Earlier this year, Formex celebrated its 25th anniversary with the launch of the innovative and surprisingly affordable Ceramica case. Years in the making, the housing wasn’t just your ordinary scratch-resistant ceramic structure but also integrated the Swiss brand’s Case Suspension System for shock resistance as well. It also boasted the world’s first ceramic screw-down crown and a micro-adjustable ceramic clasp.
Formex hopes to build off the Ceramica for years to come, and has now fused the concept with its COSC-certified movement and Essence Space Ghost model (also from this year), which features a meteorite dial — and somehow all of this costs less than $5,000.
Literally Out of This World
The standout feature here is obviously the meteorite dial, cut from the Muonionalusta meteorite that crashed into Scandinavia roughly a million years ago. But Formex and its dial manufacturer Cadranor (both owned by the Granito family) didn’t take the easy route with this one. Instead of gluing a thin slice of meteorite onto a brass plate like most brands do, they engineered the entire dial from a solid piece of the space rock. This approach allowed them to solder the dial feet directly into the material and precision-machine a beveled date window at 6 o’clock — a detail that sounds simple but is apparently a nightmare to execute in meteorite.
The dial gets treated with a dark-nickel electroplating process that enhances the natural Widmanstätten pattern (those geometric crystals that form when iron-nickel cools over millions of years in space) while giving it a stealthy black finish. The result shifts between deep graphite and bright metallic flashes from different angles. Since nature never creates the same crystal structure twice, each dial is technically unique.
Ceramica That Punches Above Its Price
The 41mm zirconium oxide ceramic case features Formex’s signature vertical brushing and diamond-polished bevels — finishing work that typically appears on watches costing significantly more. Credit goes to Dexel, the Granito-owned case manufacturer that also supplies ceramic components to brands like Hublot and Ulysse Nardin.
Inside beats the Soprod Newton P092, a COSC-certified automatic movement that Formex co-developed specifically for the Essence line. The caliber features a 6-o’clock balance wheel placement beneath a transverse bridge for enhanced shock resistance, reinforcing the watch’s integrated Case Suspension System. Visible through the sapphire exhibition caseback, the movement is finished with black-gold galvanic treatment, blued screws, and a skeletonized rotor.
The full ceramic bracelet comes equipped with that micro-adjustable ceramic clasp we mentioned earlier. The patented system allows 5mm of adjustment in 1.25mm increments without removing the watch from your wrist.
Spec Sheet
Model: Essence Ceramica Automatic COSC “Dark Matter” 41mm
Case Material: Zirconium oxide ceramic (Zr2) with Case Suspension System
Case Size: 41mm
Case Thickness: 11.2mm
Movement: Soprod Newton P092, COSC-certified automatic
Water Resistance: 100m
Dial: Solid Muonionalusta meteorite with dark-nickel treatment
Bracelet: Full ceramic with micro-adjustable ceramic clasp
Price: $4,920
Limited Edition: 100 pieces per year
Pricing & Availability
Capped at 100 pieces per year, the Essence Ceramica Dark Matter is up for pre-order now at $4,920 (including all duties, tariffs, and shipping), making it one of Formex’s pricier offerings but still competitive for a full-ceramic COSC chronometer with a meteorite dial.
Recap
Essence Ceramica Automatic COSC “Dark Matter” 41mm
Formex just combined its full-ceramic Ceramica case with a meteorite dial (like we saw in the Space Ghost from earlier this year) and a COSC-certified movement to create the Dark Matter — a blacked-out watch that somehow packages all this tech for under $5,000.
