7 of the best meteorite dial watches

Tom Austin

Meteorite dials, one of the most popular types of stone dials, are more than just a unique dial finish. To find out why, a brief science history lesson. Around 4.5 billion years ago, a mass consisting of iron and nickel began to slowly form a protoplanet, essentially a planet in its early stages of formation. For whatever reason, this particular protoplanet failed to make it, broke up, and its iron-nickel core began to drift across the cosmos. While drifting, it began to cool, and slowly formed beautiful crystallised structures inside. Millions of years later, one such meteor found itself hurtling towards Earth’s atmosphere, exploding mid-descent, dispersing itself across a massive region of Namibia.

Discovered in the 1800s, this became known as the Gibeon Meteorite. The distinctive crystalline appearance of this stone is called the Widmanstätten pattern, named after Count Alois von Beckh Widmanstätten, the director of the Imperial Porcelain works in Vienna, and was discovered when treating the meteorite surface with acid for cleaning. Ever since, jewellery and watch manufacturers have held this ancient material in high regard, finding its way into some of the most sought-after pieces.

There’s something very cool in knowing that the piece of meteorite on your wrist, while not only 100% unique, is likely older than the solar system itself. With the history lesson over – let’s look at the best meteorite-dialled watches you can buy, and let’s hope that a few other cool watch finishes also make it into existence.

Nivada Grenchen F77 stainless steel meteorite

All too often, meteorite dials feature on watches far out of reach for many, usually confined to special editions or ultra-exclusive pieces existing in the realms where six-figure pricing is the norm. However, Nivada has another option, bringing meteorites right back down to earth with its great value offering, the F77. Yes, there are plenty of octagonal, Royal Oak-inspired budget pieces around these days, but the Nivada Grenchen F77 stainless steel meteorite has bags of character on its own merits. Plus, it was made in titanium, too.

A reissue of a 1977 classic, the Nivada Grenchen F77 stainless steel meteorite comes in 316L stainless steel, with a titanium case back and domed sapphire crystal. The 37mm case shape is familiar, yet has its own classic touches, such as the bracelet integration, giving it a slightly more tool-like appearance. The watch features a Soprod P024 movement, an automatic time-only mechanical movement which features a 38-hour power reserve and is fitted under a dark meteorite dial. Each dial is unique, but it’s quite cool that you wouldn’t notice at first glance that it’s a meteorite unless you really look closer. It’s a watch that doesn’t shout too much about itself, and I like that. The Nivada Grenchen F77 stainless steel meteorite tells a story, and carries a small amount of quiet luxury with it too, without breaking the bank. Price: US$1,390

Bulova Lunar Pilot Meteorite

Legend has it, that American astronaut Dave R. Scott, who was aboard the Apollo 15 lunar mission, suffered a problem with his NASA-issued Speedmaster, and promptly replaced it with his own personal Bulova Chronograph 88510/01 for the remainder of the mission. That particular watch sold at auction in 2015 for $1.6M, and earlier this year, Bulova released a special edition to commemorate the watch and its journey.

The Bulova Lunar Pilot Meteorite is a limited edition chronograph crafted in grade 5 titanium with a sandblasted finish for that tool-like aesthetic. At 43.5mm it seems large, but it’s faithful to the original, and while the original watch was mechanical, this particular version is powered by a high-precision quartz caliber NP20. The case back features an engraving of an astronaut on the lunar surface, along with a number for each piece, up to 5000 pcs. Importantly though, the dial itself is made from meteorite, something which is rarely seen at this price point, and with such a cool heritage and look, we just had to add it in this list. Price: US$1,495

Omega Speedmaster Dark Side of the Moon Meteorite

In my opinion, one of the best looking Speedmasters on the market, the Dark Side of the Moon Meteorite is for the hardcore cosmo-horologists out there. It’s not exactly a subtle watch, with its 44.25mm grey ceramic case, 18k Sedna gold bezel and hands, and of course the meteorite dial, it stands out in a sea of Speedmaster special editions. Visual aspects aside, the watch is everything we have come to love about the Speedmaster – including a co-axial Calibre 9300, boasting a silicon balance spring, twin barrels, a 60-hour power reserve, and visible through the sapphire caseback. This Speedy also forgoes a sub-dial at 6 o’clock in favour of a date function, incorporating the chronograph minutes into the sub-dial at 3. The Speedmaster Dark Side of the Moon is a technology-packed watch, leading the way with material and finishing applications, and is a wonderful tribute to the Speedmaster’s astronomical influences. Price: US$17,100

Rolex GMT-Master II 126719BLRO

Rolex, arguably the king of stone dials, first debuted the meteorite dial on a Daytona almost two decades ago. It’s since been cut from the Daytona line, with the introduction of the latest reference last year, and now just one model remains in the catalogue today. What a watch it is too, the Rolex GMT-Master II BLRO in white gold, with the illusive meteorite dial. The GMT-Master II needs very little introduction, it’s one of the most revered GMT complication watches you can buy today. It’s well known for its blend of luxury, with tool-like functionality and durability, but in white gold, it stretches far closer to something more special than an everyday tool watch. The watch features Rolex’s excellent 3285 GMT movement, a true, rapid-set GMT, with 70 hours of power reserve, and one of the most reliable and precise mass-produced movements out there.

Each meteorite dial on the GMT-Master II is unique, and each has its own character, with some showing a duller, more dark appearance, with others being almost pure silver in the right light. Available only in the red/blue “Pepsi” configuration, the white gold version is usually one of those “if you know, you know” kind of watches, however the meteorite dial is the real give away, turning the watch into a serious show piece. Price: US$42,500

De Bethune DB28XP Meteorite

For an out-of-this-world material, we need an out-of-this-world watch, right? Few are more otherworldly than De Bethune’s DB28XP. Firstly, the extreme case design is described as a “perfect fusion of tradition and innovation”. Crafted from anthracite-coated zirconium and sized at 43mm, it makes a pretty loud statement with its unique floating lug design which fold comfortably over the wrist. The caseback is solid zirconium along with blued titanium decoration, with the front of the case finished with a domed sapphire crystal.

Powering the watch is the hand-wound calibre DB2115V7, visible through the dial’s movement aperture. Beneath the crystal sits one of the most marvellous dials in modern watchmaking, made from a slice of blue meteorite and embellished with white gold stars to create a starry sky effect. Blue being a signature colour of De Bethune these days, the blue meteorite is a distinctive choice, and a rare one too, with only ten numbered timepieces ever being produced. Price: at US$138,000

Louis Moinet Cosmopolis

If a meteorite dial watch isn’t enough for you, how about a record-breaking meteorite dial watch? The Louis Moinet Cosmopolis is the current world record holder for a watch with the “most meteorite inserts”, with 12 different fragments from 12 different meteorites. Each Cosmopolis is adorned with 12 unique slices of meteorite on the dial, encased in 18K red gold rings, matching the 40.7mm case.

Also on show up front is an off-centre flying tourbillon, coupled to a beautifully crafted hand-wound movement, featuring twin barrels delivering a whopping 96 hours of power reserve. Finishing the watch is an alligator strap with 18K red gold folding clasp. The Louis Moinet Cosmopolis is a rarity in many senses of the word, not only is it a limited edition haute horology timepiece, but it’s made up of some of the rarest materials known to man, collected from fragments of ultra-special materials that have made their way across billions of miles across the solar system. That’s pretty cool if you ask me. Price: US$259,608

Cartier Rotonde De Cartier Earth & Moon

You think Cartier, and you think small, often shaped dress watches which have not only been staples of the last few decades but even more so in recent times. However there are a few Cartier models which don’t get to see much of the spotlight, and the Rotonde De Cartier Earth & Moon is one such watch. Cartier can tend to focus its attention on more of the aesthetic side of things, but that’s not to say it doesn’t know how to make a serious wristwatch movement. Inside the Rotonde De Cartier Earth & Moon beats the calibre 9440 MC, a manually wound Tourbillon, with a second time zone, an on demand moon phase complication, and a 3 day power reserve.

Mounted in a traditionally styled, large 47mm 18k rose gold case, things get even more interesting on the dial. Firstly you’ll notice it’s skeletonised, with the iconic Cartier Roman numerals being cut out and surrounding an off centre time dial at 12, decorated in, you guessed it, meteorite. Even the moon phase have some space rock on it. The overall result is pretty stunning, and a unique look for Cartier. Those luxurious details, coupled with some impressive movement specifications don’t come cheap, making this one ultra-exclusive Cartier. Price: US$331,000