Earth’s hidden treasures: Luxury watches crafted from nature’s rarest stones

In 2025, the luxury watch world has turned its gaze inward to the very materials that shaped our planet and beyond. Drawing from nature itself, maisons are crafting ornamental stone dials that echo the poetry of time, from tiger iron forged deep in Western Australia’s ancient rocks to lepidolite and meteorite fragments that once drifted through the cosmos. 

Millions of years in the making, these precious gems command our full attention from beneath sapphire crystal, their hidden brilliance and character slowly revealed through the patient labour of artisans who slice, polish and cut the raw stones. The result is haute horlogerie, where no two dials are identical; each bearing unique striations, colours and textures only deep time and elemental alchemy can create. Obsidian, Italian marble and opal transform dials into artful masterpieces, in which technical virtuosity meets raw, unpredictable beauty. 

From Rolex and Zenith to Bvlgari, Chopard, Dior, H Moser & Cie, Piaget and Gerald Genta, this year’s standouts ground innovation in nature’s enduring splendour – reminding us that time, like the Earth, is ever-evolving.

ROLEX: METAMORPHIC MAGIC

The Rolex Oyster Perpetual GMT-Master II brings a natural marvel to the wrist with a dial cut from tiger iron – a metamorphic stone found only in the Pilbara region of Western Australia. Composed of tiger’s eye, red jasper and hematite, this material makes its debut at Rolex, its shimmering ribbons of gold, red, orange and deep brown harmonising beautifully with a 40mm Everose gold case and bidirectional 24-hour Cerachrom bezel in brown and black.

Beneath the beauty lies the heart of a true traveller’s watch: Powered by the calibre 3285 with a 70-hour power reserve, it offers a dual-time display with an arrow-tipped 24-hour hand.

The tiger iron dial is painstakingly selected and assembled, making each dial unique. Paired with an Everose gold Oyster bracelet fitted with an Oysterlock clasp and Easylink comfort extension link that allows up to 5mm extension, this robust yet refined reference is waterproof to 100m and certified as a Superlative Chronometer. A striking blend of natural artistry and technical mastery, this is Rolex’s most exotic travel companion yet.

H MOSER & CIE: CHROMATIC DUETS

The irreverent Pop collection by H Moser & Cie’s reimagines ornamental stone dials with unexpected bi-material pairings. Each dial fuses two contrasting gemstones in audacious colourways and is stripped of logos and indices to allow its beauty to take centre stage. The result is refined minimalism turned technicolour: serene Burmese jade set against the softness of pink opal; the regal depth of lapis lazuli sharpened by the citrus tones of lemon chrysoprase; and cool turquoise ignited by vibrant orange coral.

Beyond aesthetics, the stones are chosen for their symbolism – jade represents wisdom, lapis lazuli embodies creativity, turquoise symbolises vitality, coral evokes passion, chrysoprase promotes confidence and pink opal inspires gentleness. Like rare artworks, these watches – in steel or red gold cases in 38mm or 40mm depending on the model – are produced in an exclusive series comprising 28 pieces per colour for the Endeavour Small Seconds Concept models, eight pieces for the Endeavour Tourbillon Concept iterations and only one for the Endeavour Minute Repeater Tourbillon Concept reference. 

CHOPARD: LILAC DEBUT

Chopard introduces lepidolite for the first time across all its collections with the 2025 Happy Sport limited edition, marking an expansion of its ornamental stone dial repertoire that dates back to the 1960s. This distinctive mineral brings a new chromatic dimension to luxury watchmaking with its remarkable texture that flaunts a spectrum of lilac, mauve, purple and plum shades.

Lepidolite’s natural crystalline structure produces a subtle shimmer effect as light plays across its surface, providing a dynamic backdrop for Chopard's hallmark dancing diamonds. Symbolic of serenity and calm, the stone’s soft, feminine palette extends throughout the design – an amethyst adorns the crown, while a lilac alligator strap adds a final flourish. Limited to 25 pieces in ethical rose gold, this 33mm Happy Sport model harmonises fine jewellery, horology and ethical luxury into a celebration of proportion, movement and feminine energy. 

ZENITH: EXTRATERRESTRIAL BEAUTY

Zenith’s Chronomaster Sport Meteorite is where interstellar history meets cutting-edge horology. Each dial is cut from an actual meteorite that travelled millions of years through space before landing on Earth. Its singular Widmanstatten pattern – a naturally occurring lattice formed over millions of years as molten iron cooled in space – makes every dial visually unique.

The meteorite’s silvery patterns stand out against Zenith’s signature tri-colour chronograph subdials, housed in a 41mm stainless steel case with a black ceramic bezel marked for tenths of a second. Powering the timepiece is the El Primero 3600 calibre, a high-frequency chronograph with a central hand that completes a full sweep in 10 seconds for true 1/10-second readings, plus a 60-hour power reserve and stop-seconds for precise setting. An exhibition caseback reveals the blue column wheel and openworked rotor, while the integrated steel bracelet and an additional black rubber strap keep things sport-chic and versatile. Once a Japan-exclusive, the Chronomaster Sport Meteorite is now available worldwide via Zenith boutiques (in-store and online) and authorised retailers.

BVLGARI: MARBLE MASTERY

With the Octo Finissimo Tourbillon Marble, Bvlgari transforms Roman heritage into modern artistry. The dial, sculpted from Blu Incanto marble quarried in Italy, pairs sculptural elegance with daring engineering — marble this delicate is rarely cut so fine, let alone set above an ultra-thin flying tourbillon.

The Italian watchmaker’s know-how shows in every layer: a 40mm extra-thin, satin-polished platinum case, transparent caseback and blue alligator strap that mirrors the dial’s saturated hues. Driving the watch is the hand-wound BVL 268 calibre that measures a mere 1.95mm yet delivers a 52-hour power reserve. Limited to 30 pieces, the watch turns ornamental stone into a true focal point, its natural patterns and light reflections complementing the graceful rotation of the tourbillon.

PIAGET: MOLTEN PERFECTION

The Swiss manufacture channels the elemental energy of the earth into horological art with a pair of Polo Perpetual Calendar Obsidian timepieces. Each watch features a dial cut from natural obsidian, a volcanic glass born from rapidly cooled molten rock. Its sulphide inclusions catch and scatter light in unpredictable ways, ensuring no two dials are ever alike.

The two editions reveal distinct personalities. The Obsidian Blue exudes quiet sophistication with its polished and satin-brushed white gold case and matching rubber strap, while the Obsidian Green radiates exuberance with 56 brilliant-cut emeralds set in its bezel.

Driving the volcanic beauties is the ultra-thin, self-winding calibre 1255P – one of watchmaking’s most elegantly integrated perpetual calendars. Measuring just 4mm thin, it displays the day, date, month and moonphase within a 42mm case that is only 8.65mm high, showcasing Piaget’s mastery of refined engineering since the 1950s. Both watches preserve the Piaget Polo’s signature “shape-in-shape” design – a cushion-shaped dial framed by a round bezel.

DIOR: HYPNOTIC HUES

Comprising 10 creations, the La D de Dior Coffret D’Opale by Dior transforms the ethereal beauty of Australian opal into poetry on the wrist. A personal favourite of Dior Jewellery’s artistic director Victoire de Castellane, the gemstone radiates a kaleidoscope of shifting hues akin to a thousand rainbows dancing within a 25mm round frame.

Each prismatic piece pairs the opal dial with a precious metal case – pink, yellow or white gold – accented by handset gemstones and diamonds. The yellow and pink gold versions flaunt bezels adorned with coloured sapphires, rubies, amethysts, apatites and tsavorites, while the white gold variation is framed entirely with diamonds.

Driven by a Swiss quartz movement, each iteration embodies Dior’s philosophy of elegance through simplicity. And with only 10 singular creations in existence, the La D de Dior Coffret D’Opale is less a timepiece than a constellation of dreams brought to life.

GERALD GENTA: ENTRANCING IN EBONY

Unveiled at Geneva Watch Days 2025 in September, the Gerald Genta Minute Repeater embodies a union of sculptural design, acoustic perfection and the quiet power of onyx. Encased in yellow gold and measuring just 9.6mm slim, the 40mm timepiece channels the late watchmaking maestro’s love for hardstone dials and impeccable proportion. Its deep black onyx dial radiates understated strength, while the polished double gadroons, pusher and onyx cabochon crown evoke Genta’s geometric precision.

At the heart of the watch beats the in-house calibre GG-002 with an 80-hour power reserve and a hand-wound minute repeater developed by master watchmakers Michel Navas and Enrico Barbasini at La Fabrique du Temps Louis Vuitton. Each gong is tuned entirely by hand and ear to produce a crystalline, resonant chime of remarkable clarity.

With a limited production of only 10 pieces per year, the Minute Repeater honours Genta’s enduring genius – a creation where technical mastery meets emotion, and stone becomes the stage for sound.