PALLASITE – PMG MAGADAN DISTRICT, RUSSIA (62°54’ N, 152°26’ E)

Name: EXTRATERRESTRIAL GEMSTONES IN METALLIC MATRIX — A SEYMCHAN METEORITE SLICE
Brand: PALLASITE – PMG MAGADAN DISTRICT, RUSSIA (62°54’ N, 152°26’ E)
Price: 9500.00 GBP
Availability: SoldOut

Price Realised GBP 11,875

Estimate

GBP 10,000 - GBP 20,000

Loading details

Try our

Cost calculator

EXTRATERRESTRIAL GEMSTONES IN METALLIC MATRIX — A SEYMCHAN METEORITE SLICE

PALLASITE – PMG MAGADAN DISTRICT, RUSSIA (62°54’ N, 152°26’ E)

Price Realised GBP 11,875

An aesthetic Seymchan slice, boasting metal-rich areas displaying prominent Widmanstätten pattern to both sides. The olivine-rich aggregates were derived from a fragmented olivine layer at the bottom of the mantle that was invaded by a metallic liquid during mixing at the core-mantle boundary, the slice a modern cutting.
14¹⁄₂ x 10³⁄₄ x 1/4in. (37 x 27.5 x 0.7cm.)
15in. (38cm.) high on stand
3.3kg.

Specified lots are being stored at Crozier Park Royal (details below) or will be removed from Christie’s, 8 King Street, London, SW1Y 6QT by 5.00pm on the day of the sale. Christie’s will inform you if the lot has been sent offsite. If the lot has been transferred to Crozier Park Royal, it will be available for collection from 12.00pm on the second business day following the sale. Please call Christie’s Client Service 24 hours in advance to book a collection time at Crozier Park Royal. All collections from Crozier Park Royal will be by pre-booked appointment only. Tel: +44 (0)20 7839 9060 Email: cscollectionsuk@christies.com. If the lot remains at Christie’s, 8 King Street, it will be available for collection on any working day (not weekends) from 9.00am to 5.00pm
This lot has been imported from outside of the UK for sale and placed under the Temporary Admission regime. Import VAT is payable at 5% on the hammer price. VAT at 20% will be added to the buyer’s premium but will not be shown separately on our invoice.
Please note this lot is the property of a consumer. See H1 of the Conditions of Sale.

Conditions of Sale
FAQs
This lot is offered by Christie Manson & Woods Ltd

Brought to you by

James HyslopHead of Department, Science & Natural History

A Christie's specialist may contact you to discuss this lot or to notify you if the condition changes prior to the sale.

jhyslop@christies.com +44 (0) 20 7752 3205

View condition report

Lot Essay

Pallasites are not only rare, representing less than 0.2% of all known meteorites, they are also widely considered the most beautiful of meteorites. Like all pallasitic meteorites, Seymchan originated from the core-mantle boundary of an asteroid that broke apart during the early history of our solar system. The crystals seen here are the result of small chunks of the stony mantle becoming suspended in the molten metal of an asteroid’s iron-nickel core. Cut and polished, the lustrous metallic matrix features crystals of gleaming olivine and peridot (gem-quality olivine) ranging in hues from emerald to amber. The prominent latticework referred to as a Widmanstätten pattern is indicative of a slow cooling rate that provided sufficient time — millions of years — for the two metallic alloys to orient into their crystalline structure. The pattern seen is diagnostic in the identification of an iron meteorite. 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 is extremely heterogeneous. Some specimens are olivine rich and some are olivine poor; some specimens have no olivine whatsoever.

The present example displays an attractive grouping of olivine and its gem-quality counterpart, peridot.