned as the “time out” scale. If your heart rate is in this range, you’d better get off the ice and take a time out.
Beyond the dial, the exhibition caseback, which is the most hidden part of the watch while worn, has a large NHL shield logo etched on the glass, and though you can buy this Adventure Sport NHL Limited Edition on a bracelet, I cannot imagine wearing this watch on anything but the black rubber strap. I say this because the black rubber strap for the Norqain Adventure Sport NHL Limited Edition is made with real NHL hockey pucks and has a central channel that mimics the hobnail-like pattern found on the perimeter of a puck. This is just too cool if you are a hockey fan, which is the target client for this watch.
What I love about the makeup of this design is that, were all the more overt hockey elements removed from the dial, it would still firmly fit in with the broader ethos of Norqain design. The scratched-ice dial is not a far cry from the Adventure Neverest 40mm glacial dial inspired by the brand’s adventurous and mountainous spirit. Norqain did not bring any overt hockey elements to the case and bezel, and Norqain has established itself, with BIWI, as a brand that is adventurous with materials, and certainly BIWI is not a stranger to upcycling materials for brands into cases or bands…
Even the most overt hockey element, the “face-off” running seconds counter, plays with horological staples like a mystery dial. So it is my belief, as someone who has held the watch personally, that this watch is not just a goal – it’s a hat trick.
Norqain Adventure Sport NHL Limited Edition pricing and availability
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The Adventure Sport NHL Limited Edition is available now as a limited edition of 1,917 pieces. Price: US$5,490 (Black NHL puck rubber strap), US$5,690 (steel bracelet)
| Brand | Norqain |
| Model | Adventure Sport NHL Limited Edition |
| Case Dimensions | 41mm (D) x 15mm (T) x 48.9mm (LTL) |
| Case Material | Stainless steel |
| Water Resistance | 100 metres, screw-down crown |
| Crystal(s) | Flat sapphire front and back |
| Dial | White “scratched-ice” pattern |
| Strap | Black NHL puck rubber strap, steel pin buckle Stainless steel bracelet, folding clasp |
| Movement | Calibre N17, Sellita SW500 a-base, automatic |
| Power Reserve | 62 hours |
| Functions | Hours, minutes, small seconds, day, date, chronograph, rotatable timing bezel |
| Availability | Limited to 1,917 pieces |
| Price | US$5,490 (black NHL puck rubber strap) US$5,690 (steel bracelet) |