The first public offering of a rare new pallasite, from the same mass as lot 35. When meteorite hunters discover an especially desirable meteorite, one can be assured of a larger search party canvassing a larger perimeter. Sometimes different meteorites are found — and once in a blue moon such serendipitous unrelated finds may be something of extraordinary importance.

The slice now offered originates from a mass discovered in the Algeria’s Erg Chech Sand Sea in 2020. When news of this recovery was made, the search expanded as anticipated but no other pallasitic meteorites were ever found. However, a group of most unusual meteorites were stumbled upon — which turned out to result in the momentous scientific discovery of the oldest igneous (volcanic) rocks in the solar system.

Pallasites are the result of the mingling of the stony mantle and iron core at the mantle/core boundary of an asteroid. It is because they only form in a narrow boundary region just 0.2% of all meteorites are pallasites. Erg Chech 007, however, is more-rare still. Of the 160 different pallasites documented, 10% have chemical fingerprints that are so atypical they have been classified as anomalous. In the case of Erg Chech 007, its oxygen-isotopic composition features a high proportion of ¹⁸O (the heaviest oxygen isotope) as well as a high Fe/Mn value in its olivine crystals. The latter value is the highest ever reported for a pallasite, eclipsing the previous record holder, Krasnojarsk, the first and most famous pallasite discovered.

Erg Chech 007 olivine is rather distinctive in that it’s both round and exhibits translucent amber to mango hues. Originating from a single 8.33 kg mass, smaller than a bowling ball, specimens of Erg Chech 007 will forever be exceedingly difficult to obtain — and now offered is among the largest slices that exists of what is among the most beautiful extraterrestrial substances known.

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

151 x 196 x 2mm (6 x 7.75 x 0.1 in.) and 170.8 grams (0.33 lbs)