On the 16^th of September, just last year in 2016, Reuters reported scientists having unearthed what they called: one of the largest meteorites ever to have been found on earth.

Weighing in at some 30 tonnes, the massive piece of space debris had to be excavated out from the ground in an area on the border between the provinces of Chaco and Santiago del Estero in Argentina. It is now believed that the region was hit by a meteorite shower just about 4,000 to 5,000 years ago, in an Holocene impact event.

Locals have long known the patch of land by its name, Campo del Cielo — or, Field of Heaven — because long ago in the times of the Spanish conquest, the natives of the locality were using the iron extracted from the meteorites in the area to create weapons.

In recent days, though, unearthed meteors have taken on a rather precious note. That is, they are sought after as would be naturally occurring gold and diamonds. So much so that early in 2015, there were four men who were arrested for having attempted to swipe more than 200 large pieces of meteorites from the Field of Heaven, which is otherwise a protected under Argentine law.

Watchmaking, too, has for some time now used thin cut discs from these celestial objects to adorn the dials of watches. Take for example the Rolex Daytona Meteorite Limited Edition, Jaeger-LeCoultre’s meteorite dialed Master Calendar or even the Rotonde de Cartier Earth Moon watch with meteorite dial. In most of these instances, watchmakers have worked to use the innate grain patterns of the meteorites to dress their dials.

But none have yet, perhaps, treated the actual meteorite slice in an attempt to amplify the beauty held within. None until De Bethune that is. Enter the DB28 Kind of Blue Tourbillon Meteorite.

In the hands of Denis Flageollet, some pieces of meteorite, rich in iron and nickle, obtained from the Santiago del Estero region has been ever so carefully worked on with diamond powder, bare blades and then flamed to obtain what is without a doubt one of the most amazing creations to come out from the brand since — well, since the original DB28 Kind of Blue, which for the first time showed off blued grade 5 titanium like no other titanium watch before. And here for the first time then, we see a blued meteorite dial.

A blued meteorite dial, I figure, would’ve been headline enough. But nope, Denis’ gone further to dress his meteorite canvas with minuscule drops of gold that are intended to recreate the starry skies from whence it came, multiple lifetimes ago. So, what you get is this combined effect of the star-studded sky from De Bethune’s earlier DB25L Milky Way contained within the DB28 Kind of Blue. But, of course, on said meteorite dial.

Not that we needed another reason to like the Kind of Blue as much as we already do, but you know how there are all these brands who are getting away with fitting new dials into their existing watches, calling them new? Guys, y’all best be taking notes. This is how you reimagine and reinvent an already existing watch.

Editor’s Note: While in Geneva earlier in January, the version of the Kind of Blue Tourbillon Meteorite we got to photograph was, in fact, a pièce unique (as indicated in the next image). The production version will instead bear a number from the series produced. 

DB28 Kind of Blue Tourbillon Meteorite – Technical Specifications

Movement

DB2019v3 manual-winding movement; hours and minutes; 30-second tourbillon with second hand mounted on tourbillon cage; power reserve indicator no movement back; 5-day power reserve ensured by a self-regulating twin barrel

Case

42.6mm; blued and hand-polished grade 5 titanium; water-resistant to 30m

Strap

Alligator leather; buckle in grade 5 mirror-polished and blued titanium and ardillon in pink 5N gold