# Meteorite watch project



## Florian13 (Apr 4, 2016)

Hi guys,

I'm sharing with you the result of an horology adventure that began several months ago. 
For this project, bored of classic brass dials, I started looking for other materials, more rare, more precious, more...interesting, overall.

I quickly asked myself: *what about a meteorite dial?! *

I started looking and found a handful of meteorite watches available on the market (JLC Master Calendar, Parmigiani Fleurier Tonda, Rolex Daytona, the newly released Omega Speedmaster Grey Side of The Moon). All of them are high-priced, but their existences proved one thing: it is do-able!
As for their dials: unique, rare and precious, with a story-telling beautiful pattern&#8230; This material seemed to have it all!

My decision was made: I was going to make my own meteorite watch, with a dial made of the Muonionalusta meteorite, the oldest one known to man. 

Fast-forward on the months of research, negotiation, experiments, and countless obstacles, to get to the result:
After obtaining a fragment of this bolide and cutting it to the horology standard (.4 mm width, less than 1/6 inch), the dial was then etched with acid and finally colored in black through a special chemical treatment.

For the movement, I chose an ETA 2824-2, and housed it in a 40 mm diameter - 9.8 mm height stainless steel case. The black band is made out of Alligator leather.


Make sure you guys give me your opinion on it!


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## timefan44 (Feb 18, 2010)

like it-sometnig different but what is your price point? also maybe it's the pictures but i find it hard to see the hour markers-maybe a little more contrast would help with that! good work!


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## supawabb (Aug 27, 2007)

Dial is nice but the hands are too plain.


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## smjakober (Jun 2, 2015)

I think it looks nice, the markers are a bit difficult to read, maybe make them a tad more substantial. A high polished case/bezel would look great as well.


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## Medusa (Feb 6, 2010)

Spectacular work and a job well done. I like how you kept the meteorite dial visible and not obstructed. Congratulations on a fine timepiece and for having the motivation to follow your inspiration.


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## Florian13 (Apr 4, 2016)

@medusa : Thank you , I really appreciate it!

@supawabb : What kind of hands would you use ? ;-)

@smjakober & timefan44 (I sent you the price by PM) : that's just the light on that picture, but the contrast is there and we do see the indices well, check it out


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## Ed.YANG (Jun 8, 2011)

Florian13 said:


> Hi guys,
> 
> I'm sharing with you the result of an horology adventure that began several months ago.
> For this project, bored of classic brass dials, I started looking for other materials, more rare, more precious, more...interesting, overall.
> ...





supawabb said:


> Dial is nice but the hands are too plain.


First thing first... 
That's a good looking dial and a good looking watch in a total package.
Now come to the aesthetics point of view... when that meteorite dial turns to a certain angle, the chromy/silver hands and indices may turn darken and perhaps a little invisible to some when it comes to legibility.

I kind of agree with supawabb says but... with a little ideas in mind which may not "totally change" your initial idea...
How about... paint up the bar indices with orangey lume as well as applying some to the key hands of hours and minutes? Instead of totally dipping the hands into the lume paint, draw a thin line in the middle of the hands to get that contrast against the dark surface of the meteorite dial?


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## timefan44 (Feb 18, 2010)

Florian13 said:


> @medusa : Thank you , I really appreciate it!
> 
> @supawabb : What kind of hands would you use ? ;-)
> 
> ...


Got it. Yes much better in this picture


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## Inkhaurt (Feb 11, 2016)

Great work!!! Beautiful!! Like what ed.Yang said, orange will definitely go well with the watch.


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## timefan44 (Feb 18, 2010)

saw the watch on SJX today! that's awesome!


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## dspt (Apr 18, 2014)

Can you please elaborate on why did you paint the dial black? You've stressed on a dial that this is a "black" meteorite, so I guess that was important to you. Thanks


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## Florian13 (Apr 4, 2016)

@Ed.YANG & Inkhaurt, thank you guys. I purposely wanted a play of light contrast provided by the different metals, the bright chrome-like polished appliques & hands against the rich black & etched meteorite. I'll definitely keep orange in mind for the hands lume or the second hand!


@timefan44, it really is, thank you!!


@dspt, that's an interesting question. Pretty much all of the (few) meteorite dial watches ever made are of a grey, metallic raw color, which is nice.I wanted to color mine black to differentiate it from the others, and also because I thought the black render would look great (and it does! ;-)).
It was an huge additional challenge though, because in order to preserve the beautiful meteoritic pattern I didn't paint it black, but I applied a specific chemical treatment that modified its very own molecular configuration.


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## Chase16 (Oct 11, 2011)

amazing..


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## diablogt (Oct 11, 2009)

Beautiful. So much talent here


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## Florian13 (Apr 4, 2016)

Thank you so much guys, I appreciate!


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## igorIV (Sep 15, 2014)

Very unusual and beautiful! Good combination colors, dial pattern, hands - I'll like this watch - they are so dressy! Perfect! Bravo!
Hands with lume or paint?


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## Florian13 (Apr 4, 2016)

Thanks igorIV, I really appreciate your feedback and compliments!
On the hour and minute hands is white lume, with green fluorescence.


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## bryan00 (Nov 21, 2015)

beautiful dial, love the work you doing. keep up the great work.


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## Florian13 (Apr 4, 2016)

Thank you bryan00 ! Making this extraterrestrial watch was an amazing venture !


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## Diabolic Coffee (Feb 9, 2016)

The picture with better lighting really sealed the deal for me: it's a well done and elegant looking watch. The dial adds just enough pattern to make the indices and hands stand out with the high polish. Great job making a timepiece and not just a novelty. 

Plus, who doesn't want to have something from outer space on their wrists?


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## Maverick223 (Jan 24, 2015)

Beautiful watch. I know that it's probably well over my budget (especially considering that I have been on a run of Hamiltons, one a chrono, as of late), but would you please PM me the price as well?


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## Florian13 (Apr 4, 2016)

@*Diabolic Coffee*, thanks a lot for your feedback and compliments!
And that's true, carrying a slice of a 4 billion years old meteorite at your wrist is pretty cool b-)

@*Maverick223*, thank you! I just sent you a PM.


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## Florian13 (Apr 4, 2016)

Here are some additional pictures of the _Black Meteorite_:


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## ffritz (Jun 16, 2013)

Florian13 said:


> Here are some additional pictures of the _Black Meteorite_:


That's really beautiful, fantastic work! :-!

I did something similar last year, only that my skills don't go quite that far and I only modified the dial center, so that the dial feet didn't have to be changed. The Widmanstätten pattern looks so amazing! This is what mine looks like:


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## Florian13 (Apr 4, 2016)

Beautiful job, for a beautiful watch ffritz!

That's on an Unitas 6497? Did you etch the meteorite yourself?

That's true, the Widmanstätten pattern is a true extraterrestrial masterpiece! A meteorite watch is definitely a must-have ;-)


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## ffritz (Jun 16, 2013)

Florian13 said:


> Beautiful job, for a beautiful watch ffritz!
> 
> That's on an Unitas 6497? Did you etch the meteorite yourself?
> 
> That's true, the Widmanstätten pattern is a true extraterrestrial masterpiece! A meteorite watch is definitely a must-have ;-)


Thanks!

Well, it's a Sea-Gull clone 6497. The disc was already etched, I only drilled the holes. But I have a second disc left, so I could still give it a try. ;-)


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## Kai Schraml (Apr 6, 2016)

Stellar! Umm...rather...inter-stellar!


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## Jball1125 (Sep 14, 2014)

Absolutely beautiful. I love meteorite


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## Florian13 (Apr 4, 2016)

Thank you guys! 
Can you believe that more than 4 billion years ago, this meteorite -then an asteroid- was gravitating in space, somewhere between Mars and Jupiter?!!


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## pIonEerOFtHeNiLe (Jul 12, 2013)

i think there's a lot of money to be made w/ these dials if they were in the hands of the right brand.


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## moscar45 (Jun 29, 2008)

I've always loved meteorite dials. A handful of years ago I asked a question about making meteorite dials on this forum, and I believe the consensus at that time was that it would be difficult to cut a slice that thin as an overlay, but perhaps I'm mistaken since it is the standard process anyway is it not? I'll have to gid up the thread. 

Beautiful execution. I prefer the simple indices, as the sole intent of the piece is to showcase the dial material itself. Anyone can read the time with or without indices, so I feel leaving them understated and polished was the right choice. The thin lume strips also fits the dress watch style. 

The only thing I would have done differently is to have use an antireflective crystal. Apologies if you did use a single sided clear AR crystal. I feel it would be a must given the fact that the intricacies in the dial are the center attraction. Any element of the watch that detracts from visibility of that is an error.


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## Florian13 (Apr 4, 2016)

We're working hard to be that brand, *pioneerofthenile* 

Thanks for the compliments & feedback, *moscar45*.

Making a dial out of a meteorite is a challenging process, requiring diamond-cutting tools because of its hardness, as well as a very specific _savoir faire_ to get to a perfectly circular, 4/10 mm (1/64 ") slice. A true feat of strength ! 

Also, during the prototype building phase, I first thought of using an antireflective crystal. The « tint » that it gave to the meteorite wasn't satisfying though, and since the reflection of the classic sapphire crystal caused little to no problem during the tests, that's what I chose to go with.But I'll keep the advice in mind, as I'll reevaluate the use of an AR crystal for my next creation ;-)


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## watchcrazy007 (Aug 8, 2016)

I like it.


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## carpeeyon (Jul 25, 2013)

what an awesome project and journey.
dial looks perfect. 
bezel also is sweet. 
but the hands man, the hands.... they have no "balls" .
this has huge potential. just about matching the hands i think. 
maybe also possibly adding lume circles at the edge of the indices?


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## Florian13 (Apr 4, 2016)

Thank you guys for the feedback!

Throughout the test phase, I tried all different kinds of hands, and even though I had in mind "dauphines" at first, they didn't make the test, and these stick hands with a discrete lume were clearly the best fit. In my opinion, the work really well with the elegant yet modern style of the watch.
But I leave the option for my customers to replace them with their favorite hands, allowing a broad spectrum of possibilities!


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## CodaThijs (Aug 25, 2016)

Amazing work!

I am really wondering how you got the meteorite in the first place, let alone cutting it to make the perfect dial. Did you have a lot of failed attempt and wasted meteorite in the process? Or did you outsource this all?

Best regards,
Thijs


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## Florian13 (Apr 4, 2016)

Thank you, CodaThijs!

Creating this watch was a true adventure, and every step of it had its own challenges. 
I do outsource the cutting process to a talented stonecutter, but the waste remains extremely important, because of the shape of the meteorite, the presence of inclusions in it -sometimes big-, and also cracks that can make it brittle. 
Cutting the meteorite, a really hard material, requires diamond-cutting tools, a lot of time, and an important expertise!


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## rgp10 (Jan 21, 2018)

Wow, amazing watch!!!

I was researching how to make something like this myself, and I came across this thread. I really like the black stain, would you mind telling me how you achieved that? It looks really cool!


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## Hammer99 (Nov 9, 2017)

Hello to all!! It's really a very nice watch and I have a few questions that pop to my head. Since meteorite material it's basicly Iron should tend to rust over time. Did the black color has also some corrosion proof properties? I have seen some are white gold or rhodium treated for rust protection. 

It's a really expensive material and not usually available in thin slice, so must be a real challege to get 0.4 mm with the risk of getting a crack. Tell us more about how you did it. 

Thanks for sharing


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## Watchology101 (Feb 26, 2016)

The dial looks amazing. Have you thought about maybe making the case a little duller grey? I think that might carry the theme a little better.


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## dheinz14 (Jun 9, 2014)

Very cool looking.


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## mjb2 (Jun 7, 2011)

Just saw this thread - yes, very nice watch design, with an awesome (and ancient!) dial material. 
I have mixed feelings about actually saying 'black meteorite' on it however. If you're aiming higher-end, the watch 
doesn't need to state its cool substance so explicitly - e.g., how many enamel dials actually say "enamel"?

It might also be misleading as there are several classes or types of meteorites and I believe 'black' is not one 
of them. I find the chemical treatment interesting and different; not sure I prefer it, but nice to see a twist.
But in any case you wouldn't want to convey that your blackened slices are an actual astronomical designation. 

Overall though, congrats - really like these kinds of dials & I'm glad to see this developed.


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## Meteorite (Jun 14, 2018)

I know the post is a bit late to the party, but I only recently got turned on to the beauty of watch wearing/collecting. I really love what you did with the meteorite dial and the simplicity of the overall presentation. Its darn elegant! Congrats on the successful execution on what must have been a time consuming process! 

I have been wearing a Zelos Visionary V-1 with some similar characteristics to your watch, and so definitely appreciate your understated approach to allow the dial to be "The Show" 

Trying to build up my collection and I love the uniqueness of this material so much, I figured I would use it as my handle...


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