STONY IRON. PALLASITE (PAL) ATACAMA DESERT, CHILE (24°12' S, 68°48' W)

AN EXTRATERRESTRIAL PERIDOT IN COMPLETE SLICE OF IMILAC METEORITE

Pallasites are not only rare, representing less than 0.2% of all known meteorites, they are also widely considered the most beautiful meteorites, and Imilac is among the most coveted. Like all pallasitic meteorites, Imilac originated from the core-mantle boundary of an asteroid that was shattered by an enormous impact. 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 to a mirror finish, the lustrous metallic matrix features crystals of gleaming olivine and peridot (gem-quality olivine). The pallasite designation for this meteorite class is in honor of the German scientist, Peter Simon Pallas, who while traveling through Siberia, examined the first pallasitic mass in the early 1770s. This is an honor Pallas is most fortunate to have received, for he fervently believed that the unusual specimen he examined could not have come from outer space.

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 note.