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Will Ferrell’s stature as a comedic leading man needs no introduction, but his second act as a watch influencer is just getting started. So it was when he strolled into Feldmar Watch Company in LA over the weekend to pick up his latest piece, which will likely make an appearance (perhaps accessorizing a ref’s uniform) at a Kings game in the near future. Feldmar stocks many of the world’s most revered brands, from Omega to Parmigiani Fleurier, but—in a move that will surprise no one with any knowledge of Ferrell’s tastes—he wasn’t there for a five-or six-figure grail from an august Swiss brand. Instead, he was there to snag the new Adventure Chrono NHL Limited Edition from Norqain, a watch with a hockey-inspired dial from a Swiss brand younger than the Nintendo Switch. It wasn’t your average celebrity-buys-a-new-watch moment, but Norqain isn’t a typical watch brand.
There are, roughly speaking, two kinds of celebrity-backed products. The first, and far more common variety, is the classic we’ll-give-you-a-dump-truck-full-of-money situation, while the second is driven by true passion and genuine interest. Watch brands are no different. While one doesn’t imagine Rolex had to try too hard to get Leo DiCaprio to wear a white gold Daytona, the second-and third-tier brands of the world have to work a lot harder to sell the narrative of an actor or athlete with an eight-figure income wearing a watch that retails for a few hundred (or even a few thousand) bucks.
Upstart Swiss watchmaker Norqain, however, has hit on a different strategy. With the help of some of the biggest names in professional hockey, a handful of high-profile celebrity enthusiasts, and one of the most legendary figures in luxury watchmaking, it has gone from unknown name to burgeoning contender in less than a decade. The secret? Making a watch that athletes—and their watch-loving fans—actually want to wear.
Norqain was founded in 2018 by former Breitling executive Ben Küffer, but if you’re conversant in hat-tricks, breakaways, and high-sticking, you might be more familiar with a few of his co-founders: Stanley Cup champion Mark Streit, Nashville Predators captain Roman Josi, and GOAT contender Sidney Crosby. Choosing guys who play one of the more physically aggressive sports on the planet to promote an intricate mechanical timepiece may seem like an odd bet, but for Norqain, the brand’s spot in the middle of the hockey-horology Venn Diagram is a feature, not a bug. “It’s incredibly difficult for a new brand to break through in watches, especially with collectors who have seen everything,” says Craig Karger, founder of WatchEnthusiast and creator of independent brand Wren Watches. “What stands out to me about Norqain is how clear they are about who they are and what they’re trying to build.”
Building a successful watch brand is about more than just assembling a group of famous backers, and to that end, Küffer had help from co-founder Ted Schneider, whose family owned Breitling for decades, and Jean-Claude Biver, a legendary figure in the Swiss watch industry. What Crosby and his cadre of NHL veterans offered in sports cred, Schneider and Biver—who is famed for turning around the fortunes of Blancpain, Omega, and Hublot in the 1980s and 1990s—did for the brand’s horological strategy. It was Biver (who still serves as the brand’s consigliere) who pushed Norqain to focus on being a true sports watch company rather than simply another brand selling sporty watches.