What if your watch didn’t just tell time but carried a piece of the universe on your wrist? That’s the magic behind the B/1M, the latest creation from design duo Phillip Toledano and Alfred Chan. Made entirely from the Muonionalusta meteorite—an ancient fragment of cosmic history that struck Earth a million years ago—this watch is more than a tool for keeping time. It’s a story, a piece of art, and a marvel of engineering.
A Material with a Million-Year Legacy
The Muonionalusta meteorite was first discovered in Sweden in 1906, and since then, fragments have been found scattered across Scandinavia. Known for its unique Widmanstätten patterns—beautiful, natural striations formed over billions of years as the meteorite cooled in space—it’s a material unlike anything on Earth. While meteorite has been used in watches before, it’s usually confined to the dial. Toledano and Chan wanted to go further.
The B/1M isn’t just inspired by the cosmos; it’s built from it. The case, dial, and lugs are all carved from this rare material. “You often see meteorite dials, but an entire meteorite case is very unusual,” Toledano explains. That rarity isn’t just aesthetic—it’s also practical. Meteorite is expensive, sometimes more costly per gram than gold. And unlike gold or steel, leftover meteorite pieces can’t be recycled.
Working with this extraterrestrial material brought other challenges, too. Being iron-based, the watch had to be treated with a protective anti-rust coating. But the payoff is worth it: each piece is utterly unique, its shimmering patterns a reminder of its interstellar origin.
Brutalist Beauty
While the material speaks to the stars, the design is grounded in Earth’s architecture—specifically Brutalism. Toledano and Chan, who met on Instagram and bonded over a shared love of the architectural movement, looked to the angular forms of New York City’s Breuer Building for inspiration.
Designed in the 1960s by modernist architect Marcel Breuer, the building’s bold, trapezoidal windows influenced the B/1M’s asymmetric shape. Like its architectural muse, the watch embraces minimalism: the face is stripped of numbers or markers, a clean slate where the patterns of the meteorite take center stage.
To add contrast, the duo paired the industrial look of the meteorite with an ostrich leg strap in muted grey. The natural texture of the leather complements the rugged aesthetic, creating a timepiece that feels both futuristic and timeless.
The B/1M is not Toledano & Chan’s first foray into unconventional watchmaking. Their earlier B/1 model, crafted from steel, sold out in under an hour—a testament to the growing appetite for watches that defy traditional norms.
“There’s been a real shift,” says Toledano. “People, especially men, are becoming more open to differently shaped watches. They want something that feels bold and unique.”
The B/1M is all that and more. Its prototype is set to go under the hammer at the Time for Art auction in New York, with estimates ranging from $8,000 to $16,000. Proceeds will benefit the Swiss Institute, a nonprofit dedicated to contemporary art.
A Watch for Dreamers
For Toledano and Chan, the B/1M isn’t just about pushing boundaries in design—it’s about telling a story. “The interesting part of watchmaking is exploring new materials and new forms,” Toledano says. And what better material to explore than a million-year-old meteorite that journeyed from the stars to your wrist?
This story was originally reported by CNN: ©2024 CNN
