Meteorite watches usually work the same way. A thin slice of space rock gets mounted onto a brass base, polished, and set into a dial. Bell & Ross took a different approach with the new BR-X5 Meteorite, machining the dial directly from a solid piece of meteorite with no base beneath it at all.
This guide covers what makes that dial different, the movement and specs behind it, pricing, and where the BR-X5 collection fits at Precision Watches, an Authorized Bell & Ross Dealer near Philadelphia.
A Dial Cut From Space
The material is Muonionalusta, an iron meteorite discovered in northern Sweden in 1906, hidden beneath permafrost after striking Earth roughly a million years ago. The meteorite itself is estimated to be around 4.5 billion years old, roughly the same age as the solar system.
What makes Muonionalusta visually distinctive is its Widmanstätten pattern, a natural crystalline structure that forms only when metallic meteorites cool at an extremely slow rate over millions of years in space. That pattern cannot be reproduced artificially, and because Bell & Ross cuts each dial directly from solid meteorite rather than applying a thin veneer to a brass base, every one of the 250 watches carries a genuinely unique pattern. A thin protective coating stabilizes the surface without altering its natural gray and metallic tones.
Case and Design
The BR-X5 Meteorite keeps the collection’s familiar 41mm case, built around Bell & Ross’s multi-part sandwich construction rather than a traditional single-piece case. The satin-finished and polished steel case measures 12.80mm thick, with a screw-down crown, a crown guard, and a sapphire caseback that shows off the movement’s oscillating weight.
Rhodium-plated, skeletonized hands and applied indices, filled with blue-glowing Super-LumiNova, sit against the meteorite dial for legibility in low light. A big date window at 3 o’clock, styled after an aircraft altimeter, and a power reserve indicator at 9 o’clock round out the layout, both signature details of Bell & Ross’s aviation-inspired design language.
The Movement
Inside the case runs the Calibre BR-CAL.323, a manufacture movement built for Bell & Ross by Kenissi, the same movement maker behind Tudor’s current in-house calibers. It runs at 28,800 vibrations per hour, carries COSC chronometer certification, and delivers approximately 70 hours of power reserve. Watches built around a Kenissi manufacture movement also receive Bell & Ross’s automatic five-year warranty extension.
Pricing and Availability
The BR-X5 Meteorite is priced at $9,200 on the black rubber strap and $9,700 on the integrated steel bracelet. Bell & Ross is producing only 250 pieces total, and given the nature of a solid meteorite dial, no two examples will look exactly alike. For full details straight from the source, visit Bell & Ross directly.
Bell & Ross at Precision Watches
As an Authorized Bell & Ross Dealer near Philadelphia, Precision Watches carries the brand’s full current lineup, including the BR 03, BR 05, BR-X5, and Vintage collections. Given the limited nature of this specific release, availability through any authorized dealer is expected to be tight, but our team can help you explore our full range of Bell & Ross watches or visit our watch store to see the wider BR-X5 collection and other Bell & Ross references currently in our showroom.
For more on the brand’s history, our full history of Bell & Ross covers how the brand built its identity around aviation and instrument design. If you are also weighing meteorite dials elsewhere in the watch world, our piece on the Omega Speedmaster Moonphase Meteorite covers a very different take on the same material.
Frequently Asked Questions About the Bell & Ross BR-X5 Meteorite
What makes the BR-X5 Meteorite different from other meteorite watches?
Most meteorite dials use a thin slice of meteorite mounted on a brass base. The BR-X5 Meteorite’s dial is machined directly from a solid piece of meteorite with no base beneath it, a more involved and less common construction method.
What meteorite does Bell & Ross use for this watch?
Bell & Ross uses Muonionalusta, an iron meteorite discovered in northern Sweden in 1906 and estimated to be approximately 4.5 billion years old.
How much does the Bell & Ross BR-X5 Meteorite cost?
Pricing starts at $9,200 on the black rubber strap and runs to $9,700 on the integrated steel bracelet.
How many Bell & Ross BR-X5 Meteorite watches were made?
Bell & Ross limited this release to 250 pieces, and because each dial is cut from solid meteorite, every watch carries a naturally unique pattern.
