Formex Returns To The Essence Ceramica Dark Matter With A Darker, Racier Redshift Edition

Formex launched the Essence Ceramica in March 2025 as an all-ceramic version of its everyday sports watch, and I like to believe it's one of their better watch releases in recent years. That was followed up with the Dark Matter, which got a meteorite dial and a black case, and we're now getting a natural progression – the Dark Matter with red accents. This is the new Formex Essence Ceramica Dark Matter Redshift.

The case is made out of black zirconium oxide ceramic, 41mm wide and 11.2mm thick, with a lug-to-lug of 46.2mm. That's a pretty good lug-to-lug on a 41mm wide watch, which means it will almost certainly wear much smaller than the width number suggest. The surfaces now have a sandblasted matte finish for less fingerprints all over the place, and they keep the diamond-polished bevels on the edges along with a new facet on the lower bezel. The screw-down crown is ceramic and gets the same treatment. This being a Formex means that you have the Case Suspension System, Formex’s patented setup that floats the movement in a grade 2 titanium container. Sounds like a gimmick, but it works wonders for comfort. There are sapphire crystals on both sides of the watch, both with AR treatments and you get 100 meters of water resistance.

Most meteorite dials are a thin slice glued onto a brass base. Formex uses the Muonionalusta meteorite itself as the dial and solders the feet straight onto it, then coats it in black-gold galvanic plating less than a micron thick. The Widmanstätten pattern still shows through, only darker. Red appears on the logo, the flange and the seconds hand, and the gunmetal applied indices and hands are filled with BGW9 Super-LumiNova.

The movement is the Sellita SW200-2 Power+, the upgraded version of the familiar workhorse movement that still beats at 4Hz, but in the Power+ configuration has a 65 hour power reserve, compared to the 38 hours of the standard SW200-1. The movement is also COSC-certified, rated at -4/+6 seconds a day, and has a date at 6 o'clock. The bracelet is solid ceramic with the same sandblasted links and polished bevels, 22mm at the lugs, closing on a ceramic clasp with 5mm of on-the-fly micro-adjustment in four 1.25mm steps.

The Formex Essence Ceramica COSC 41mm Dark Matter Redshift is technically not limited, but production will be capped to 100 per year. Deliveries start at the end of November and price is set at €4,190. See more on the Formex website.