Sericho Pallasite Meteorite Pendant
Sericho Pallasite Meteorite Pendant
Originally discovered in 2016 in Kenya, the Sericho meteorite represents an exceedingly rare class of meteorites, known as Pallasites. Featuring stunning olivine crystals embedded within a nickel-iron matrix, this specimen is one to behold.
This pendant features a fragment of the Sericho Pallasite meteorite set in sterling silver with a box-style chain. It is presented with a handsome display case and certificate of authenticity.
📸 Sericho Pallasite Pendant with Case and Certificate
Crystals from the Stars
Created in the heart of an asteroid soon after the birth of the solar system, this necklace features a fragment of the Sericho Pallasite meteorite. The setting is sterling silver with an open back to allow for inspection of the meteorite from all directions.
As pictured, the necklace comes with a handsome display/storage box and a small information card that also serves as the certificate of authenticity. All components of the necklace are sterling silver, including the 18" (45cm) box-style chain.
Sizing: The pallasites measure just under 1/2" x 1/2" (12mmx14mm).
📸 Pallasites are quite rare, with less than 1% of found meteorites fitting the classification.
More About the Sericho Pallasite Meteorite
📸 Sericho Meteorite Pendant among Pallasite specimens
In 2016, south of Sericho, Kenya, two brothers found several dense stones while searching for their camels. The two realized there were no rocks in the area besides these and decided they were meteorites. Soon, this was proven to be correct. The specimens were identified as pallasites, a rare class of stony-iron meteorites.
Pallasites are characterized by a unique matrix of the mineral Olivine embedded in solidified iron and nickel. The combination of such materials is as surprising to science as it is beautiful to the eye. The unusual matrix of the Pallasite is formed by the intrusion of molten metal into layers of Olivine. Olivine is made of magnesium iron silicate with numerous variations on Earth and beyond. We have discovered Olivine on the Moon and Mars and detected Olivine's spectral signature in the dust disks surrounding young stars and in comet tails. Peridot is the gem-quality variant of Olivine.
While this sort of mixing is likely to occur in the reaction zones between the core-mantle boundary in large bodies, gravity should separate these materials due to their varied densities. This is one reason that pallasite formation is such an active topic in the scientific community; it also explains why less than 1% of all found meteorites are classified as pallasites.
Further Reading
Davis, Andrew M., ed. Meteorites, Comets, and Planets: Treatise on Geochemistry. Vol. 1. Elsevier, 2005.
Garnero, Edward J., Allen K. McNamara, and Sang-Heon Shim. "Continent-sized Anomalous Zones with Low Seismic Velocity at the Base of Earth's Mantle." Nature Geoscience (2016).
Klosterman, Michael J., and Peter R. Buseck. "Structural Analysis of Olivine in Pallasitic Meteorites: Deformation in Planetary Interiors." Journal of Geophysical Research 78.32 (1973): 7581-7588.
McKibbin, S. J., et al. "Rapid Cooling of Planetesimal Core-mantle Reaction Zones from Mn-Cr Isotopes in Pallasites." Geochem. Perspect 2 (2016): 68-77.
Stevens, Michael R., David R. Bell, and Peter R. Buseck. "Tubular Symplectic Inclusions in Olivine from the Fukang Pallasite." Meteoritics & Planetary Science 45.5 (2010): 899-910.
Tarduno, John A., et al. "Evidence for a Dynamo in the Main Group Pallasite Parent Body." Science 338.6109 (2012): 939-942.
Weiss, Benjamin P. "A Vitrage of Asteroid Magnetism." Science 338.6109 (2012): 897-898.
