May 13, 2025
Wearing a Piece of the Universe: The Meteorite Dial
Over a hundred years ago, near the town of Kiruna in northern Sweden, a curious metallic fragment was discovered embedded in the frozen ground. What at first seemed like an ordinary rock turned out to be anything but.
It was a piece of the Muonionalusta meteorite, one of the oldest known meteorites on Earth. It's believed to have fallen over a million years ago and formed more than 4.5 billion years ago in the depths of space. The rock had traveled across the cosmos before embedding itself in the Scandinavian permafrost, preserved by ice and time.
When scientists examined it, they uncovered a rare crystalline pattern, an intersecting metallic line called the Windmanstätten pattern - a structure that forms only in the vacuum of space over eons of slow cooling. It was a signature from beyond our world.
For scientists, it was a rare opportunity. For storytellers, it was gold. And for us, watchmakers - it was inspiration. Because that same type of alien rock, born in the depths of space, has quietly become one of the most fascinating materials used by independent and luxury watch brands today.
What Are Meteorites, Really?
Meteorites are fragments of asteroids, comets, or even planetary cores that have survived a brutal entry through Earth's atmosphere. Most are made of iron and nickel - but their true beauty lies beneath the surface.
Over billions of years, these metals cooled slowly in space, forming a Widmanstätten pattern - a natural geometric fingerprint that cannot be replicated by any Earthly forge. When polished and etched, it reveals interwoven crystals that look more like modern art than raw material.
That’s what you see on a meteorite dial - a billion-year-old signature from the stars.
A Legacy Written in Metal
Meteorites have long enchanted humankind. In ancient Egypt, King Tutankhamun’s dagger was forged from meteorite iron, while in Tibet and India, meteorites were enshrined and worshipped as divine relics. In the Inuit Arctic, tribes crafted tools from them, believing they were gifts from the sky. For thousands of years, humans have sought meaning in the stones that fell from the heavens.
Centuries later, as jewelry evolved into a form of personal storytelling, meteorites found their way into rings, pendants, and amulets. In the 19th and early 20th centuries, meteorite iron was sometimes used in signet rings and inlaid brooches, prized for their otherworldly origin. Today, the tradition continues, transformed but not forgotten. Watches featuring meteorite dials are the latest chapter in this narrative. What once adorned pharaohs, priests, and hunters now finds a place on the wrist, reminding us that time, too, is a gift from the heavens.
Why Meteorite Dials Are So Rare?
Working with meteorite is not for the faint of heart. While its cosmic origin makes it alluring, it’s also what makes it incredibly difficult to machine. The same metallic structure that gives meteorite its ethereal Widmanstätten pattern is also brittle, unpredictable, and prone to fracturing under stress.
When making our watches, we pay utmost attention to our dials; we lose 4-5 meteorite discs for each completed meteorite dial, making this process cumbersome. You may still find tiny imperfections on the meteorite dials, especially with the flatness and cutting around date windows, etc.
Once cut to shape, the real magic begins. Muonionalusta meteorites consists of Nickel+Iron, the Widmanstätten patterns you see on your dial are unique (the criss-cross of lines), and are formed by a slow-cooling process that occurs over millions of years as the meteorite travels in space. This pattern is impossible to recreate on Earth, so no two dials will be alike.
Every meteorite dial, therefore, is not just rare because of its origin, but because of the labour-intensive journey from raw space metal to finished watches.
Working with the Rarest Material Known to Humankind
We collaborated with seasoned meteorite hunters to source fragments of the Muonionalusta. These pieces were then sent to our manufacturing partners in Switzerland, where they were precision-cut and finished to meet our dial specifications.
Because of its rarity and the complexity of working with extraterrestrial metal, we produce these dials in limited batches. Each one undergoes meticulous quality control to ensure no imperfections are visible to the naked eye.
Iron meteorites like the Muonionalusta can oxidise over time, changing colour in certain areas. But by sealing the dial within a water-tight case and applying a layer of electroplating, we significantly reduce this risk. The electroplating also enhances the shimmering Widmanstätten pattern and gives the dial a striking, polished finish.
For an independent watch brand like ours, materials like Muonionalusta aren’t just rare - they represent a bold design choice rooted in curiosity and engineering ambition. With the Apogee collection, we’re not just inspired by space - we bring a real piece of it to your wrist.