About Meteorite Dials

What is a Meteorite?

Meteorites are space rocks that have fallen on Earth over thousands of years. The specific Meteorite of your dial is from Muonionalusta, along the border of Sweden and Finland. Most meteorites found on Earth such as the Muonionalusta, are ferrous (Iron based).

How we did it

We worked with Meteorite hunters to source pieces from the Muonionalusta meteorite. We then sent it to our manufacturing partners in Switzerland who cut the rock and processed it to our specifications to be used in our watch dials. Due to the rarity of this material and the challenges in manufacturing, we can only make small batches at a time. 

Imperfections on the dial

Watch dials are made of brass using industrially perfected processes. Dials can be manufactured with high levels of tolerances with flatness, finishing, and cutting. Meteorite dials on the other hand, are cut from a raw Meteorites. These are not industrially produced raw materials, they're made of iron, and make it challenging to achieve the same levels of tolerances as our other dials.

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. We ensure in our Quality Control process that these imperfections are not visible with naked eye, and may only show with microscopic examination.

Unique patterns

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.

Colour changes

Iron Meteorites like the Muonionalusta have a tendency to oxidise. Oxidisation will result in a colour change in the surface. This may not be uniform, and may happen only in specific areas or spots. Our opinion is that oxidisation only occurs if the material is exposed to the elements. Since the meteorite is encased in a water-tight case, chances of oxidisation are extremely low. Also, we coat the dial with a layer of electroplating to avoid oxidisation. Electroplating also gives the meteorite a shiny, reflective texture, also enhancing the look of the Windmanstatten patterns. It is still common for meteorite dials to develop a patina, browning, or spotting over many years of use.