Although they only began making watches under the Norquain banner in 2018, the watchmaker?s team have quite the industry pedigree. Boasting links to Breitling, Roventa-Henex and the Federation of the Swiss Watch Industry,  they?ve already partnered with le Locle-based movement maker Kenessi – described by Swiss newspaper Le Temps as the ?industrial arm of Tudor?.  Some start-ups are rather more equal than others.

Norquin?s latest announcement heralds four new watches for the maker?s existing Freedom collection: two GMT models ? one of which is limited to just 300 pieces ? and two classic three-handers.  The new watches are all running automatic movements developed with Kenessi – the two GMTs use the Calibre NN20/2, the three-handers the simpler NN20/1.  More of these later…
The Freedom 60 GMT in steel is Norquain?s first GMT.  Using a simple, short, red-tipped third GMT hand running on a neat day/night 24 hour track inside the minute track?s circumference, it has a 40mm case that?s 49mm lug-to-lug.  The second GMT on offer – there will only be 300 of these – is milled from bronze silicon-aluminium alloy. This is the kind of resilient stuff you?d make landing gear bushings or oil well components from.  The dial carries the same design as the steel watch, but in a properly 1960s tobacco brown you?d see on a BIBA suit.  Now all you need is the 1967 3500 Rover P6 V8 in the same colour to match.

The new GMT movement lets yo...