The vast majority of all meteorites are referred to as ordinary chondrites — stone meteorites that contain silicate-rich spherules known as chondrules. Of the tens of thousands of chondrites, NWA 5717 is one of just 28 that originated from a previously unknown asteroid, never before sampled, and as such are designated as being ungrouped (CH-UNGR). Moreover, the vast majority of all chondrites are metamorphosed from heating, so having a peek of their original composition is obscured. That is not the case here. NWA 5717 is also the only meteorite within this select group that is a member of an even moreselect group: it features a 3.05 subtype which makes it among the most primitive planetary materials known. Specifically, unlike 99.9% of all meteorites, the constituents of this meteorite are unchanged since their origins in the early solar nebula. Only six pounds of similarly primitive planetary material was known to exist prior to NWA 5717's discovery.

Devoutly sought-after by scientists, unmetamorphosed meteorites like NWA 5717 are the raw ingredients from which our solar system formed. It was the formation of chondrules out of the solar nebular cloud and their subsequent accretion that is largely responsible for the formation of our planets.

Given the combination of being ungrouped and being so primitive, NWA 5717 contains primordial matter never before seen and it contains the pristine constituents of the solid planets. Cut and ground on both sides, this slice features two lithologies packed with a galaxy of chondrules and other inclusions (magnify the image of the dark lithology to see the same) — along with a rim of fusion crust. This is among the largest complete slices of some of the most primitive planetary materials 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.


174 x 171 x 3mm (6.75 x 6.75 x 0.1 in.) and 251.9g (0.5 lbs)