The Wild One is a pretty out-there watch. The combination of it’s big, colourful NORTEQ cage, titanium central container and rubber shock absorbers makes for something that looks and feels like it can tackle a mountain without breaking a sweat. Bottom line, it’s not for the shy and retiring.
That makes a lot of sense. As we recently discussed in an interview with founder Ben Kuffer, the Wild One represented a tectonic shift in NORQAIN as a brand. It was a new direction, a big, punchy new concept of uncompromising design. Whether or not the result is to your tastes, there’s no denying it turned the brand from another handsome value proposition into something entirely new.
Now though, it feels like we’ve seen the Wild One run through every colour under the sun. Bright blues, oranges, even the purple that graced our recent cover, they’ve tasted the rainbow to satiation. So, what next? The answer, apparently, is meteorite.
Meteorite as a dial material is more popular than ever – though it’s still far from common. Given it takes a few millennia of space travel, a lucky collision with Earth and an even luckier bit of salvaging to even get the raw material, it’s never going to be common.
Still, NORQAIN isn’t the first brand to use the material recently and not event the first to put it into a strikingly contemporary sports watch. The recent Formex Space Ghost models springs to mind. But where that went for a monochromatic look across it’s industrially machined case, the new Wild One Meteorite Special Edition gives off a very different vibe.
First, the dial is a lot darker in an anthracite colour, paired with black indexes and handset. It’s more dark side of the moon and actually shows off the materials signature Widmanstatten pattern (the result of crystallised iron-nickel alloys) incredibly well. I love meteorite as a material. I don’t particularly go in for the idea the ‘it’s been millions of years in the making’ symbolism, I prefer to think a little more down-to-Earth. But the geometric striations are incredible.
If that were all the new Wild One was bringing to the party, it would already be the cool kid skulking in the corner. But this particular kid’s also drinking a bottle of really good wine.
One of the big benefits of synthetic materials like NORTEQ is colour and here that means a regal burgundy colour. It’s a really unusual hue and definitely not the kind of colour you see on other sports watches, particularly off-kilter with the grain of the carbon fibre-adjacent material. But you know what? I love it. It pairs phenomenally well with the darker greys of the rest of the watch, it’s not nearly as bright as other Wild One models but is somehow much more eye-catching.
On the wrist, it’s a chunky bit of watch. 42mm across is already at the larger end of the current spectrum (although I still remember when that was comparatively tiny), but the 12.30mm thickness ensures that this won’t be slipping under any elegant shirtsleeves. It’s about what you expect from a multi-level, multi-material case with 200m water resistance and a rockslide’s worth of shock resistance, but it does feel a bit extra.
It’s not heavy of course, the combination of carbon fibre, rubber and titanium is ultra-lightweight. And honestly, the size and dimensions come second in impact to the fact you’re wearing a wine-laced meteor. And I honestly can’t see any way you could make the Wild ONE smaller and keep that tough, sporty look. And who’d change that?
Inside is NORQAIN’s NN20/1 calibre automatic movement, a 70-hour power reserve, COSC-certified number built by the maestros at Kinessi. As for finishing… well, it has a custom rotor but that’s about all you can see. The watch as a whole might be big, but the exhibition window on the back is small enough that the movement feels squeezed in there.
Matching the anthracite rubber shock absorbers and playing in the same ballpark as the striated dial, the watch is set on a rubber strap. In keeping with the rest of the collection, the strap’s stamped with a mesh-like pattern, which I like – but I’d love to see it on an actual mesh bracelet, particularly when the buckle is in the same burgundy NORTEQ as the case. Could you imagine a full bracelet in that? It might be a bit much for everyday wear but I’d love it as an option.
As I said before, meteorite dials are becoming increasingly popular and it’s not too big a surprise to see NORQAIN try their hand. After all, it’s basically slow-cooled, space-faring iron, it’s a tough material. But this also has me wondering what other materials NORQAIN could play with. Stone might be fragile (and honestly, a bit overdone these days) but something like tiger iron could look awesome here.
Regardless of whether the Wild One Meteorite Special Edition is a one-off or the first of more funky editions to come only time will tell. The bottom line for now is that the Wild One just got wilder – and I’m here for it.
Price and Specs:
More details at Norqain.
