#52 • 313g Sericho Pallasite Meteorite Slice w/Gemstone Inclusions

Part of June 2025 Premier Auction (live auction by Alaska Premier Auctions & Appraisals)

High bid $550.00

Status: Sold

Category: Natural History

A beautiful slice of a genuine meteorite, specifically a pallasite, which is a rare meteorite variety originally formed at the boundary of an asteroid’s stony mantle and molten metal core as a result of a collision with another asteroid. Following the collision, shattered pieces are freed from the asteroid and, if large enough, will fall to the surface after entering the Earth’s atmosphere. Fewer than 200 pallasites are known to exist, and less than half of those were observed by people or scientific equipment at the time the meteorite fell. This particular example, a Sericho pallasite, was found in a 45-kilometer long strewn field in Isolo County in Eastern Kenya c.2016 and officially recorded as a meteorite a year later; it is highly included with a mix of olivine, an olive-green magnesium iron silicate mineral, and the more valuable gem-quality peridot. Peridot, a yellow-green transparent variety of olivine, has a color variation that is dependent on the quantity of iron within the crystal structure and is well-known by many as the birthstone for the month of August. In this case, Sericho's crystals have terrestrialized and acquired a mix of yellow, orange, and brown hues, and while most pallisites are considered to be composed of approximately 50% olivine and 50% nickel-iron, the Sericho specimens have a particularly high crystal density, with scientific estimates putting many at 70% to 80% olivine. Sliced thin to best highlight the translucent olivine crystals, this incredible discovery measures approximately 11.5" x 6" wide, weighs 313 grams.