Hockey fan or not, the wintry, frozen sport is utterly inescapable lately, even if you have no clue about shift changes or penalty shots.
The men’s and women’s Olympic hockey teams bringing home a pair of gold medals in heroic fashion (thank you, Jack Hughes!) has given the sport some serious primetime flair. And then there’s smash hit hockey TV series Heated Rivalry (HBO Max), not to mention the recent Saturday Night Live hosting gig nabbed by show star Connor Storrie.
Fittingly in its own right, there’s Swiss luxury watch brand NORQAIN. The first official luxury watch partner of the NHL is meeting the moment with its first collaborative timepiece released alongside the historic hockey league.
Photo via NORQAIN
It makes absolutely perfect sense. NORQAIN co-founder Mark Streit, a former NHL All-Star and Stanley Cup champion, has the on-ice pedigree to match the upstart Swiss brand’s ambition and watchmaking know-how.
The NORQAIN x NHL partnership first skated into view last fall, and the new NORQAIN Adventure Chrono 41mm NHL Edition marks the first NHL-licensed watch to bridge the gap between luxury timekeeping and hard-hitting on-ice action.
The rugged-yet-ultra-premium watch made its debut to plenty of sporty, stylish fanfare during last month’s NHL Stadium Series faceoff between the hometown Tampa Bay Lightning and the Boston Bruins, as I found out during an exclusive press trip.
Between a rather thrilling on-ice brawl, a roaring Tampa Bay comeback and an eventual 6-5 overtime shootout win for the hometown Lightning, NORQAIN couldn’t have scripted a better game on a surprisingly cool Florida evening in front of nearly 65,000 fans.
Between the icy showdown and the city’s Gasparilla Pirate Festival the very same weekend, to call the atmosphere lively and eclectic doesn’t quite do it justice. The NORQAIN x NHL watch proved eye-catching in its own right, with all the specs befitting both luxury and sporting pursuits.
Photo via NORQAIN
Streit told CoolMaterial the company had been working towards an NHL partnership since its founding eight years ago.
“It really reminded me of my path to playing in the league. It takes a lot of hard work just to get to the NHL, and then you have the pressure to perform at the highest level,” he said. “This partnership is similar. We’re so proud to have got the deal done, and we’re motivated to make the most of it. It really is a full-circle moment.”
NORQAIN CEO and Founder Ben Kuffer echoed that sentiment, calling the partnership and its first NHL-licensed watch a “huge milestone,” adding that the new NORQAIN x NHL Adventure Chrono “celebrates the sport of hockey” with its intentionality and rink-inspired detailing throughout.
From the white “scratched ice” dial to a clever and playful “face-off circle” sub-dial at 9-o’clock, the watch and its sporty rubber strap seem to say that it’s never a bad time to talk hockey. The NHL logo rests subtly in a 6-o’clock chronograph subdial, while a “time-out” sign also adorns the watch.
The coolest part about it might be the strap, a black rubber number featuring hockey puck material. Yes, seriously.
And to deliver maximum bang for your buck (the NORQAIN Adventure Chrono 41mm NHL Edition starts at $5,490), a stainless steel strap option gives you two watches in one distinct offering. About the packaging: The box opens up to a hockey rink design and comes with a special puck, the ultimate in collectibility.
Photo via NORQAIN
It slots into the rest of the NORQAIN lineup quite nicely indeed, taking the luxury outdoor watch mindset of its Adventure Sport line and ramping things up with center-ice detailing.
Streit thinks the watch could appeal to hockey fans who aren’t fully immersed in #WristGame endeavors just yet.
“What better watch for a collector who loves hockey? The design is so good it could inspire a hockey fan to take an interest in watches,” he told me. “It’s also a versatile watch. You can dress it up or down between the (stainless steel) bracelet and the rubber strap. I really love that the watch reveals more and more thoughtful details the closer you look at it.”
Worth noting beyond the rink itself is the fact that the buzzed-about brand recently updated its Adventure Collection with a duo of COSC-certified steel timepieces set on durable rubber straps, including the similarly sporty yet refined Adventure Neverest 40mm Orange, while its Wild One lineup is the company’s flagship, Streit mentioned.
As to where the partnership between NORQAIN and the NHL might lead next, both Streit and Kuffer see points racking up on the scoreboard, so to speak.
Could this mean each NHL team gets its own detailed watch, in a similar fashion to the NFL’s partnership with fellow Swiss luxury brand Breitling?
“I can’t give away any secrets, but I will say that we are just getting started,” Kuffer said.
