Why meteorite dials are taking off: from Rolex and Omega to microbrands, luxury watchmakers are tapping into the love for space rocks … even Louis Vuitton is on board
There’s growing fascination with these naturally patterned dials that offer a touch of cosmic elegance and exclusivity … Wimbledon champ Carlos Alcaraz is a fan too
The year 2024 may have been a generally challenging one for many watch brands, but it hasn’t stopped Omega from going all in on meteorite dials – a match made in heaven for a brand intrinsically linked with space. It was, after all, the first watch brand to be worn on the moon, back in 1969.
“Meteorite dials are unique, which adds a lot of value,” says Raynald Aeschlimann, president and CEO of Omega, which has made full meteorite dials since 2016. In 2024, it has now dialled up the colour, with different hues applied to the meteorite.
He says the colours make meteorite trendier, more stylish, more fashionable. “The beautiful structure of the natural so-called Widmanstätten criss-cross pattern is highlighted by the colours,” Aeschlimann says, noting that the coloration also makes the overall appearance a little less technical. “It is an interesting effect, especially with the contrast of a polished Constellation case.”
The colours – applied either by galvanisation or physical vapour deposition (PVD) – lend a different accent to the raw mineral criss-cross patterning of meteorites with a high iron content. Omega also timed the collection to chime with the big colour trend of autumn/winter 2024 – burgundy. The other shades – grey, blue, green, gold, white, brown, black – also fit the season’s palette.
Apart from the colours, the nature of the material makes each meteorite dial unique. Aeschlimann admits that it is a big challenge working with meteorite, though, as getting the ideal size and quality isn’t easy, and it must also fit with the overall design of the watch.
The dials from this release are cut from the Muonionalusta meteorite, which slammed into northern Sweden about a million years ago. The iron-based meteorite itself is much older: at around 4.5 billion years old, it is recognised as the oldest meteorite to have fallen to Earth, and has been used by several brands.
The use of meteorite in the watch industry is very recent. Corum pioneered such dials in a handful of watches in the 1990s, and Rolex cut a series of dials back in 2002 from the Gibeon meteorite, which is also iron-based. This younger, four-billion-year-old meteorite, found in Namibia in 1838, is the watch industry’s most popular. A plethora of brands have gone through the painstaking process of cutting thin slivers of the material, including Omega for its 2016 Grey Side of the Moon.
For a dial, a 0.1mm sliver is normally used. After being cut, it is polished flat before being acid etched, which brings out the contrasting alloys and minerals for a stronger pattern.
