norqain soccer aid 2025 wild one limited edition watch

Norqain looks to crack UK market with launch of Wild ONE of 1 at Soccer Aid

Yesterday saw Old Trafford play host to an all-star lineup, and an exclusive watch from the charity football match's official timekeeper

After its new partnership with Manchester United football legend Gary Neville announced in March, we should have seen this one coming.

Adding another purpose-driven collaboration to its philanthropist repertoire, Swiss watchmaker Norqain acted timekeeper for Soccer Aid 2025 – the world’s biggest charity football match.

Taking place yesterday at Manchester United’s Old Trafford stadium, the 14th charity football match for children’s charity UNICEF saw an impressive England lineup featuring the likes of professionals Jermain Defoe, Toni Duggan and Gary Neville himself, plus celebrities Steven Bartlett, Tom Grennan and Paddy McGuinness.

soccer aid 2025 team practise
Actor James Nelson-Joyce and singer Tom Grennan in practise for Team England

They faced go a formidable XI team who eventually beat them 5-4, including Edwin van der Sar and Carlos Tevez alongside boxer Tony Bellew, YouTuber Tobi Brown and Baby Reindeer star Richard Gadd, all captained by Tyson Fury.

Brand ambassadors are nothing new in watchmaking, but speaking to founder and CEO Ben Küffer spotlighted the real value that the right person can bring: “Gary and I are business partners now. We know what we want to do. He’s really involved as a shareholder, but also emotionally, and he hates not knowing the industry, like margin structures etc, yet. Having someone so well respected like Gary Neville on board really opens up the UK market to us – he’s a really cool guy as well as an entrepreneur.”

To celebrate and raise all-important funds for children in need, Norqain revealed a one-of-a-kind timepiece: the Wild ONE of 1 Soccer Aid Limited Edition. This unique luxury sports watch combines a solid 18K red gold case with NORTEQ, the brand’s exclusive carbon fiber composite that’s six times lighter than steel.

Küffer explained that, “We’re one of very few companies that use certified gold. When we started in 2018, one thing that I knew is that had to do things right from the start.”

“Gold is a critical subject. Our boutiques tells us that they have more discussions about this than the movements. People like to hear the story, and they care more about the emotional value of what we’re doing than just the movement.”

It goes without saying though, that the business of gold is turbulent at present, but Küffer explains that “when you see the 5-7% increase in prices from the watch brands, it’s not yet because of the tariffs, it’s really because of the price of the dollar.”

“At the moment, we’re growing. I still see sales in the US on the same level, and I can’t imagine us increasing our prices again,” he says. The brand is clearly making a conscious effort to keep prices reasonable for the customer as it officially enters the British market, with its current watch prices averaging CHF 4,200 – a rise of only 12% vs 2023.

And they’re clearly doing something right. Norqain told Watchpro that it saw a 44% growth in sellouts in 2024, and is forecasting an additional 42% increase in 2025.

Amongst those statistics will certainly be the exclusive Wild ONE of 1 Soccer Aid auction timepiece, which is powered by the COSC-certified Caliber NN08S – a Swiss skeleton automatic movement with 26 jewels, a 41-hour power reserve, and a sapphire case back engraved with the Soccer Aid logo and “ONE of 1” detailing.

The 200m water-resistant watch also features anti-magnetic protection, a blue rubber shock absorber, and white X1 Super-LumiNova on red gold hands and indexes.

It will be auctioned online at MatchWornShirt.com from 12–22 June, with 100% of proceeds going to UNICEF.

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