Generally I don’t watch a lot of television because there are not enough hours in the day. However I do really enjoy a well-made documentary or lifestyle program. A few weeks ago I discovered a program on the Travel Channel called Bizarre Foods with Andrew Zimmern (American Chef and food writer). Essentially the show focuses on different and unusual regional cuisines from around the world. Some of these foods like Bulls penis soup, Reindeer pizza and dried tree Lizard may appear a bit unappealing to westerners like myself. However as the host says himself “Someone’s weird is someone else’s wonderful”. To a degree the same analogy could apply to the world of horology.
Back in March I visited a lot of independent watchmakers at Baselworld located in a remote part of the show. These included companies like ArtyA, Bausele, Ralf Tech and Greco Genève. Greco is owned and operated by a scientist/entrepreneur called Stéphane Greco. Although the company has a low marketing presence (compared to other brands) their watches are very well designed. A few months ago I published a hands on review of their LTM-41T from the Les Temps Modernes collection. This timepiece has a really distinctive hexagonal nut case, which is constructed from titanium. At around $7,000 the watch is against stiff competition but I feel it definitely is worth consideration.
Whilst I was at Greco Genève stall I noticed a really unusual watch, which was aptly name the Meteorite Watch. It is pertinent to mention that this timepiece is not available to buy or is ever likely to go into production. However the very existence of this watch certainly attracted my curiosity. Very kindly one of the marketing team allowed me to try on this unique piece and take some photographs. Considering the watch is composed of rock it actually felt pretty comfortable on the wrist.
When I first set eyes on the Meteorite Watch it brought back memories of watching the Flinstones as a kid. Essentially this watch is large chunk of meteorite with a luminous red skeletonized dial carved out. Certainly the timepiece is nowhere near as sophisticated as Antoine Preziuso’s Tourbillon T 21 Munionalusta (which is the only other solid meteorite watch I can think of). However the timepiece does have a strange raw textured quality that I found attractive. Maybe that is just because I like eclectic designs and love the fact someone has invested the time to make this piece.
Beneath the crusty façade lies a Swiss made Unitas ETA 6497-1 manual-winding movement. This caliber comprises 17-jewels and oscillates at a frequency of 18,000 vibrations per hour. Functionally the Meteorite Watch features hours, minutes and has power reserve of approximately 40-hours.
