Introducing The Breitling Erling Haaland Signature Chronomat, With Breitling’s First Meteorite Dial

If you had asked me whether or not Breitling had watches with meteorite dials in their history, I’d have said yes without hesitation. I also would have said yes without checking, and lo and behold, I’d be wrong – Breitling says that they have never used the material before and they would know. However, this piece of info came along with a new release, and the new pieces are the first Breitling watches to use meteorite – in the just-announced Breitling Chronomat Erling Haaland watches. There are two models in the collection; one is the Chronomat Auto GMT 40 Erling Haaland, with a flyer GMT hand and either a Rouleaux steel bracelet or rubber strap, and the other is the  Chronomat B01 42 Erling Haaland, in red gold, with either a strap or Rouleaux red gold bracelet. Both watches are water resistant to 200 meters, and both have bezels with the Chronomat signature rider tabs. And for stealth luxury fans, there’s a little something special on the Auto GMT: a platinum bezel.

If you’re not familiar with the name Erlang Haaland, he’s a pro soccer player who has played for the Norwegian national team (the 6 foot 5 inch tall Haaland is a native of Norway) and he plays as a striker for Manchester City; a striker is basically a forward whose primary job is scoring goals. It’s a demanding position (although really, there aren’t any undemanding positions in soccer) requiring great accuracy and technical virtuosity, and cutting an intimidating presence on the field doesn’t hurt either.

Soccer, you might say, is in his blood; his father Alfie played professionally for Leeds United. Haaland has an interesting idiosyncrasy; when he scores, he often assumes a crossed legged mediation posture. This has become known as his Zen celebration; in 2020, he told ESPN, “I really enjoy meditation … it makes feel calm and gives me tranquillity. This is why I sometimes celebrate like that when I score.” The caseback of the GMT model has an engraving of Haaland in the Zen celebration pose, and “Erling Haarland 9” which refers to his number with Manchester.

The meteorite for the dials comes from a source widely used in the watch industry: the object known as the Muonionalusta meteorite (if you’re curious, a meteor burns up in the atmosphere but a meteorite survives to hit the ground, albeit often the worse for wear). The meteorite impacted about a million years ago in Scandanavia, and so far forty larger fragments have been unearthed, within a debris field about 25 km x 15 km, north of the Arctic Circle. The meteorite is iron-nickel in composition, and formed about 4.5 billion years ago when a planetoid with an iron core broke up during the formation of the solar system. The iron nickel core cooled so slowly that enormous crystals of metal, visible to the naked eye, formed and these crystals are responsible for the distinctive patterns found on meteorite dial watches.

Haaland, according to Breitling, specifically wanted meteorite for the dials, thanks to the unique identity it gives each watch. Haaland said, “I wanted something one of a kind … the Chronomat just clicked. It’s clean, all metal or with a rubber strap – it lets you go bold with the dial. And the meteorite makes each one different. You’re never going to see the same watch on someone else’s wrist.”

These patterns can be revealed by acid etching slices of an iron nickel meteorite; they are called Widmanstätten patterns, after their discoverer. (Those of you with a sense of justice in scientific priority may wish to know that they really ought to be called Thomson patterns, after the British scientist, William Thomson, who discovered them four years before Widmanstätten, but whose results were unfortunately published only in French, in 1804 in the middle of the Napoleonic wars, which lead to lots of his fellow scientists missing his paper. Thomson then compounded his obscurity by ill advisedly passing away at 46, just a few years later).

Meteorite dials are impossible to produce artificially, since the length of time over which the metal has to cool in order for such large crystals to form, is on the order of several million years, so the presence of such crystals is usually indicative of an extraterrestrial origin. No two meteorite dials are alike; there are non-iron nickel asteroids which can and have been used for watch dials, but the iron-nickel variety remains the most popular as it’s got the clearest crystal structure and is instantly identifiable as meteorite.

Erling Haaland’s name can be found on the casebacks of both watches but only the GMT shows the Zen celebration. The watches are limited editions; there will be 250 of the Chronomat 42 B01, and 500 of the GMT. In addition to the caseback engravings, the counterweights for the hour hands are in the shape of Haaland’s initials.

These are quite handsome additions to the Chronomat family, and of course, a bit of an historical moment for Breitling as they’ve never used meteorite before. A visually striking first for Breitling, in partnership with one of the most powerful strikers in soccer.

The Breitling Chronomat Auto GMT 40 Erling Haaland: case, stainless steel with platinum bracelet, 40mm x 11.7mm with sapphire crystal, double AR coated, 200 meter water resistant with unidirectional bezel. Erling Haaland Zen Celebration caseback. Movement, Breitling Caliber 32, GMT function with flyer/independently settable 24 hour hand for local time; 42 hour power reserve, chronometer certified by the COSC. References, P323982A1F1S1, P323982A1F1A1. Prices: strap, $10,000, bracelet, $10,350.

The Breitling Chronomat B01 42 Erling Haaland: case, 18k red gold, 42mm x 15.10mm, sapphire crystals front and back; front crystal double AR coated; unidirectional bezel, 200 meter water resistant. Movement, Breitling manufacture caliber B01, automatic chronograph, column wheel controlled with vertical clutch, chronometer certified by the COSC. References, RB01347A1F1S1 and RB01347A1F1R1. Prices; strap, $26,000, bracelet, $47,100.

The 1916 Company is proud to be an authorized retailer for Breitling. For more information and availability, for the Haaland Signature editions, contact us.