Description
After the success of its first edition in 2019, a novelty into the microbrand watches market, that were sold out in just few hours, we are proud to introduce you the All-New Viqueria Levante Meteorite Limited Edition. A Limited Edition 50 pieces watch with a load of character that kept some elements of our earlier designs whilst developing a timepiece that stands apart, not just within our own range but also within the microbrand market it exists.
The All-New Levante is powered by a Seiko VK64 Meca-Q movement and it features a genuine Muonionalusta Meteorite dial encase in a superb DLC case.
METEORITE DIAL
The All-New Levante is available also with a real Meteorite dial.
We have choosen to create this special dial with the Muonionalusta meteorite which impacted in northern Scandinavia, west of the border between Sweden and Finland, about one million years BCE. The first fragment of the Muonionalusta meteorite was found in 1906 near the village of Kitkiöjärvi. Around forty pieces are known today, some being quite large.
Studies have shown it to be the oldest discovered meteorite impacting the Earth during the Quaternary Period, about one million years ago. It is quite clearly part of the iron core or mantle of a planetoid, which shattered into many pieces upon its fall on our planet.
The markings that characterize the distinctive meteorite look are called Widmanstätten patterns, and their presence alone suggests an extraterrestrial origin. This is because the crystalline structures require special conditions to grow in this particular way — specifically, cooling at a very slow pace over millions of years. While people can certainly fake or imitate the look, the actual process cannot be artificially reproduced in a laboratory due to the time requirement.
That neat texture won’t be immediately revealed simply by slicing a meteorite open. First, cutting along different planes will reveal different patterns, some more right-angled, some with a more random look, and some which are zigzaggy. Then, after being polished and cleaned, the slice is “etched” with the application of a chemical like nitric acid which highlights the contrast between different elements because some are more resistant to the acid.
Since the textures are organic, each watch dial will be unique, and patterns in different meteorites can also differ in their coarseness or fineness.
DLC CASE: DIAMOND-LIKE CARBON
The All-New Levante Meteorite style is equipped with a black and bold DLC case with mixed brushed/polished details. When a watch is DLC-coated, it indicates that the base metal of the watch case has been chemically coated in a layer of extremely durable and scratch-resistant carbon particles.
As the name suggests, a DLC-coating is as resistant to scratches as diamond.
SEIKO VK64 MOVEMENT
In the mid-to-late 1980s, two Swiss manufactures, Frédéric Piguet and Jaeger-LeCoultre, add their own value to the rapidly growing market of quartz watches by adding a mechanical component to a standard quartz chronograph. The watch’s standard time function was still run by a quartz-powered stepper motor. But instead of having each hand of the chronograph movement powered by a separate stepper motor, as in a normal quartz chronograph, a single stepper motor powered a set of connected gears that split the motor’s power among the chronograph functions. By using the connected mechanical components powered by one motor to drive all functions of the chronograph, the Swiss companies were able to bring back the clicking sensation in the pushers, the sweeping seconds hand, as well as the instant reset to zero.
These early mechanical quartz hybrid movements were used in a variety of luxury watches during the late ’80s and throughout the’90s: Frédéric Piguet’s, Breitling, Omega, Chopard, Bulgari, IWC, Porsche Design and Jaeger-LeCoultre.
Seiko has recently brought back its own version of the hybrid movement. What’s more, Seiko has made a version of the mecha-quartz available to independent, boutique watch startups and microbrands for use in their own chronographs. This is the reason why we decided to encase this great movement inside the All-New Levante.
SPECIFICATIONS
- Limited Edition Size: 50 individually numbered timepieces;
- Complications: Chronograph;
- Water Resistance: 10 ATM / 100 meters / 330 feet;
- Diameter: 42mm, excluding crown. Lug to Lug 46.7mm;
- Lug Width: 22mm;
- Height: 12.3mm;
- Case: Marine grade 316L stainless steel with DLC coating;
- Case Back: Solid Caseback with Alloy Whell engraved;
- Dial Type: Real Swedish Meteorite for Meteorite style;
- Crystal: Vintage-style custom high dome acrylic crystal;
- Bezel: Fixed position steel bezel insert with tachometer scale;
- Lume: BGW9 LumiNova;
- Straps: 22mm premium 2DStraps leather “racing” strap;
- Movement: Seiko VK64 Meca-Q with sweeping seconds hand powered by Battery,
- Warranty: 2 years;
- Assembled in Italy
- Shipped from Italy
