The New Norqain Wild One Skeleton 42mm Purple

Depending on your age/musical tastes, the colour purple may evoke memories of “Purple Haze” by Jimi Hendrix or “Purple Rain” by Prince, but whatever song comes to mind, the undeniable fact is that purple is a bold, statement colour. As a brand that has never been shy of colours, it is fitting that Norqain has selected its aptly named Wild One Skeleton for a punchy purple makeover.

CEO Ben Kuffer got off to a flying start with Norqain in 2018 thanks to the heavyweight hitters on the brand’s advisory board. His dream of creating the “ultimate sports watch” materialised thanks to industry veteran Jean-Claude Biver, who provided invaluable assistance in the development of the Wild One, a hyper-performance watch with a cage made from super-resilient Norteq carbon fibre.

Used at the extremities of the case, the carbon fibre cage packs a rubber shock absorber and a titanium container to protect the movement. Coupled with the external lateral bumpers, the watch can take a thrashing. Six times lighter than steel and 3.5 times lighter than titanium, Norteq keeps the watch’s weight to a minimum. The hyper-resilient yet lightweight case and skeletonised movement weigh in at just 78 grammes.

The Wild One Skeleton packs a punch in its new purple and black suit. With a 42mm diameter and height of 12.3mm, the matte black Norteq cage sandwiches the complex 25-component case, including the purple rubber shock absorber and the sandblasted titanium container. Purple dominates the scenery, appearing on the purple rubber ring framing the bezel and on the rubber strap with its purple mesh insert. Protected by the purple rubber guards, the screw-down crown is coated in black rubber. Ready for action, the case is water-resistant to 200 metres and tested to withstand shocks up to 5,000g. As with all Norqain models, the plate on the left side of the case can be customised.

The matte black skeletonised bridges on the dial reveal the openworked automatic movement. The printed numerals and markings on the sloping track and flange are picked out in light purple. Matching the colour scheme, the tips of the faceted diamond-cut indices attached to the flange and the hands feature light purple Super-LumiNova inserts. Completing the picture, the central seconds hand is outlined in purple and filled with white SLN.

Powered by calibre NB08S (Sellita SW200), the COSC chronometer-certified time-only movement has a 41-hour power reserve, beats at a frequency of 28,800vph and features a personalised rotor. A limited edition of 400 pieces, the Wild One Skeleton Purple retails for EUR 5,550. More information at Norqain.com.