A JEPARA PALLASITE FRAGMENT
Stony Iron. Pallasite (PAL)
Java, Indonesia (6°36' S, 110°44' E)
Filled with gleaming olivine and peridot crystals in a range of amber to chartreuse hues. Turquoise accents embellish the reverse. The iron-nickel filigree has a muted metallic patina.

58 x 37 x 37mm. (2¼ x 1½ x 1½in.)
144.g.

Please note that this lot is the property of a private collector.

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Lot Essay

GEMS FROM OUTER SPACE — JEPARA PALLASITE FRAGMENT

Jepara is a member of the pallasite group of meteorites, widely considered to be the most beautiful extraterrestrial substances known. It was discovered as a 500kg. spheroidal mass less than four miles from a beach on the Indonesian island of Java in 2008 during an excavation project. Had the Jepara fireball had a slightly different trajectory, it would have been forever lost at sea like most meteorites. Featuring olivine and the semi-precious gem peridot (the birthstone of August), pallasites formed at the mantle-core boundary of an asteroid located between Mars and Jupiter. Unlike most other meteorites, this specimen continuously sparkles when rotated. If this crystalline cluster were cut into a thin slice—something that should never occur—it would bear a semblance to Lot 2.

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.