Admire is a member of the pallasite group of meteorites, widely considered to be the most beautiful otherworldly substance known. While meteorites are among the rarest substances on Earth — all the world’s meteorites weigh less than the world’s annual output of gold — pallasites are rarer still as they represent only about 0.2% of all meteorites. Pallasites formed at the mantle/core boundary of an asteroid as chunks of stony olivine (a magnesium-rich silicate) settled atop the molten iron core and became suspended in the metallic matrix — which was later liberated by a catastrophic asteroid impact. Also present in this specimen are gem-quality crystals of olivine or peridot (birthstone of August). Admire pallasites are readily identified by large polycrystalline areas that cleaved into highly angular shards during an energetic collision on its parent asteroid. Originating from the asteroid belt, with a few bumps along the way, the first Admire meteorites were ploughed up by a farmer in Lyon County, Kansas in 1881.

Extraterrestrial olivine and peridot are seen suspended in a highly-polished iron-nickel matrix originating from an asteroid’s core. This complete slice is delimited by the meteorite’s external surface. The angular crystals manifest Admire’s crystalline olivine signature; an uncommon metallic bleb within an olivine is also seen. Modern cutting.

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.

189 x 261 x 3mm (7.5 x 10.33 x 0.1 in.) and 562.7g (1.25 lbs)