In watchmaking, heritage matters. But while rival European horologists vaunt the traditions of their centuries-old workshops, design duo Toledano & Chan맥스카지노�s new creation has a longer history altogether: It was carved from a meteorite that slammed into Earth around 1 million years ago.The Brutalist-inspired watch, dubbed the B/1M, was made from part of the Muonionalusta meteorite, the remains of which were first discovered in the Swedish village of Kitkiojarvi in 1906. Since then, dozens more fragments 맥스카지노� scattered around by the force of the meteorite's collision with Earth 맥스카지노� have been found across northern Scandinavia.While small amounts of the meteorite have been used on luxury timepieces before, artist Phillip Toledano and watchmaker Alfred Chan wanted to go one step further.맥스카지노�You often see meteorite dials; they are not uncommon on watches,맥스카지노� Toledano told CNN via Zoom from New York, where he is based. 맥스카지노�But an entire meteorite case, dial, lugs 맥스카지노� all that stuff 맥스카지노� is very unusual.맥스카지노�The reason may be, at least partly, price. Toledano declined to disclose how much the fragment used for the B/1M cost, but he noted that raw meteorite can sell for more per gram than gold. The prototype watch was estimated to fetch between $8,000 and $16,000 when it appeared at the Time for Art auction, organized by Phillips Watches, in New York on Saturday.맥스카지노�There are no meteorite trees, so it맥스카지노�s deeply expensive to work with,맥스카지노� Toledano said. 맥스카지노�And the annoying thing 맥스카지노� is that while when you work with gold, if you have bits and pieces left over, you can recycle them for other projects, but with meteorite, you can맥스카지노�t.맥스카지노�Muonionalusta meteorite is made primarily from iron, meaning the duo had to protect their watch with an anti-rust coating. But the material also holds a unique aesthetic quality: distinctive multidirectional striations, known as Widmanstatten patterns, that give it an 맥스카지노�otherworldly맥스카지노� appearance that 맥스카지노�glitters slightly,맥스카지노� Toledano said.He and Chan paired their concrete-like watch case with a gray ostrich leg strap, offering the design a contrasting organic texture. The pair hopes to put the piece into limited production, though due to the nature of the material, each would have a unique appearance.맥스카지노�For us, the interesting part (of watchmaking) 맥스카지노� is exploring new materials and exploring new forms,맥스카지노� Toledano added.Toledano and Hong Kong-based Chan, who co-founded their watch brand in 2021, met via Instagram and bonded over a shared love of Brutalism. The B/1M prototype (like the steel B/1 model that preceded it) was inspired by the post-war movement맥스카지노�s angular forms 맥스카지노� and, more specifically, the windows of New York맥스카지노�s Breuer Building.Designed by modernist architect Marcel Breuer, the 1960s building is known for its austere, top-heavy form, punctuated by a handful of trapezoidal windows. It originally housed the Whitney Museum of American Art, though it is now owned by auction house Sotheby맥스카지노�s.The iconic windows informed the asymmetric shape of Toledano & Chan맥스카지노�s design. And just as the Breuer Building is largely free from ornamentation, the faces of both the B/1 and the B/1M are void of numbers or symbols. (Toledano dismissed concerns this could make the watch difficult to read: 맥스카지노�If you맥스카지노�re looking at that watch face and you can맥스카지노�t tell the time, you know you맥스카지노�ve got bigger problems,맥스카지노� the artist joked.)And while Toledano was surprised by the original steel version맥스카지노�s popularity 맥스카지노� the $4,000 watches sold out in under an hour 맥스카지노� he said it reflects the growing market for designs eschewing conventional shapes.맥스카지노�I have noticed, in the last year or so, a real opening of the landscape for watches, in terms of people 맥스카지노� and men in particular 맥스카지노� being open to differently shaped watches.맥스카지노�