Q&ANorqain’s Pride And Joy: A Chat With The Brand’s Tobias Küffer And Dean Schneider

TWG: Dean, could you talk about your early experiences with animals and wildlife and what made you so passionate about all of it?

Dean Schneider: Sure, I guess what actually sparked the flame in me was Steve Irvin, to be honest. I mean, it was Irwin and I watched all these shows on Animal Planet and Discovery Channel, when I was a small boy growing up in Switzerland. I wasn’t really exposed to a lot of exotic animals. There was this craziness of the wild, and then, TV shows could bring that excitement and that wilderness into my living room, basically. And that was what sparked the flame of conservation in me, before I found the lion connection.

TWG: And, about your move to South Africa, how did you decide to do that and how long did it take to make it happen?

DS: The move to South Africa happened at a young age. I established my own finance company, and over the course of the next couple of years I had up to 4,550 employees. I made good money. I was very fortunate to be able to afford things that others can only afford later in life. In the beginning, it was a goal to be financially free, to be able to have a nice car and house. It was all good and amazing. I still love cars and houses and everything, but the emotional value of all that dropped soon. I realised it wasn’t just my experience. Say you drive a Ferrari. You love the car, it smells good, you take care of it. But maybe a year down the line, you’ll see it as just a car. You don’t hear it the same way anymore. You don’t feel the same way about it anymore, and you need something new for satisfaction. It was a dangerous feeling to have at such a young age. How would I be at the ages of 30, 40, 50… Hence, I was looking for more purpose than that.

On a trip to South Africa, which was basically a trip for our top performers—recreational, with activities like jet-skiing, fine dining and so on—there was also a safari experience, where we saw lions and baboons, and lots of different animals. That was the moment when I realised. Okay, I’d grown up in Switzerland, far away from all those exotic, crazy animals. But if I would be prepared to move my life away from Switzerland into a country where these animals are at home, I might really be able to get into animal conservation and do something actively for and with those animals. So, I decided to leave everything behind and move to South Africa or southern Africa.

And to answer the second part of your question. How long did it take me? It was roughly two to two and a half from that moment. Over that time, I went to visit people I had met there. I would go to different sanctuaries. Someone recommended a sanctuary in Namibia and then we went to Zimbabwe, and Botswana, etc. A lot would change for me—living in a place with different laws, politics, being far from home, and financially even… I didn’t know what property would be like in South Africa. But if I wanted to do something with animals, I would need property. I was not clued in on things, but over time, I managed to get all the basics together, the money together and everything I needed to be able to start with the mission eventually in South Africa. And the rest, as they say, is history.

Tobias Küffer, vice president, Norqain

Dean Schneider, wildlife conservationist and Norqain ambassador

TWG: What are the values of Norqain that resonate with you and what made you decide to partner with the brand?

DS: This decision to partner with the brand was clearly Ben (Küffer, CEO). He was the first person I met from Norqain. He was the one who approached me. It was actually his wife, who was following my work before I met him. When Ben came up with the idea of Norqain, he knew that the slogan or motto of the brand would be ‘My life, my way’, and he felt like I would be a right fit for the brand because of that. Over time, we spoke, spent time together, exchanged ideas. We hardly spoke about the business side of things and, because of this, when the topic was broached, I knew that this might be the right the right thing. I’d anyway struggled with other companies, because it’s tough to meet people who will remain true to what they initially say. There’s a lot of green washing out there. A lot of companies are only sustainable more to uphold an image of being so. They’re not always true to that image with the way they work.

With Norqain, it’s been a different experience. With Ben, I saw they literally do what they say. But one thing I wouldn’t be okay with, and I told Ben, was to be with a brand that promotes a watch that has a leather strap, which is a product of a dead animal. Basically, that could be a serious issue for my image as well, and if they wanted me to be 100 percent behind the brand, a solution had to be found. He went back to the team and board to discuss things, and he came back to me and agreed to only produce 100-percent animal cruelty-free watches. That’s what sealed the deal.

TWG: And Tobias, at that point were you guys looking for a partnership like this—with someone associated with wildlife perhaps? Or did things unexpectedly just come about?

Tobias Küffer: No, to go back a little, when Norqain was being conceived, to run your own watch brand, you either buy a sleeping brand and you bring it back to life and then you have to tell those stories. You can build on that, but the base is still that story that already existed. The reason we went for a completely new brand is because we wanted to be 100-percent authentic with what we stood for and not adopt something that already had an image. That meant bringing our values into the company as a family. Then we were on the look-out for organisations and people who shared the same values as us. Though we didn’t start out thinking that wildlife conservation would definitely be a cause for us to support, but it was still important to us. I love animals for instance. So, when the opportunity came up, and knowing Dean’s work and profile, and that he’s Swiss like us, it all just made perfect sense.

DS: That’s right.

TWG: Sounds like it was just the perfect match.

DS: Yeah, that was also the case for me, you know, like working with a Swiss brand… Because I’ve been dealing with a lot of other global brands, also watch brands who sent me offers, and clothing brands where I had to deal mostly with the American headquarters, etc. It just felt better to be working with a Swiss company, whom I connected with culturally, and even over common values. I just felt so much more aligned and at home with even the way we spoke, and the contractual aspects even. It was just very Swiss. When you deal with other people, it’s like more you first have to get used to the way they say things and do things.

TWG: Tobias, could you tell me if Mr (Jean-Claude) Biver gets involved in any of these decisions related to partnerships, or even special editions, aside from The Wild One (which I know he had a lot to do with)?

TK: Absolutely. I mean as advisor to the board, of course he gets involved with big partnership decisions. I would say he’s more like a trusted friend, of Ben’s as well. Now, Ben really looks up to him. I think Ben has two mentors in his life in the watch industry, one being our father and the other being Jean-Claude Biver. So, whenever there’s a big decision to be made, he definitely calls both of them. Luckily for us, Jean-Claude is always very open to give his opinion. In the end, it’s still Ben and us as a team who make the decision, but it’s always a very valued opinion if it comes from Mr Biver.

TWG: Dean, let’s talk about that famous picture of yours with your wrist in the lion’s mouth, while wearing a Norqain. How did that happen?

DS: It happened just naturally. You know, when you’re shooting with animals, lions in particular, you cannot stage anything. It’s beautiful on the one hand, but it’s also tough. I’ve been there with the lions, Dexter in particular, wearing Norqain watches. Once in all those times, there was a moment when he was being playful. I think there was a smell on the watch, maybe dog’s hair, and he was smelling it. At first, he was just nibbling with his front teeth. I was like, “Why are you biting? You want the whole wrist?” And I just stuck the whole wrist into his mouth and he was just ready to take a picture and that was it.

All the promotional material, the pictures are 100 percent spontaneous. You cannot tell a lion to do this or do that. They just do it if they want, and if they don’t want to, they’ll just leave. They’re not models, you know. They’re just natural creatures. And we just have the ability to spend so much time with them because they see us as part of the pride. That allows us to create those amazing pictures and moments.

Dean Schneider and the lions on Instagram

TWG: Now Tobias and Dean, this is for both of you. What were the decisions that went into the creation of the Hakuna Mipaka watch?

TK: It was a very creative process. At the table were our team, there was Jean-Claude Biver, and Pascal Bourquard from Biwi (who collaborated on the strap-making), and Dean, of course. It was a great mix of creative people, and Pascal, who was more on the innovative and technical side with materials, and Jean Claude Biver, who had the special case construction in his head. That the beauty of it, in the end was bringing all that together and creating a piece which not only had the technical features and special material, but also something that looks good and feels good on the wrist.  

DS: Yeah, I think that was absolutely the biggest challenge to have a watch which can withstand a lifestyle like mine, but also one that can be worn on a daily basis, or during sports—something that works when you’re with animals, but also when there’s a business dinner. Often, when you have practical or robust watches, they don’t always look that nice and fine and so on. And here you have just everything in one that is also animal cruelty-free, so also, morally and ethically, without any compromises. 

TK: It feels super too because of the material, Norteq—proprietary to us. It is 3.5 times lighter than titanium, yet very hard and sturdy. And very far back during the construction, we managed to make it even harder, so it’s pretty much impossible to get a scratch on that. 

DS: And a very interesting feature in the Hakuna Mipaka watches is that, if you look at this shock absorber here inside this rubber part, it contains soil of the actual Hakuna Mipaka oasis—the wild reserve, where the lions live. I collected sand soil from that ground where the lions were walking through. Flew it over to Switzerland, and it was used in the shock absorber. Everyone who’s wearing one of these watches wears a piece of the Hakuna Mipaka on their wrist.

Tobias Küffer, on The Wild One Hakuna Mipaka: "It feels super too because of the material, Norteq—proprietary to us. It is 3.5 times lighter than titanium, yet very hard and sturdy"

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Dean Schneider: "And a very interesting feature in the Hakuna Mipaka watches is that, if you look at this shock absorber here inside this rubber part, it contains soil of the actual Hakuna Mipaka oasis—the wild reserve, where the lions live"

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Tobias Küffer: "It feels like a velvet strap, right? But it’s 100-percent rubber. He micro-lasered hair rom rubber, so it has that furry feel, but it has the advantages of rubber, like you can wear it for a swim"

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TWG: And what’s this strap about—the texture and all?

TK: that’s a cool one. this was a world premiere by Biwi. Biwi works with all the big guys. And this is the first time he did this. It feels like a velvet strap, right? But it’s 100-percent rubber. He micro-lasered hair rom rubber, so it has that furry feel, but it has the advantages of rubber, like you can wear it for a swim and not be afraid of damaging it.

TWG: Yeah, and I like how it mimics the texture on the dial goes on to the strap. It’s a very good effect. Apart from The Wild One series, what are the other watches that you personally like?

TK: My favourite watch is the Independence Skeleton 42mm. This is the watch that I wear the most. I’m also very much into that skeleton design to be honest—even on the newer watches. I just love the fact that you see more life inside the actual watch. I think it gives it a very premium touch.

Norqain The Wild One Skeleton SHOP THE COLLECTION

TWG: And Tobias, have you visited Hakuna Mipaka?

TK: Unfortunately not, even though it is on my bucket list. We were talking about it yesterday, and it would be an absolute dream. But it’s also important to mention that it’s not a zoo; people aren’t supposed to go there. It’s really just for the animals, and not for us as spectators. I think those very few people who have had the honour of visiting are very lucky. If one day that happens to me, I’ll be very happy and lucky. But I completely understand if that doesn’t happen, for the reasons I mentioned.

TWG: How has this partnership evolved over time? And how do Norqain support the Hakuna Pipaka?

TK: As far as an evolution is concerned, things haven’t changed too much. There’s a special connection between Dean and us. In terms of our contribution, it’s really with the watches. With the Hakuna Mipaka editions, 10 percent of all the sales goes directly to South Africa to support Dean and his work.

DS: And I must say, there have been other things, apart from the main collaboration deal. There were always like certain trips I would make to animal sanctuaries for rhinos or to Kenya and so on. Almost every time Norqain would jump in as a sponsor for the trips, as long as I would wear the watches and mention the brand in the content posted. I think there has been a lot of support going on, from both sides—about content, marketing, social media. There is a give and take in a very natural and organic way.

TWG: Tobias, could you talk about the recent novelties from Norqain?

TK: There are these skeleton models which we launched, with our new manufacture calibre—a flyback chronograph. It’s our very first titanium watch (grade-5). I think, when you play around with the pushers, you’ll feel immediately this super-smooth movement, which is amazing. We’ve developed it from the ground-up with AMT, who specialise in manufacturing high-end calibres. It’s a very big moment for us because we’ve been wanting to do a manufacture calibre. Externally, there’s a DLC coating on the titanium. I personally like the purple one more. What about you?

Norqain Independence Skeleton SHOP THE COLLECTION

TWG: Honestly speaking, I think if I had the choice, I would go for the purple too. It definitely stands out and the combination is really striking.

TK: Yeah, and did you see the movement behind? We even have the whole mountain theme going on in the movement, and you have a nice view of the chronograph’s column wheel.

TWG: Yeah. And the mountain theme goes with your logo.

TK: Yeah, exactly!

TWG: Finally, both of you, what is the future of this partnership? What more can we expect? Is it time-bound, are there any specific plans?

TK: From our perspective, the sky’s the limit, and we’re always open to exploring and challenging the status quo in everything we do. And I think Dean has the same spirit—to keep doing things ‘My life, my way’.

DS: It will naturally evolve. You know, like there’s no pressure from any side. And there will be times where it’s going to be more intense, maybe creating some completely new products, and bringing something very new to the market. Or we could be catching up on existing things and talking about that. The sky’s the limit though, yes. I mean, they’re also exploring further areas in ambassadorships of Norqain, such as different sports, different personalities, which I think is very important and very good. But yeah, wherever they will want me and need me and combine my story with the brand itself, I’m going to be all in on it.

TWG: Great. Thank you so much. This has been a lovely conversation.

TK: Thank you. 

TWG: It’s been very nice to meet you guys.

DS: Nice to meet you too!