Go Anywhere Do Anything Watch

The idea of having one watch that can do pretty much everything is an interesting idea that could fulfill the mythical “One Watch Collection”. Watch collectors often call this kind of watch a “Go Anywhere, Do Anything” or GADA watch.

For a watch to be considered a GADA watch it needs to excel in a few very important areas. First and probably most important is the watch has to be durable, often being crafted out of such strong case materials as stainless steel or titanium. Next a watch needs to have at least 100 meters of water resistance, to make sure the watch can survive the occasional dip in the ocean or pool, or even just getting splashed on. A GADA watch also needs to be versatile, meaning it can be worn both while doing strenuous activities as well as fit in when being worn out. Finally a GADA watch needs to offer high legibility in all lighting conditions one might encounter while wearing it, from harsh direct sun to dimly lit evenings.

In my current collection the closest watches I have to being a GADA watch are my IWC GST Aquatimer 2000 in titanium and my IWC Top Gun Chronograph IW388001. The Aquatimer is a great watch, only being 42 mm and it weighs nothing, especially when you forgo the titanium bracelet for the rubber strap. On the bracelet the watch is dressy enough to wear out, while on the rubber strap the watch excels at outdoor activities. I actually bought the Top Gun Chronograph for a second time after trading my original one at the start of the trades that eventually led to my Big Pilot Top Gun Perpetual Calendar. I had originally bought this second watch to resell, but ended up liking it too much the second time around to sell it.



The Top Gun Chronograph was meant to be my everyday watch, so I ended up buying a new IWC rubber strap to replace the original leather strap. I just feel that rubber is the best choice for a daily wearer watch, especially in the overly hot climate of Austin, Texas. The IWC rubber strap does have a decent break in time, so I still haven’t had a chance to really see how comfortable the watch will be with extended wrist time. The watch is also extremely durable and light being crafted out of scratch-proof matte black ceramic. One thing holding the Top Gun Chronograph back from being a true GADA watch is the flyback chronograph and date functions, which makes the dial a little busy. With its 58 mm lug to lug, the watch is a little large to just disappear on the wrist as well.

I feel that the GST Aquatimer is my closest GADA watch, while the Top Gun Chronograph is just a better daily wearer. You could argue that both watches were a little on the pricey side with values between $4,000 and $8,000 to be considered true GADA watches, but price is completely relative and those prices are still relatively affordable when talking about all things watches.

My wife and I had an upcoming trip to the coast to take our twin daughters to see the beach for the first time. Typically I would have put the GST Aquatimer back on the rubber strap and have worn that like I did for our cruise six months ago. The only issues are that I feel the watch might need a service since when you first start it, it keeps horrible time for the first 30 minutes as the oil warms up and also I’m trying to force myself to get used to wearing a watch on a bracelet, which it’s currently paired with.



I did still have the Wild ONE Khaki from Norqain in the safe that we reviewed a few weeks ago though. I thought it might be really fun to try out the Wild ONE as a GADA watch for the trip. It did after all meet most if not all the requirements of a GADA watch.

The Wild ONE is built with durability first and forefront. The carbon based NORTEQ case can take pretty much all the abuse you can throw at it and still look factory fresh. The case is actually crafted in a sandwich style with the middle case being a rubber shock absorber that can take up to 5,000 Gs of shock.

While not being a diver’s watch, the Wild ONE does boast 200 meters of water resistance and features a screw down crown. The water resistance rating is more based on pressure than depth, so saying a watch has 100 meters of water resistance really means the watch is suitable for swimming and snorkeling, not really full on scuba diving. With a rating of 200 meters, the Wild ONE is more than adequate for scuba dives to moderate depths… meaning that it will excel with all encounters with water to everything but the deepest of dives.



The Wild ONE Khaki is a fairly versatile watch with it fitting in just as well at the beach or the pool as it will while out at dinner. The khaki case accents along with the khaki rubber strap really give the watch a sporty look that looks right at home doing outdoor activities. The black dial with its mandala pattern of repeating Ns and its high polished indices and hands give the watch a nice air of elegance on the other end of the spectrum, helping it fit in during more formal activities. The 42 mm diameter and just under 50 mm lug to lug measurement fits my 7.25 inch wrist perfectly as well.

The Wild ONE is a time only watch with no date function to clutter up the dial. Also with its manufacture caliber NN20/1 that was built for the robustness of the case, the movement is up to anything that you can bring its way. The 70 hour power reserve is enough to keep the watch running between extended times being off the wrist as well. The high contrast of the diamond-cut hands and indices against the matte black background also makes the watch extremely legible.

Ok so mind made up, I was going to take along the NORQAIN Wild ONE Khaki with us to the coast. My wife was going to take a slightly newer IWC Aquatimer 1000 IW354805 in stainless steel on a bracelet. While our daughters are only 18 months old, we probably weren’t going to do anything too extreme on our trip, but it would be fun to put the Wild ONE through a fun and somewhat active few days.



The drive from Austin to Port Aransas was around 5 hours with stops, so the first test would be seeing how comfortable the watch was during an extended drive. The best compliment I could give the Wild ONE here was that the watch just disappeared on the wrist. Never once during the drive did I think about the watch or feel like I needed to adjust it or that it was causing me any discomfort.

The first day we were at the coast was an extremely stormy day with the remnants of a deadly storm that went through Texas ending up at the coast as a now slightly less severe, but still very strong storm. The activities for the day pretty much ended up just going to the community’s coal fire pizza restaurant for dinner and drinks and taking the girls for a long walk around the community. The rain did make the warm day just feel extremely unpleasant with the near 100% humidity. Once again the Wild ONE was a joy to wear and the rubber strap combined with the light weight of 84 grams just made the watch a pleasure to wear. I know a few of my larger watches would have started to become very unpleasant to wear in the same situation.

Day two saw us take the girls to the beach for their first time in the ocean. Much to our surprise and enjoyment they really loved the beach. During this time the Wild ONE was subjected to getting sand pretty much all over it from our daughters’ sand filled hands as well as placing it on the beach for various pictures. The watch also received its fair share of seawater from playing with the girls in the shallow surf.



After our time at the beach we headed back to our condo to clean off. Whenever I have a watch that exposed to saltwater, I always rinse it a few times with tap water and dry it off. Not much to my surprise, the Wild ONE looked factory fresh after being subjected to the surf and sand. I’ve heard the brand speak about how early samples were worn for months before release and after that time showed zero signs of wear. They also described the case (and buckle) material is being similar to that of a hardhat, meaning it would be TOUGH to really have the watch show wear. I believe the watch I got to review was a new watch and after wearing it over the course of about a month, the watch still looks brand new. So I do believe NORQAIN’s claims of toughness.

With our beach activities behind us, we then went out to dinner at a nice-ish seafood place. The Wild ONE fit in just fine for the night out where I saw various steel Rolex sport models and even a gold Sky-Dweller. Like I stated earlier, the diamond-cut indices and hands over the matte black textured dial really give the watch an elegant look when needed. Maybe the watch on a black rubber strap would help it be a tiny bit classier, but the khaki strap never bothered me when out.

The final day at the coast was pretty much reserved for a pool day. The community had a few pools on property, but we ended up picking the largest one with a bar and restaurant attached. Having food and drinks next to the pool ensured that we could pretty much stay at the pool as long as the girls were in a good mood.



I’d guess we spent a good 2 to 3 hours in the pool with the Wild ONE being submerged pretty much the entire time. After making sure the crown was screwed down, it was time to get the watch wet. Naturally the watch showed no signs of water ingress and I never really thought about the watch while wearing it in the pool. I would check the time from time to time to make sure we weren’t going to fry ourselves or our daughters though.

The Wild ONE preformed perfectly and even telling time while the watch was submerged was super easy. The hands and indices really catch the sun and reflect nicely off the dial, even when decently submerged. I did catch a few other dads’ checking out the watch, but this time nobody actually asked me about it. Most people were more interested in talking about our twins on this trip.

While the IWC Aquatimer 1000 did stop twice during our trip, the Wild ONE kept ticking the entire time. The power reserve on the Wild ONE is almost twice of the Aquatimer to be fair though. In all the Wild ONE did do extremely well while at the coast, and just like the drive there, the drive back was just as pleasant with the watch being very comfortable on wrist.



So would I say the NORQAIN Wild ONE is a great choice for a GADA watch? I’d say there really isn’t anything I don’t think the watch couldn’t do. For my needs the watch pretty much took everything we did in stride and came out the other side still looking brand new. I know I didn’t really test the 200 meter water resistance or the 5,000 Gs of shock resistance, but toddlers little hands can be rough on watches as well.

Maybe the price of $5,490 makes the Wild ONE a bit steep to be considered a GADA watch, but at least you know the watch can take a beating and pretty much still look like it did the day you bought it. It would have also been easy for NORQAIN to just stick an off the shelf movement in a rugged case and call it a day, but instead they went ahead and added a manufacture movement with a generous power reserve that was designed with the watches’ strengths in mind. That really helps justify the price, especially when you start to compare other watches made out of carbon with manufacture movements ticking inside of them.



Kind of like the end of the review, I have to say that NORQAIN hit a homerun with this watch. I can’t really find much if anything wrong with it. Now I also know it’s just as fun to take on little adventures as it is to wear around during daily life at home. Honestly it will be missed as a travel companion for our next adventures. I wonder if the GST Aquatimer 2000 will do as well on our next trip as the Wild ONE did on this one…

If you’d like to read more about the NORQAIN Wild ONE, check out the following links:

Hourstriker NORQAIN Wild One Khaki Review

NORQAIN’s Official Site