This Is the Most Creative Use of Meteorite in a Watch I’ve Ever Seen

Meteorite watch dials have become so commonplace in recent years that it’s almost easier to name a brand that hasn’t come out with a meteorite dial than one that has.

But here’s the thing: Every meteorite-dialed watch I’ve seen falls into one of two camps. They all either play up the fact that the dial material originated in outer space — which is admittedly cool — or they simply treat it like any other stone dial and focus on its beauty.

Gerald Charles, meanwhile, has done something entirely different and original with its new Maestro 2.0 Meteorite dial by focusing on another, more violent aspect of meteorites: their impact with Earth.

Gerald Charles

No dinosaurs were harmed in the making of this watch

Gerald Charles, the brand founded by the late, great Gérald Genta in 2000 after his original eponymous brand was sold to Bulgari, has become known in recent years for its Maestro line of uniquely shaped sports watches.

The new meteorite watch unsurprisingly belongs to the Maestro line — the thin Maestro 2.0, specifically — and its application of meteorite is decidedly fun and intriguing.

The watch features a sandwich dial, with the base dial being made of bright red aluminum with a slice of the 4.5 billion-year-old Muonionalusta meteorite on top. The meteorite has an explosion motif cut out above 6:00, with radial lines reaching out across the rest of the dial and exposing the red baseplate.

Gerald Charles

On top of this cutout is a running seconds indicator featuring a second explosion motif, this one with a fire-gradient color. As long as the watch is running, this blast emoji is spinning, bringing some animation to the explosion illusion. Further heightening the effect are the applied indices, all of which are mounted off-kilter, giving the impression that they’ve been knocked off axis by the meteorite’s impact on the dial.

This is all very fun, and made all the more unique by the fact that this dial belongs to an acclaimed, very high-end sports watch. The stainless steel case is the same elegant design found on other Maestro 2.0 variants and is water-resistant to 100m, and the movement is Gerald Charles’s in-house Cal. GCA2011 automatic, which boasts two mainspring barrels providing a 50-hour power reserve and extensive decoration visible behind a sapphire caseback.

The hand-stitched rubber strap has been field-tested by ATP tennis pros and is made of waterproof rubber that looks and feels like leather. It features a quick-release system and has an iron core for added stability. A perfect fit is assured thanks to a velcro closure system, an adjustable elastic micro-regulation section and the availability of four strap sizes to choose from.

Gerald Charles

Pricing and availability

The Gerald Charles Maestro 2.0 Meteorite is available in two distinct versions. “Darkblast” features a matte, charcoal-colored case with a dark gray dial and black strap, while the dressier “Silver” has a polished steel case, light gray dial, white strap and gold-colored hands and indices. The blast animation is much subtler on the Silver, too, with the small seconds indicator in gold and the exposed bottom dial being white.

Neither version is labeled as limited, but I don’t expect Gerald Charles to make a ton of these. The watches are available for preorder now on the brand’s website, with their price available upon request. Deliveries are expected to commence after two months.

Gerald Charles

Gerald Charles Maestro 2.0 Meteorite

Specs

Case Size	39mm
Movement	Gerald Charles Cal. GCA2011 automatic
Water Resistance	100m

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