Kenyan Pallasite from China on eBay - Real?

[Molewacker]

I've always loved looking at Pallasite slabs, so pretty with the crystals. Would like a small piece just because, perhaps to make a pendent.

But curious why so many Kenyan slabs are coming from China sellers on eBay, so cheap?

Are they being faked?

Thoughts welcome!

 

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[Red-Coat]

I would guess what you’re seeing are specimens from the Sericho strewn field. It’s probably the most widely-available pallasite at the moment, largely because the find was recent and the strewn field is huge. Close to three tonnes of it have reached the market in the last few years.

Although I would never recommend meteorite purchases direct from Chinese dealers, there’s probably no reason to be overly suspicious that much of this one is being sold from China, despite being a Kenyan fall. Most likely it’s because China is blessed with skilled lapidary workshops that can cut and polish at lower prices than elsewhere. Pallasites are difficult and expensive to fake, although there is one notable pseudometeorite example from Russia (Shirokovsky), which was almost certainly man-made.

What I would be concerned about is stability. A lot of the Sericho fall is heavily rusted and, although they select the better material, it still needs to be properly conserved and stabilised because, once rusting sets in, it can progressively spread over time. What then happens is that the olivine inclusions start to fall out. Sericho is also not the prettiest of pallasites.

If I was looking for a pretty pallasite at a reasonable price that was suitable for jewellery use, I would go for Brahin every time (a historic fall from Belarus). There are plenty of dealers (a little Googling needed) who can supply small Brahin slices and often they are polyurethane-coated to further protect them. That’s a good option for you. Some dealers also sell them pre-drilled for suspension, or mounted in a silver surround.

If you can afford it, the Esquel pallasite (from Argentina) is also a good choice, but more expensive. One of the benefits of both Brahin and Esquel is that the olivine inclusions are large, but with a generally irregular outline. That helps to stop them from falling out, even when sliced thinly. When Googling you will probably also find specimens of the Brenham pallasite at keen prices (a historic Kansas fall, but with some recent further discoveries). The problem with Brenham is that the olivine inclusions are often very rounded and globular, which means they fall out very easily if the meteorite is not properly stabilised.

These are Brahins from my collection (there’s no back-lighting on the thin section but it’s stunning when illuminated that way, which is how they’re usually shown on websites) and they’ve shown good stability over tens of years.

 

[Molewacker]

What a lovely group you have!

Thank you for the information on the different falls and the quality/price difference between them.

Diamonds may be forever, but Pallasites are cooler -