Norqain and Gary Neville stopped by the London Studio for a Wild night

Russell Sheldrake

It’s true. In this business, we get to rub shoulders with our fair share of A-List celebs and international sports stars. Whether we’re interviewing Usain Bolt on a boat or sitting down with Superman Henry Cavill, it’s a real privilege to be in our position and gain access to these people. But it’s not every day that we get them in one of our Studios to host an event, but that’s exactly what happened last night, as we were lucky enough to have the UK and Ireland Business Partner and Ambassador for Norqain, Gary Neville, in town.

The retired football player has become an incredibly successful businessman in his second career after hanging up the boots, and while his other ventures have focused more on the development of Manchester, the city where he played his entire career at United, he has also invested in one of our favourite brands, Norqain. So when Norqain told us that they wanted to celebrate one of their latest releases, the purple Wild One Skeleton 42 and they were bringing their new signing Gary Neville with them, we knew it was going to be a special night.

Alongside Gary, we also had the brand’s Vice President, Toby Küffer to help proceedings and give us more backstory on the brand that has become a cult favourite among watch enthusiasts. The room was packed out for this one, and while there were certainly plenty of Man United fans in the house, every single person there was just as excited to get hands on with these Norqain watches. There were times when I couldn’t tell who was more popular, Gary or Toby, with both being asked questions and for selfies throughout the night.

As always, the night was headlined by a talk between our guests of honour and our very own Andrew. Covering topics from Norqain’s very beginnings, along with the anecdote of how the Wild One name came about. Fun fact, it was a direct quote from an email Jean-Claude Biver sent to the brand. Is there anything JCB can’t do?

We also got treated to a bit of a back and forth between Andrew and Gary, as it seems Gary’s entrepreneurial spirit was trigged by looking around our Studio, asking Andrew how he managed to open a watch store that didn’t make you feel looked down upon when you walk in. Something even the member of the Class of 92 had experienced in the past. While Andrew was almost speechless when Gary asked the question it still didn’t stop him from getting football and soccer mixed up multiple times throughout the night.

Of course, the night was focused on the new purple Wild One, but the entire Norqain catalogue was out on display, including one example of the hard to get Ice Cream Freedom 60 Chrono Enjoy Life. Which Gary actually said he would be buying if no one else on the night did as a friend of his was lusting after it.

There was plenty of chat had that night, with discussions around Norqain and its incredible journey in the industry so far, people discussing which model was their favourite and then going on to buy it, and a healthy amount of football chat along the way. A top evening in the London Studio, and one that none of us will be forgetting any time soon.