The notion of heritage matters enormously in the world of watchmaking. It is precisely for this reason that the Toledano & Chan brand, based in Hong Kong, chose a rare material to sculpt the B/1M. It is a luxury watch fashioned from a fragment of the Muonionalusta meteorite which crashed into what is now the village of Kitkiöjärvi, Sweden, around a million years ago. Recall that the remains of this solid object of extraterrestrial origin were discovered in the same village in the early 1900s. Unlike other designers who choose to integrate only small fragments of space rock into their products, the artist Phillip Toledano and the watchmaker Alfred Chan opted for a different approach.
A high-end watch
Rather than limiting themselves to a meteorite dial, a fairly common concept in the world of luxury watches, the duo made a bold choice. They used this material for the majority of the components of the B/1M, from the case to the dial, including the lugs. Speaking of design, the watch succumbed to brutalist design popularized in particular by the architect Marcel Breuer. If you don't know yet, Brutalism is an architectural style that favors the rawness of materials with an emphasis on angular shapes.
A unique appearance
The dial of the watch is reminiscent of the trapezoidal windows of the Whitney Museum of American Art in New York. Note in passing that this building is today owned by the Sotheby's auction house. Since the meteorite used to make the B/1M is made primarily of iron, Toledano & Chan had to apply an anti-rust coating to prevent corrosion. However, the addition of this layer did not affect the glossy appearance of the case, which is also characterized by the presence of multidirectional streaks unique.
Soon available in limited series?
To top it off, the brand has opted for an ostrich leather strap whose color matches that of the meteorite. The B/1M was designed from an earlier model called the B/1. Like this one, it does not contain any numbers or symbols allowing you to know the hour and minute. Instead, it just has a hand with a pointed head to indicate the minutes and another less pointed one to designate the hour.
This luxury meteorite-based watch currently exists in a single example, which was recently the subject of an auction at TimeForArt. Toledano & Chan, however, plans to produce it in a limited series in 2025. Unfortunately, we have no idea of the price. More info: toledanoandchan.com. Would you be ready to wear this unique type of watch? I invite you to give us your opinion, your comments or point out an error in the text, click here to post a comment.
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