Extraterrestrial Crystal Ball

Similar to lot 104 but smaller. Seymchan meteorites originate from the core-mantle boundary of an asteroid that broke apart and a part of which was serendipitously bumped into an Earth-crossing orbit. Having arrived on Earth thousands of years ago, specimens of the Seymchan meteorite were first discovered in 1967 in Siberia’s Magadan District.

Now offered is a three-dimensional display of a Seymchan pallasite’s internal structure as revealed in what is literally a crystal ball from outer space. This specimen features an asymmetric sprinkling of deep chartreuse to amber hued crystals of olivine and peridot (gem-quality olivine and birthstone of August).

This specimen was derived from a Seymchan meteorite that underwent a number of stages of cutting, grinding and polishing in a sphere-making apparatus. The metallic matrix is highly polished so its crystalline structure is unseen, but that’s not the case with its semi-precious gemstones which hail from an asteroid that orbited the Sun between Mars and Jupiter and no longer exists. 

PROVENANCE:

Alain Carion Collection of Meteorites;

Private American Collection, acquired from the above