Dean Schneider always had an entrepreneurial spirit and had begun a career in finance in Switzerland. In 2017, he gave it all up and moved to South Africa where he established a wildlife sanctuary and animal rehabilitation centre called Hakuna Mipaka. His journey has been the embodiment of NORQAIN’s motto: your life, your way.

NORQAIN has partnered with animal sanctuary founder Dean Schneider to strengthen our shared values and support the Hakuna Mipaka Oasis.

Dean Schneider always had an entrepreneurial spirit and had begun a career in finance in Switzerland. In 2017, he gave it all up and moved to South Africa where he established a wildlife sanctuary and animal rehabilitation centre called Hakuna Mipaka. His journey has been the embodiment of NORQAIN’s motto: your life, your way.

NORQAIN has partnered with animal sanctuary founder Dean Schneider to strengthen our shared values and support the Hakuna Mipaka Oasis.

Wild one x dean schneider

Limited to 300 pieces, the Wild ONE Hakuna Mipaka Limited Edition has a rich golden brown colour and lion fur-motif finish inspired by King Dexter of the Hakuna Mipaka Oasis. It’s cased in ultra-robust and ultra-light brown NORTEQ, a carbon-fibre composite material developed exclusively for NORQAIN. This limited edition contains a piece of South Africa as we have integrated sand of the Hakuna Mipaka Oasis into the rubber shock absorber. Powered by the reliable Manufacture Calibre NN20/1 by Kenissi, a Swiss Made chronometer-certified automatic mechanical movement with a 70-hour power reserve, it features a sapphire crystal case back adorned with the “HAKUNA MIPAKA” logo and “ONE of 300.” The case back surround is engraved with Dean’s mission statement: “We need to learn to love them exactly the way they are and not the way we wish them to be!”

This is the third watch NORQAIN has produced in collaboration with Dean, following the sold-out Wild ONE Hakuna Mipaka limited-edition of 2022 and the women’s Independence 40mm Hakuna Mipaka introduced earlier this year. Ten per cent of the proceeds generated by sales of the Wild ONE Hakuna Mipaka Limited Edition will contribute to support Dean’s mission and projects which he runs at the oasis.

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Wild one x dean schneider

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Limited to 300 pieces, the Wild ONE Hakuna Mipaka Limited Edition has a rich golden brown colour and lion fur-motif finish inspired by King Dexter of the Hakuna Mipaka Oasis. It’s cased in ultra-robust and ultra-light brown NORTEQ, a carbon-fibre composite material developed exclusively for NORQAIN. This limited edition contains a piece of South Africa as we have integrated sand of the Hakuna Mipaka Oasis into the rubber shock absorber. Powered by the reliable Manufacture Calibre NN20/1 by Kenissi, a Swiss Made chronometer-certified automatic mechanical movement with a 70-hour power reserve, it features a sapphire crystal case back adorned with the “HAKUNA MIPAKA” logo and “ONE of 300.” The case back surround is engraved with Dean’s mission statement: “We need to learn to love them exactly the way they are and not the way we wish them to be!”

This is the third watch NORQAIN has produced in collaboration with Dean, following the sold-out Wild ONE Hakuna Mipaka limited-edition of 2022 and the women’s Independence 40mm Hakuna Mipaka introduced earlier this year. Ten per cent of the proceeds generated by sales of the Wild ONE Hakuna Mipaka Limited Edition will contribute to support Dean’s mission and projects which he runs at the oasis.

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Wild one x dean schneider

This black NORTEQ creation, limited to 500 pieces, incorporates a piece of Dean’s wildlife: the vegan sand-coloured rubber shock absorber has been mixed with sand from his Hakuna Mipaka oasis in South Africa, which creates a unique speckled design. The black dial is decorated with a lion fur pattern as well as the sanctuary’s spear-and-shield logo. This dynamic pattern is also found on the black vegan-certified rubber strap. A powerful message about humankind’s relationship with animals is engraved on the caseback: “We need to learn to love them exactly the way they are and not the way we wish them to be!”

Wild ONE represents wildlife without harming wildlife because it is completely free from any animal products – an extension of our promise in July 2021 to discontinue our use of leather goods for all of our new product launches and phase-out leather straps for all existing models.

The Wild ONE Hakuna Mipaka Limited Edition comes in a special Hakuna Mipaka watch box along with a signed card from Dean. Ten per cent of the earnings from sales of this watch will be donated to the Hakuna Mipaka Oasis.

Discover

Wild one x dean schneider

LEARN MORE

This black NORTEQ creation, limited to 500 pieces, incorporates a piece of Dean’s wildlife: the vegan sand-coloured rubber shock absorber has been mixed with sand from his Hakuna Mipaka oasis in South Africa, which creates a unique speckled design. The black dial is decorated with a lion fur pattern as well as the sanctuary’s spear-and-shield logo. This dynamic pattern is also found on the black vegan-certified rubber strap. A powerful message about humankind’s relationship with animals is engraved on the caseback: “We need to learn to love them exactly the way they are and not the way we wish them to be!”

Wild ONE represents wildlife without harming wildlife because it is completely free from any animal products – an extension of our promise in July 2021 to discontinue our use of leather goods for all of our new product launches and phase-out leather straps for
all existing models.

The Wild ONE Hakuna Mipaka Limited Edition comes in a special Hakuna Mipaka watch box along with a signed card from Dean. Ten per cent of the earnings from sales of this watch will be donated to the
Hakuna Mipaka Oasis.

Discover

Independence x dean schneider

Designed in collaboration with NORQAINER and wildlife ambassador Dean Schneider, this 40mm Independence immediately turns heads with its leopard-print pattern on the black dial. The skeletonised diamond-cut hour and minute hands – plated with rose gold – boldly link this model to the Independence collection. The shield-and-spear logo of the Hakuna Mipaka Oasis, which is supported by proceeds from the sale of this watch, is made of rose gold and placed at 6 o’clock on the dial. A black DLC coating covers the 40mm stainless steel case, giving it a dramatic and striking appearance. At the heart of this watch is the COSC-certified NORQAIN calibre NN08, which is visible through the sapphire glass caseback.

The black animal-friendly rubber strap stands out with a leopard-spot pattern that has a soft velour-like texture. This patented texture which consists of 0.6mm rubber hairs is achieved by laser process. Ten percent of proceeds from the sale of the NORQAIN Independence 40mm Hakuna Mipaka is donated to the wildlife sanctuary in South Africa.

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Independence x dean schneider

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Designed in collaboration with NORQAINER and wildlife ambassador Dean Schneider, this 40mm Independence immediately turns heads with its leopard-print pattern on the black dial. The skeletonised diamond-cut hour and minute hands – plated with rose gold – boldly link this model to the Independence collection. The shield-and-spear logo of the Hakuna Mipaka Oasis, which is supported by proceeds from the sale of this watch, is made of rose gold and placed at 6 o’clock on the dial. A black DLC coating covers the 40mm stainless steel case, giving it a dramatic and striking appearance. At the heart of this watch is the COSC-certified NORQAIN calibre NN08, which is visible through the sapphire glass caseback.

The black animal-friendly rubber strap stands out with a leopard-spot pattern that has a soft velour-like texture. This patented texture which consists of 0.6mm rubber hairs is achieved by laser process. Ten percent of proceeds from the sale of the NORQAIN Independence 40mm Hakuna Mipaka is donated to the wildlife sanctuary in South Africa.

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SUPPORT DEAN SCHNEIDER

SUPPORT DEAN SCHNEIDER