When it comes to the materials used in watches, there is only one that could claim that its provenance goes back 4.5bn years.
Meteorite, a material that watchmakers latched on to as an interesting basis for dial-making some time during the 1990s, has since inspired a positive shower of special models from brands across the board.
Although it was not the first to use meteorite to make dials, Rolex was among the pioneers when it offered the material as a standard cost option on both its Day-Date and Daytona models, back in 1999. Since then, numerous high-profile brands, as well as many that are lesser known, have embraced meteorite — almost invariably capitalising on the novelty value of a dial that has been sliced from a chunk of ancient space rock that landed on Earth after scorching into its atmosphere as a meteoroid travelling at more than 70,000kph.