Karman Line
HIGHLIGHTS:
WHY YOU'LL LIKE IT:
The Karman Line is a limited edition of 50 watches built to celebrate a milestone in the history of Bangalore Watch Company™. With this project, the Apogee Collection is now qualified for Space.
Each uniquely numbered limited edition watch contains cases made of our proprietary Cerasteel™ material - this time with an intense black colour that mimics the nothingness of Space.
The dials are crafted out of a Rare Muonionalusta Meteorite, with an intense Blue PVD treatment. This blue represents the Earth's horizon and the intense blue light that the original watch witnessed during its Spaceflight. The Meteorite's Windmanstatten pattern makes for a unique watch, no two watches will be alike.
The two steel crowns and a polished steel caseback make the otherwise matte case surface stand out. With a 100M water-tight case and a Swiss La Joux-Perret G100 automatic movement that gives you almost 3-days of winding-free usage, the Karman Line checks all the boxes for a sporty, casual, and futuristic watch with an incredible backstory that is sure to be the conversation piece of your group.
With a high-quality oil-pulled leather strap and a high-grade steel buckle with a signed BWC logo, wearing the Karman Line reminds you of Outer Space and its wonders - night or day!
BACKSTORY OF THIS WATCH:
On a cold April morning in 1961, at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan, 27-year-old Yuri Alekseyevich Gagarin boarded a cramped cockpit of the Vostok 3KA capsule. That morning, he will become the first human to travel to Space.
Since then, Human Spaceflight has been an undeniable fascination. It represents our collective curiosity towards Space, and our innate desire to explore the unknown.
We launched the Apogee collection in 2021 to celebrate stories from the Indian space program. In the past three years, the Apogee has taken on the moniker of The Indian Space Watch.
The Karman Line Project is a 2-year effort to push the Apogee beyond just being inspired by Space.
In early 2024, a high-altitude hydrogen balloon carried a specially designed carbon-fibre spacecraft that contained a payload of an Apogee watch. The payload was carried 35 Kilometers on a Stratospheric flight - 114,000 feet into the atmosphere, almost four times higher than Mount Everest and three times higher than any commercial flight.
The watch was not in a pressurised container, but rather exposed to the harsh environment outside: -60 degrees Celsius, complete vacuum, no oxygen, no atmosphere, and extreme velocity upon re-entry back to Earth. Multiple 4K cameras captured the entire flight duration while the watch was safely returned to Earth using a controlled descent parachute.
This watch survived!
The watch kept accurate time throughout the Spaceflight, there was no condensation or other issues observed. The watch passed with flying colours despite the intense pressure and temperature changes during its journey to Space and return to Earth.
With this project, the Apogee joins a small league of watches worldwide that are not just Space-inspired, but Space-qualified.
Why BWC?
Don't wear a watch, wear a story.
A mid-century-inspired dress watch paying tribute to HMT, or a robust aviation watch paying tribute to the Indian Air Force, our collections tell stories that give you one more reason to wear a wristwatch.
They'll last you a lifetime.
A good wristwatch lasts a lifetime. So, we built them with the highest quality components - be it surgical grade stainless steel, Swiss automatic movements, or scratch-resistant sapphire glass, our wristwatches are built to last you many years.
Because we care.
High-quality wristwatch ownership is like car ownership. Be it your first watch, or subsequent purchases, they leave you with lasting memories. Your lifestyle changes with time, and so do your watch-wearing preferences. We understand your needs well - be it a strap replacement, out-of-warranty repair for an accidental drop, or just a regular service, we strive to provide you with a superlative ownership experience. Talk to our team, and you'll know the difference.
What is a Meteorite?
Meteorites are space rocks that have fallen on Earth over thousands of years. The specific Meteorite of your dial is from Muonionalusta, along the border of Sweden and Finland. Most meteorites found on Earth such as the Muonionalusta, are ferrous (Iron based).
How we did it
We worked with Meteorite hunters to source pieces from the Muonionalusta meteorite. We then sent it to our manufacturing partners in Switzerland who cut the rock and processed it to our specifications to be used in our watch dials. Due to the rarity of this material and the challenges in manufacturing, we can only make small batches at a time.
Imperfections on the dial
Watch dials are made of brass using industrially perfected processes. Dials can be manufactured with high levels of tolerances with flatness, finishing, and cutting. Meteorite dials on the other hand, are cut from a raw Meteorites. These are not industrially produced raw materials, they're made of iron, and make it challenging to achieve the same levels of tolerances as our other dials.
We pay utmost attention to our dials, we lose 4-5 Meteorite discs for each completed Meteorite dial, making this process cumbersome. You may still find tiny imperfections on the Meteorite dials, especially with the flatness, and cutting around date windows etc. We ensure in our Quality Control process that these imperfections are not visible with naked eye, and may only show with microscopic examination.
Unique patterns
Muonionalusta meteorites consists of Nickel+Iron, the Widmanstätten patterns you see on your dial are unique (the criss-cross of lines), and are formed by a slow-cooling process that occurs over millions of years as the meteorite travels in space. This pattern is impossible to recreate on Earth, so no two dials will be alike.
Colour changes
Iron Meteorites like the Muonionalusta have a tendency to oxidise. Oxidisation will result in a colour change in the surface. This may not be uniform, and may happen only in specific areas or spots. Our opinion is that oxidisation only occurs if the material is exposed to the elements. Since the meteorite is encased in a water-tight case, chances of oxidisation are extremely low. Also, we coat the dial with a layer of electroplating to avoid oxidisation. Electroplating also gives the meteorite a shiny, reflective texture, also enhancing the look of the Windmanstatten patterns. It is still common for meteorite dials to develop a patina, browning, or spotting over many years of use.
| Case: Matte Black Cerasteel™ case, Unibody stainless steel inner core |
| Inner Bezel: Bi-directional, second-time-zone bezel, operated by 2H crown |
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Dimension: 40mm size, 44mm lug-to-lug, 12mm tall, 20mm lugs
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Crown: 4H push-and-pull with BWC logo
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Water Resistance: 100 Meters
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Caliber: Swiss made La Joux-Perret G100 Automatic movement
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Power Reserve: 68 Hours
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Dial: PVD Blue coated Muonionalusta Meteorite
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| Lume: C3 Super-Luminova®, Grade A |
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Crystal: Scratch-resistant domed sapphire crystal with anti-reflective coating
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Strap: G-Force oil-pulled genuine leather straps, quick-release pin
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Buckle: Stainless steel tang buckle,with BWC logo
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Returns and Refunds
We will offer a Return and Replace your item if it is damaged or defective upon delivery. Please read our detailed returns and exchanges terms before placing your order.
Warranty and Service
All our watches are covered by our 24 month warranty, straps and accessories are not covered by our warranty. Please read our warranty and service terms to understand the warranty process.
Shipping
We offer free worldwide shipping for all watches. We ship from Bangalore once every week on Tuesdays via BlueDart for India, and FedEx for International orders. You will bear the customs duty in the country of your import. Please see our detailed shipping terms before placing your order.
Payments
We do not accept Cash on Delivery. We accept payments via Visa, Master, and AMEX cards. For India, we also accept NetBanking, UPI Wallets, EMI on your Credit Cards, or an instant-credit based 3-month payment through India issued Credit Cards. All payment options are presented to you via our Payment Gateway partner at checkout. If you are placing an order from outside India, please read our detailed notes about International payments.