I admit I don’t know much about Greco Geneve. From what I saw when I researched this article they make expensive watches but with ETA movements. So it gives me the vibe of Hublot. Anyway, they launched the Asteroid model some time ago, and it is the most ugly expensive watch that I have ever seen.
Honestly this watch looks like it came straight from Flintstones cartoons. Just a big, expensive, ugly rock on your wrist. I don’t see how you can wear that watch. Actually how to wear it is your last problem, the first problem is what on earth made you pay $1.1 million dollars for that rock.
I don’t want to be too harsh on them, but at least they could have given the watch some form. This model seems to be in antithesis with the Graff Diamonds Hallucination watch that is worth $55 million. No wait actually they are in the same bucket, one is expensive because of the diamonds, the other is expensive because…I don’t know why! But both are ugly!
Buying this watch it’s a mistake in my opinion. Way to expensive and I don’t think the quality is there. We have a comprehensive Luxury Watch Buying Guide that you can read in order to make an informed decision when it comes to luxury watches.
Greco Asteroid : The Meteorite Journey
Ok, this is cool, still not worth $1.1M but the watch is actually made from Campo del Cielo which fell to Earth approximately 4000-5000 years ago in modern day Argentina.
It was discovered by Spanish colonists in 1576. The piece that they used for this watch came from the largest fragment ever recovered, a 100 ton mass that represents one of the most important meteorite finds in history.
The nice part is that the meteorite was formed about the time when our solar system was born, 4.5 billion years ago.
So yeah, to have that piece of meteorite on your hand is cool and all that, given the fact that it is very old and travelled around the universe. But that doesn’t make the watch less ugly.
The Greco Asteroid watch story begins 30 years ago, when the founder Stephan Greco discovered a fragment from Campo CIelo among fossilised dinosaur eggs and mammoth tusks in a shop.
When I researched the story, I thought he was skiing and found in a cave the meteorite piece and some dinosaur eggs. But nope, he found it in a shop, and just bought it. I’m curious how much he paid for it. 10 Swiss Francs? The story is worse than the price of the watch.
Movement and Materials
The case of Greco Asteroid is made from a big chunky piece of meteorite, raw and unpolished. It preserves the original surface texture which I like because you can see all the scars from its journey through space and time.
The case houses a skeletonized ETA 7001 movement which is handgraved with fluorescent cogwheels finished in ruthenium anthracite. Under ultraviolet light the movement comes alive with glowing components. Which became a Greco-Geneva signature present on other models as well
The grown weighs 30 grams and it’s made of white gold. Also the clasp is made from another meteorite. The strap is made from buffalo leather.
On the white gold bezel we have some hieroglyphs which actually are an homage to the Predator movie.
Is Greco Asteroid worth that much money? I don’t think so. I would never pay for this watch even if I was a billionaire. And honestly, to buy a meteorite is not that expensive. From what I saw on the internet the price is around 2-3 dollars per gram.
And even if the meteorite was expensive, this watch is ugly as hell. I cannot find an occasion on which I could wear the Greco Asteroid.
And until recently I didn’t know this watch existed or even this watch manufacturer. Which is fine, we learn something new everyday. If I would have made a list with the most ugly watches, Greco Asteroid will definitely would have been in top 3.
In the meantime I have a list of the most innovative Casio watches from the 80’s and 90’ . Those models deserve more attention than this $1.1M watch.
More info on their oficial website
| Specification | Details |
| Model | Greco-Genève Asteroid |
| Price | $1.1 million USD |
| Case Material | Campo del Cielo meteorite (iron meteorite) |
| Case Form | Irregular, preserving natural meteorite surface |
| Case Origin | 100-ton meteorite fragment from Argentina |
| Movement | ETA 7001, hand-wound mechanical |
| Movement Finish | Skeletonized with hand-engraved cogwheels |
| Movement Coating | Ruthenium anthracite |
| Special Feature | Fluorescent components (glow under UV light) |
| Crown Material | White gold (30 grams) |
| Bezel | White gold with engraved hieroglyphs |
| Strap Material | Anthracite buffalo leather |
| Clasp | Barbed clasp with Gibeon meteorite insert |
| Age of Material | 4.5 billion years (meteorite formation) |
| Production | One-of-a-kind piece |
