Across the Universe: Explaining the Allure of Meteorite Dials

I’m a research girl, so I used my holiday downtime to do a deep dive into meteorite dials. This rabbit hole was satisfying because this otherworldly material is not only in vogue right now (Zenith, H. Moser & Sons, Breitling, and Norqain have all released stellar meteorite editions in the last six months alone).

It appears that meteorite dials are having a moment, not because exotic dials are trendy, but rather that a tipping point, of sorts, has been reached. That is to say, due to innovations in preparing these slices of space rock, these far-out faces have never been more affordable.

At the same time, it is not an infinite resource (in the sense that a meteor strike can’t be ordered up like pizza). For instance, one of the most famous reserves, the Gibeon meteorite in Namibia, is now protected by the government, meaning no one can continue to harvest it. Thus, for collectors, there may never be a better time to get a piece of the space rock.

A meteorite is like any rock, except that it fell to Earth from space. The romance of meteorites lies in their being far older than terrestrial rocks and providing a connection to distant galaxies. They are pieces of planets, asteroids, and comets. Some may even contain tiny particles that formed around other stars that existed before our Sun.

Iron meteorites, which are often formed from a single crystal of iron-nickel alloy (or sometimes several large crystals), contain a naturally occurring crystal lattice pattern known as the Widmanstätten pattern (if you recognize that name, that’s because it is the most common pattern seen in meteorite dials).
 

This structure consists of a fine interweaving of needle-like bands of iron-nickel alloys called kamacite (a low nickel alloy) and taenite (a high nickel alloy) called lamellae. Filling in the gaps between the lamellae isa fine-grained mixture of kamacite and taenite called plessite. Formed over millions of years as they float through space, the lamellae and plessite can sometimes even fill an entire crystal of iron-nickel alloy.

Then, the nickel-rich and nickel-poor regions of the meteorite’s octahedrite structure are transformed when the meteorite burns up as it enters the Earth’s atmosphere. It’s kind of like when a chef blanches vegetables by giving them a quick boil, then shocks them with ice water before cooking them – it sets the color, improves the texture, and transforms the flavor.

The Egyptians are thought to be the first to use meteorites to make jewelry, with the oldest known examples dating back to 3200 BCE. How they discovered the iron's properties is unknown, but they hammered it and rolled it into thin sheets to make beads.

Despite meteorites having been used in ceremonial or religious objects for millennia, it wasn’t until the 1950s that hardstone dials became a thing in watchmaking. That is because meteorite is more delicate than most gemstones (in fact, it ranks between 4 and 6 on the Mohs scale), making it more challenging to mill.
 

First, the sample must be carefully sliced open along different planes to reveal its distinctive patterns. Depending on the cut, the texture will appear more angular, random, or zig-zaggy. Then the surface of each slice is polished and treated with an acid to enhance the contrast between the crystals; however, problems can arise with meteorites that contain more taenite, as they are more resistant to the acid.

Meanwhile, the iron component of the nickel-iron alloy makes the meteorite’s now-exposed structure magnetic and susceptible to rust, so the cutter must also employ treatments such as rhodium backing and preservatives. On the upside, these treatments can be tinted, allowing for a vast palette of color options.
 

This is why, despite the rise of hardstone dials in the 1970s, meteorite dials didn’t hit the mainstream until the late 1990s/early 2000s, when Rolex became the first big watch brand to utilize slices of meteorite, pairing them with rare metals, like 18-karat gold or 950 platinum, on the Day-Day 36 and GMT-Master II.

Fun Fact: The world’s first-ever meteorite dial came from Greenland’s Cape York (a.k.a. Innaanganeq) meteorite and appeared on the Corum Admiral in 1986.
 

The crystalline structure of a meteorite lends these watches their aesthetic allure (Free idea for Hamilton: Make a Murph with a meteorite dial; I ask only to be paid in a watch). However, it’s the almost unfathomably old age of these rocks that provides watches with a meteorite dial their interstellar mystique.

In the age of AI, an intergalactic material like a meteorite can feel surprisingly human. In fact, no human-made process has been able to replicate the cosmic crucible in which these space stones were made. That means fakes can neither convincingly mimic the unique 3D structure nor properly recreate the way light plays off an authentic meteorite dial.
 

However, just because no one has successfully created a synthetic meteorite doesn’t mean people haven’t tried (by etching steel either mechanically or using lasers). Fortunately, meteorite grain patterns are structural, not superficial, so it is easy to spot fakes. Genuine meteorite dials should have a non-repeating pattern and appear three-dimensional under a loupe.

Meteorites also have big dial energy. After all, if you want to get woo about it, a meteorite, a.k.a. a “Stone of the Heavens,” represents divine power, heavenly conflict, and eternal purpose as well as luck and protection.
 

I mean, c’mon, who doesn’t want to wear a little piece of heaven on their wrist?