The "Muonionalusta" meteorite stone, used to fabricate the dial of new Nordsø Meteorite collection, originates from the Nordic arctic tundra; 140 kilometers north of the Arctic Circle between the Swedish-Finnish border. The first fragments were discovered, in 1906 near the Swedish village of Kitkiöjärvi, when a group of playing children stumbled upon an unusual-looking stone.
Believed to have impacted the earth over one million years ago, it is one of the oldest known meteorites. The distinct pattern on the dial - an exquisite formation of iron crystalline structure that is unique to iron meteorites - is known as the Widmanstätten pattern. The Widmanstätten pattern naturally formed, as specific iron alloy slowly cooled, under extreme pressure over millions - if not billions - of years. Thought to have been part of a planet, or planetoid, it’s iron-core experienced a cosmic event around 400 million years ago - long before it impacted the earth. Though Muonionalusta’s age and origin are unknown, the meteorite is believed to be more than four billion years old.