Lot Description:
This sample originates from the interface of the molten iron core and stony mantle of an asteroid that shattered following a collision with another asteroid. The highly translucent olivine and peridot crystals range in hues from chartreuse to amber. This specimen also reveals the crystalline structure of the iron matrix. If not disrupted with olivine inclusions, this octahedral pattern would appear as seen in lot 43. But it is fortuitous this complete slice brims with extraterrestrial olivine and peridot, resulting in the more captivating and rare meteorite sample now offered. Modern cutting and polishing.
228 x 131 x 3mm (9 x 5 x 0.1 in.)
341.7g (0.75 lb)

A complete slice of a meteorite with extraterrestrial gems. Pallasites are not only rare, representing less than 0.2% of all known meteorites, they are also widely considered the most beautiful extraterrestrial substance known (see lots 1, 7, 21 & 26). Like all pallasitic meteorites, Seymchan originated from the mantle-core boundary of an asteroid that broke apart following a cataclysmic collision. The crystals seen here are the result of small chunks of an asteroid’s stony mantle becoming suspended in the upper regions of its molten metal core. Cut and polished, the lustrous metallic matrix features crystals of gleaming olivine and peridot (gem-quality olivine) ranging in hues from chartreuse to amber. It was in the 1960s that the first masses of Seymchan were found in a streambed in a part of Siberia made infamous as the remote location of Stalin’s gulags. Identified as meteorites, they were named Seymchan for a nearby town. Unlike most pallasites, the dispersion of olivine crystals in Seymchan can be varied. While the Seymchan cubes offered (lot 43)have no olivine crystals whatsoever, the example now offered boasts an array of olivine and its gem-quality counterpart, peridot, the birthstone of August.

Christie's would like to thank Dr. Alan E. Rubin at the Institute of Geophysics and Planetary Physics, University of California, Los Angeles for his assistance in preparing this catalogue.