The Wild One X-Lite is the most lightweight watch Norqain has ever made – just 45 grams.
X-Lite, a new proprietary carbon fibre composite, joins lightweight materials such as aluminium, titanium, rubber, and NORTEQ®.
Limited to 200 pieces – Price: starting at US$13,900.
Sports watch. We hear the phrase all the time – undoubtedly the most popular wristwatch category. But what would make a watch a true sports watch in the modern era? This was the mission Norqain sought to accomplish. Modern manufacturing and materials have certainly made watches more robust. Have you ever held a Rolex Explorer 1016? Get hands-on, and you’ll start to wonder how such (by today’s standards) tinny watches could withstand harsh environments and activity. There are plenty of sports watches, but how many would you actually feel safe wearing while engaging in sports?
Norqain Wild One Skeleton 39mm Mint.
With the Wild One, Norqain firmly staked its claim on the ultra-competitive sports watch ground, becoming a brand whose signature was a sports watch design you could actually safely and comfortably wear during strenuous and sporty activity. Lightweight, yet 5,000Gs shock-resistant – a watch that, after each swing of your tennis racket, you do not need to wonder if your movement is no longer running within COSC standards. To date, the lightest Wild One watch, the Skeleton 39mm, measures in at 64 grams. The 42mm models range from 78 to 84 grams. Today, Norqain pushes its ultra-lightweight pursuit even further, unveiling its new concept Wild One watch, the Norqain Wild One Skeleton X-Lite Limited Edition, which weighs just 45 grams.
To get a sense of how light that is, 45 grams roughly equates to how a golf ball, nine U.S. nickels, or a handful of rice would feel in your hand. Now, what about its size? The case presents a new dimension set for the Wild One Skeleton, coming in at 41mm in diameter, 11.95mm thick, and 48.7mm across the wrist lug-to-lug – comfortable dimensions for most sports watch buyers. A tradeoff that results from the lighter build is a depth rating of 100 metres rather than 200 metres. However, I think we can all agree that a reduction to 100 metres is not very off-putting.
The X-Lite is the lightest Wild One watch yet, thanks to its remixed case design architecture, a complex case composed of more than 30 components, which integrates a highly shock-absorbing, new proprietary carbon fibre composite casing ring made of “X-Lite” and a high-performance mix of NORTEQ®, titanium and aluminium. Norqain, with its partner BIWI, determined the right combination of the aforementioned materials to achieve a high strength-to-weight ratio. You will also notice the scalloping of the case and bezel, where Norqain has strategically shed some material without dampening the robustness factor.
Exhibited inside the watch, front and back, is Norqain’s new 4K manufacture calibre, developed with its partners at AMT. It’s a 65-hour automatic and chronometer-certified movement. With 65 hours of power reserve, 24 more hours than any previous Wild One Skeleton reference, the X-Lite inches closer to being weekend-proof like the Kenissi calibre-driven Wild One watches with solid dials. As we saw on the 8K manufacture chronograph calibre, the bespoke, openworked architecture reflects a mountainous landscape image.
In terms of strap options, there are two. The first is a case-matching black and yellow rubber strap with a perforated upper layer that drives home the sporty look the watch needs to have. The second, which I honestly need to hold in hand once I get to Geneva to fully understand and appreciate, is a new rubber strap that “combines a perforated rubber upper layer with an interchangeable ultra-light stretch-band underneath, with sizing adjusted through interchangeable bands.” This ultra-light, interchangeable under layer is said to naturally adapt to the wrist and offer increased comfort.
Cards on the table. A weight of 45 grams is by no means a record-breaking weight in the watch world. But, factoring in a weight:robustness:price ratio, Norqain has really done something impressive here. Any watch I can think of that is more lightweight than the new Norqain Wild One Skeleton X-Lite Limited Edition is either far less robust or, if robust, far, far more expensive.
I do not want to take anything away from the brand here, but, as a bit of a thought experiment, just imagine Nike was the name on the dial and case. You would not have to change a thing, right? Maybe the 4K calibre bridges would be more swoosh-inspired than mountain-inspired. If brands like On or Nike were to ever go into the luxury mechanical sports watch market, a Wild One like this X-Lite would be the best possible result they would never be able to achieve, of course, without the sports watch mastery Norqain and its partners have. I give so much credit to Norqain’s designers, watchmakers, and manufacturing partners like BIWI because the Wild One Skeleton lineup as a whole blends so well with the aesthetic you see from the most popular activewear brands around the world.
Now, will everyone intrigued by Norqain’s Wild One offering necessarily feel the need to spend a little more than twice the retail price of other Skeleton models to shave off 20 or so grams? I could see some cause for pause from some. That being said, there are plenty of people out there who want the best or ultimate version of a design a brand offers. And right now, this is the Wild One to beat. In fact, the ultimate weight:robustness:price proper sports watch design to beat.
Norqain Wild One Skeleton X-Lite Limited Edition pricing and availability
The Norqain Wild One Skeleton X-Lite Limited Edition is available now for enquiries and will be limited to 200 pieces. Price: US$13,900 (black and yellow rubber strap), TBC (black rubber and yellow stretch strap)
Brand
Norqain
Model
Wild One Skeleton X-Lite Limited Edition
Reference
N3003.26X01.B01.R01 (black and yellow rubber strap)
N3003.26X01.B01.F01 (black rubber and yellow stretch strap)
Case Dimensions
41mm (D) x 11.95mm (T) x 48.7mm (LTL)
Case Material
NORTEQ®, X-Lite, rubber, titanium, aluminium
Water Resistance
100 metres, screw-down crown
Crystal(s)
Sapphire front and back
Dial
Openworked
Strap
Black and yellow rubber strap, black pin buckle
Black rubber and yellow stretch strap, black pin buckle
Movement
Calibre 4K, manufacture (AMT), automatic
Power Reserve
65 hours
Functions
Hours, minutes, seconds, chronometer-certified
Availability
Limited to 200 pcs.
Price
US$13,900 (black and yellow rubber strap)
TBC (black rubber and yellow stretch strap)