About a year ago, NORQAIN introduced its first travel watch - the elegantly vintage-styled Freedom 60 GMT, featuring the new NN20/2 GMT movement with COSC certification, produced in collaboration with Kenissi (known for supplying movements to Tudor and Chanel). Now, the brand presents the Adventure NEVEREST GMT, a modern sports watch following three Adventure watches released earlier this summer. The NORQAIN Adventure NEVEREST GMT debuts as a trio: two steel models with forest green or royal blue accents and a black DLC model with sunset orange accents.
The watch is equipped with the NN20/2 GMT movement, operating at 28,800 vph and offering a 70-hour power reserve. I've occasionally heard or read comments suggesting NORQAIN somehow claims "in-house" movements, but this is not the case. I suspect the word "manufacture" is sometimes mistakenly perceived as synonymous with "in-house manufacture," but to clarify, NORQAIN collaborates with Kenissi (very transparently). The first movement the brand developed jointly with Kenissi was the three-hand NN20/1, followed by the NN20/2, the latter of which is featured in these AN GMTs.
It's unsurprising that the NN20/2 caliber closely resembles the MT 5652 caliber used in the highly successful Black Bay GMT model from Tudor, as both were produced by Kenissi. However, there are differences in overall finishing, different rotors, and the use of a Nivarox balance spring in the NNN20/2, whereas the MT 5652 uses silicon. Without considering this context, it's hard to argue against the fact that NORQAIN has a GMT watch that surpasses many renowned brands.
An independently adjustable hour hand, synchronized with the date window (both forwards and backwards), makes the watch easy to use, and some call it a "true" GMT. Unlike its predecessors, the Freedom 60 GMT and Grand Seiko Spring Drive GMT SBGE255, the NORQAIN GMT features a bidirectional rotating bezel with a ceramic insert, allowing time tracking in three time zones.
Moving on to the case and dial, note that the AN GMT measures 41mm in width, 14.94mm in thickness, and 48.9mm lug-to-lug. It can't be called thin, although it's almost identical to the aforementioned Black Bay GMT and GS SBGE255. The case boasts a decent 100-meter water resistance. In addition to the bracelet and fabric strap, the brand also introduces a new vegan rubber NATO strap with accents matching the chosen watch color scheme.
All three variants have a black dial with a NORQAIN pattern, a matching black date window, a red GMT hand, and X1 Super-LumiNova coating on the hands and indices. The dials are one of the brand's new specialties, and I recommend viewing them in metal if you have the opportunity, as they look quite impressive in person.
NORQAIN certainly doesn't feel the need to set aggressive prices to compensate for its newness. The steel Adventure NEVEREST GMT model in blue or green with a fabric strap or rubber strap is priced at $3,690, while the rubber NATO strap shown in this article is $3,760, and on a steel bracelet, it costs $3,900. The black DLC model with orange accents is slightly more expensive, priced at $4,100 on a strap, $4,190 on a rubber NATO, and $4,500 on a matching DLC bracelet. Note that 10% of the sales revenue will be donated to the Butterfly Help Project to support Sherpa families who have lost their lives in the Himalayas. For more detailed information, you can visit norqain.com.