Pallasite meteorite, PMG-an. Moroccan-Algerian border, found 2014. Laboratory-prepared complete etched translucent slice with extraterrestrial gems. Weighing 10.5 grams and measuring 51 mm x 42 mm x 1 mm. Northwest Africa (NWA) 10023 was found near the Moroccan-Algerian border in 2014. Preparation in the laboratory revealed an extremely high olivine (peridot) density, and a high degree of translucency. Note the unusual juxtaposition of large, yellow and orange crystals beside tiny, darker crystals. There is very little of this attractive pallasite available, and this slice has been expertly cut for maximum translucency and visual appeal. While it is given a PMG designation for pallasite main group, it is also regarded as anomalous within that group.
Belonging to the stony-iron group, pallasites are perhaps the most alluring of all meteorites, and they are certainly of great interest to collectors and enthusiasts. Pallasites consist of a nickel-iron matrix rich in colorful olivine crystals. When olivine crystals are of sufficient purity and display an emerald-green color, they are known as the gemstone peridot. When cut and polished into thin slabs, the crystals in pallasites sometimes become translucent, giving them a remarkable otherworldly beauty. While micro-diamonds have been found in some meteorites, notably the carbonaceous chondrite Allende [SEE LOT 2431], pallasites are the only meteorites that contain gemstones easily visible to the naked eye. Believed to have formed at the core/mantle boundary of large asteroids, they are extremely rare, and as of the spring of 2020, out of nearly 64,000 officially recognized meteorites, there are only 130 known pallasites. Accompanied by a certificate of authenticity from Aerolite Meteorites.
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