These meteorite watch dials travelled millions of years… To tell time here on Earth.
Rolex is a master of watch dial manufacturing, an horological fact that the company likes to enforce year after year. 2021 sees Rolex debut the gold variations of the Rolex Daytona with a new meteorite dial option – a dial with origins in the far reaches of the solar system, crafted from a material that comes from an asteroid that exploded millions of years ago.
Called the Widmanstätten patterns, these metallic meteorites reveal a unique pattern of crystallization that has come to be over the course of millions of years, as the material gradually cooled down during its journey between planets and solar systems. Rolex knows how to work with this most spectacular material: it is to be cut into remarkably thin and delicate slices, small sections that help reveal the inner structure. However, said crystallization comes to life only after a special chemical treatment is applied, highlighting those breathtaking Widmanstätten patterns that are unlike anything we could ever hope to replicate here on Earth. We simply cannot imitate the results of a journey that has taken millions of years and an unfathomable number of miles, before it came to its end here on our planet.
Unlike previous years, Rolex now works with solid blocks of meteorite, as opposed to thinner slices applied onto a plate of brass, the traditional material used for watch dials on luxury watches. The 18ct white gold hour markers, the three sub-dials, as well as all the delicately printed text are applied onto this space-age material – time is being told over something that in itself shows the scars applied by millions of years.
The meteorite dial is available exclusively for the 18ct gold variations of the Rolex Daytona, with cases crafted from 18ct yellow gold, 18ct white gold and 18ct Everose gold, matched to either solid gold bracelets or Rolex’s Oysterflex elastomer straps.
The price of the watch is 31.850 €. For more details, visit rolex.com.
Here you can also find beautiful pre-owned watches of Rolex.
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Words: David B
Photos: Rolex
Last Updated on March 16, 2024 by Editorial Team
