[Rockhounds] This watch was carved from a meteorite that hit Earth a million years ago

[Kreigh Tomaszewski]

In watchmaking, heritage matters. But while rival European horologists
vaunt the traditions of their centuries-old workshops, design duo Toledano
& Chan’s new creation has a longer history altogether: It was carved from a
meteorite that slammed into Earth around 1 million years ago.

The Brutalist-inspired watch, dubbed the B/1M, was made from part of the
Muonionalusta meteorite, the remains of which were first discovered in the
Swedish village of Kitkiöjärvi in 1906. Since then, dozens more fragments —
scattered around by the force of its collision with Earth — have been found
across northern Scandinavia.

While small amounts of the meteorite have been used on luxury timepieces
before, artist Phillip Toledano and watchmaker Alfred Chan wanted to go one
step further.

“You often see meteorite dials; they are not uncommon on watches,” Toledano
told CNN via Zoom from New York, where he is based. “But an entire
meteorite case, dial, lugs — all that stuff — is very unusual.”