Bangalore Watch Company pays homage to ISRO with a limited edition meteorite watch

Due to the rarity of the material, BWC is producing only 50 pieces of the Extraterrestrial Apogee on pre-order. 
Extraterrestrial Apogee
Extraterrestrial Apogee

The Bangalore Watch Company (BWC) is known to introduce timepieces that narrate stories from a 21st-century point of view. Their latest and limited edition meteorite watch, Extraterrestrial Apogee, commemorates the fact that in just over 50 years, ISRO has become a force to reckon with. To learn more, we spoke to Nirupesh Joshi, founder and creative director of the brand.

“ISRO had a humble beginning with a small team of scientists in Thumba, a fishing village in Kerala, and now 50 years later, they are among the world leaders in satellite launch technology. We felt the need to celebrate this story through a watch collection,” he shares.

The dial
The dial

When Nirupesh and his team were thinking about the best way to tell the story of ISRO, the citybased watchmakers had a Eureka moment and decided to work with meteorite rocks. “Thanks to a ‘meteorite hunter,’ we managed to source a small piece of the Muonionalusta meteorite from the border of Sweden and Finland. This meteorite fell to Earth about 8 lakh years ago, but is believed to be 4.5 billion years old,” he reveals.

Since the meteorite was formed by the slow cooling of nickel and iron crystals in space, when cut down, each piece showcases a unique pattern and thus, no two dials are alike. “On the dial, we have printed the latitude and longitude of Sriharikota, one of India’s satellite launch centres. The back case is embossed with a 3D illustration of the Aryabhatta spacecraft, the first satellite developed and launched by India in 1975. The timepiece is crafted from Grade 2 Titanium (a material used in space technology) and the shape is inspired by the 1970s (the decade when ISRO began to gain recognition) cushion watches,” says Nirupesh.

Case back
Case back


The two time-zone feature is also a nod to ISRO as it has been designed keeping the needs of astronauts in mind. “We designed a watch that would help astronauts track two time zones, their space mission time and the local time of their home country,” he elaborates. With Swiss automatic movements, scratch-resistant sapphire glass, a 100 metre water-tight case and black leather straps, the timepiece checks several boxes for a statement piece. Due to the rarity of the material, BWC is producing only 50 pieces of the Extraterrestrial Apogee on pre-order. 


₹1,80,000 upwards. Available online

 Email: srushti@newindianexpress.com
Twitter: @Sru_Kulkarn

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