The Best Meteorite Dial Watches - Rolex, Omega and More Affordable Options
There are a lot of unique watch dials available in the market. Watch collectors will recognize the “tapisserie” dial of the Audemars Piguet Royal Oak or the horizontal grooved dial pattern of the Patek Philippe Nautilus. Additionally, many watch brands across the price spectrum will use popular dials like sunburst dials or ombre dials. While all of these dials are interesting and merit discussion in their own right, I wanted to point out some of my favorite dials made from another material that has recently gained prominence in the watch industry: meteorite.
Meteorites are debris from a meteor that originates in outer space. These space rocks have been flying throughout the universe and our solar system for billions of years before crashing into Earth. Then what happens? Well, some of these “space rocks” are collected, cut into slices of meteorites and repurposed as “out of this world” watch dials. So what is the best meteorite dial watch. I offer our opinions on some of my favorites below.
Rolex Day-Date 40 with Meteorite Dial Ref. 228239
When one thinks of bold and different watches one does not normally think of Rolex. The powerhouse Swiss watchmaker notoriously sticks to their traditional underpinnings (and rightfully so). But Rolex has indeed taken some chances with pieces like the rainbow Daytona. So it isn’t that much of a surprise that they released the Rolex Day-Date 40 with meteorite dial, white gold case and factory baguette diamond indices (hour markers). This piece just oozes class and there really isn’t anything to dislike about it. If you can find this Rolex at retail it will set you back $49,550 USD.
Cartier Rotonde de Cartier Earth and Moon
Cartier really hit it out of the park (out of the world?) with the Rotonde De Cartier Earth and Moon. This watch, released in 2017, was pretty much identical to a 2014 variation in platinum with lapis lazuli dial. This piece swaps out the platinum for pink gold, the lapis lazuli for meteorite, and features an openworked, or skeleton, dial. This special watch was limited to just 15 pieces and had a retail price of $231,000 USD.
Awake Concept Mission to Earth: Time Travelers
Awake Concept is a relatively young French brand that is focusing on some really interesting things. Not only are they using sustainable and regenerative materials in their watches, they are using technology in a way not really employed by any other watch brands. All Mission to Earth models have an NFC tag built into the sapphire crystal which the wearer can scan with their phone stamp their ownership to the blockchain and access an app called the Awake Earth Observatory. Beyond these cool features, the Mission to Earth: Time Travelers is probably our favorite watch from the brand. The watch features a simple dial that let’s the meteorite speak for itself. The watch is available with both a raw titanium colored case and gray meteorite dial or a purple titanium case and black meteorite. While we are fans of both models, the purple dial adds a little bit of funkiness that we really enjoy. Like all Mission to Earth models, these are a limited edition. Awake Concept made 500 of each meteorite model and they retail for €1,325 ($1,428 USD).
Rolex GMT-Master II “Pepsi” with Meteorite Dial Ref. 126719BLRO
Did you know that that Rolex made a white gold GMT “Pepsi” that also has meteorite dial? Well now you do, and it takes the Pepsi to the next level. I always consider white gold as an understated way of wearing gold because it is hard to distinguish from stainless steel. But Rolex doesn’t offer the steel Pepsi with meteorite dial, so anyone that knows watches will know exactly what you’re wearing. This beauty currently retails for Rolex GMT-Master II “Pepsi” Meteorite Dial currently has a retail price of $41,600 USD.
Omega Speedmaster Dark Side of the Moon Meteorite
If you were to ask me what what watch makes the most sense having a meteorite dial, I would say the Omega Speedmaster 10 out of 10 times. I mean this watch was the first watch on the moon! If a Speedmaster model doesn’t have this otherworldly material incorporated into the watch no watch should have it. The Omega Speedmaster Dark Side of the Moon Co-Axial Chronometer Chronograph has a beautiful grey meteorite dial. The bezel is a matching grey with gold accents. This watch incorporates meteorite in the dial while still leaving it recognizable as a Speedmaster. On the expensive side for a Speedmaster, the Omega Speedmaster Meteorite dial Ref. 311.63.44.51.99.001 retails for $15,600 USD.
Zelos Mako 500M Diver Meteorite
Meteorites are not only offered by the expensive traditional Swiss brands. Independents and microbrands have also recently gotten into the meteorite watch game, offering unique styles with more attainable prices. One of my favorites is the Zelos Mako 500M Diver Meteorite. Zelos is a Singapore-based microbrand, but their Mako Diver with meteorite dial runs on a Swiss Sellita SW200 caliber movement. While this piece is currently sold out, the Zelos Mako 500M Diver Meteorite retails for $949 USD on their website.
Rolex Daytona Meteorite Dial in Gold
You didn’t think we were done with Rolex did you? Rolex actually has quite a few meteorite dial offerings. They offer the Daytona in rose gold (or everose), white gold (with ceramic bezel) and yellow gold with meteorite dial. I’m not sure which of the variations is my favorite, but I love they subtlety of the white gold Daytona with meteorite dial. All three variations are offered either on a gold bracelet or rubber band. On bracelet the Rolex Daytona meteorite retails for $41,900 USD in yellow gold and $44,800 USD in white gold or rose gold. On rubber band the watch retails for $33,500 USD in yellow gold and $34,850 USD in white gold and rose gold.
Tsao Baltimore Torsk-Diver Meteorite DLC
Another affordable meteorite dial watch comes from one of our favorite microbrand watch companies, the Maryland-based Tsao Baltimore. While this very limited release of 100 watches is already sold out, the piece retailed for an affordable $750 USD. While this watch does not run on a Swiss movement, it is powered by the extremely reliable Miyota 9015 Automatic Movement. Maybe we can convince Tsao to release another variation of this watch with meteorite dial (maybe with a ceramic or steel case). You can check out Tsao’s current offerings at their website.
Zodiac x Watches.com Super Sea Wolf SS Automatic Meteorite Edition
Through it's efforts along with watches.com, Zodiac has produced a really unique take on their Super Sea Wold SS model - A Meteorite version of it. The story goes, that in 2019 Zodiac approached them to create a truly unique dive watch utilizing a meteorite dial. The meteorite used was a genuine Muonionalusta Meteorite that had landed in the Norrbotten region of Sweden. The brand's cut down the dial to reveal the iron and nickel pattern you see in the texture.
Of course, Zodiac's penchant for creating unique and exciting colorways in their Divers produced an electric orange aesthetic with a "Space Grey" DLC treatment to the case that isn't black, but isn't raw steel either. It's actually a really cool hue of grey - Very extraterrestrial. The watches are limited to 182 pieces.
De Bethune DB28XP Meteorite
De Bethune as a brand is known for its futuristic, out of this world design. So it makes sense that they would have produced a few watches with meteorite dials through the years. And the De Bethune meteorite watches are even cooler than you can imagine. The DB28XP Meteorite features a matte black zirconium case, meteorite dial with the dial opened up at 6 o’clock to prominently display the balance wheel. And did we mention that the meteorite dial isn’t a typical meteorite dial. It is a blue meteorite dial (with hints of purple) and white gold stars placed on the dial. It’s probably the most unique looking meteorite dial watch you can find on the market. The De Bethune DB28XP Meteorite retails for $138,000 USD.
Xeric Trappist-1 Automatic NASA Edition Meteorite Blue Supernova
Want a cool space-themed watch with a meteorite dial for under $1,000 USD? Check out the Xeric Trappist-1 NASA Edition Meteorite. Xeric is known for its funky designs, and the Trappist-1 does not disappoint. An inner and outer planet on the dial “orbit” the dial and represent the hour and minute markers. These planets offer the wearer a unique way to tell the time. It’s an interesting piece and at *$799 USD it is pretty affordable too.
Hermès Arceau L'Heure De La Lune Meteorite
More and more recently Hermes has been moving from fashion watches to haute horology. And this can definitely be seen in some of their recent releases. One of our favorite pieces from Hermes is definitely the Arceau L'Heure De La Lune Meteorite (we like it so much we also featured a variation of the watch in our Best Moon Phase Watches guide). The watch features two floating discs, one displaying the date and the other displaying the time, that spin around the watch obscuring the dial including the two moons and thus show the phases of the moon (in both the northern and southern hemisphere). The dial with the moons under the discs is meteorite adding some additional otherworldly charm. The Arceau L’Heure de la Lune Meteorite is limited to 16 pieces and retails for $69,950 USD.
