Imilac Pallasite

$1,592.83
Chemical FormulaFe-Ni metal + olivine
Crystal System
Mohs Hardnessvaries
Specific Gravityvaries
LusterMetallic + vitreous
TransparencyOpaque + translucent

Imilac pallasites from Chile’s Atacama Desert show extraordinary olivine crystal size and clarity. The dry desert preserved the metal matrix against weathering while the olivine cr…

Only 3 available — a rare find.

SKU: TC-MET-0705
Category:
Tags: , ,

Description

Consider what had to happen for this specimen to exist. Imilac pallasites from Chile’s Atacama Desert show extraordinary olivine crystal size and clarity. The dry desert preserved the metal matrix against weathering while the olivine crystals — gem-quality peridot in composition — remained intact. Cut and polished thin sections transmit light through the olivine in warm yellow-green, while the etched metal shows Widmanstätten pattern. It is both geology and jewelry.

This specimen originates from Atacama Desert, Chile, one of the world’s most significant localities for this type of material. Collectors and scientists have drawn from this region for generations, and for good reason: the combination of geological conditions here produces specimens of exceptional quality and clarity.

Every specimen is unique. Photographs approximate the visual experience, but the real thing — its weight, its luster under a raking light, the way it catches the corner of your eye — can only be experienced directly.

Formation

This material formed outside Earth’s atmosphere, in the early solar system. Its arrival on Earth was the conclusion of a journey billions of years and hundreds of millions of kilometers in the making — from protoplanetary accretion to atmospheric entry to the ground beneath your feet.

Locality

Imilac Pallasite from Atacama Desert, Chile. This locality is known for producing specimens of exceptional quality.

Collector Notes

The luster is maximized by low-angle raking light — try a single spotlight.