GIBEON METEORITE EARRINGS..........................$85.00
Meteorite Earings…for an out-of-this-world girl!!
These earrings were created with pieces of genuine meteorites.
The meteorite slices are set in sterling silver. Small stamped
circular elements spin loosely around on the front sides of each.
The design hangs 1” from the sterling silver ear wires.
The ear wires feature hematite beads. The meteorites alone
measure 3/4” long each and feature beautiful etched
“Widmanstatten Patterns” on the surface (see history below).
These earrings are one-of-a-kind.
Gibeon Meteorites are nickel iron in composition.
They are found in the south African country of Namibia
and were first found in 1836, although native inhabitants knew
about them before then...creating useful tools like arrows from them.
The Gibeon was apparently a large meteorite that burst high in the
atmosphere. Fragments spread over a strewn field 70 miles wide
by 230 miles--one of the largest strewn fields in the world.
No Gibeon crater has yet been found. Radiometric dating places
the age of crystallization of the iron-nickel metal in the Gibeon
at 4 billion years. An English Captain discovered some in 1836 on
the Great Fish River in Africa and sent them to London.
Here John Herschel analyzed them and confirmed for the first
time the extraterrestrial nature of the material.
Most specimens show flight markings and evidence of a violent
atmospheric breakup. A beautiful fine octahedrite pattern shows
on the surface….also referred to as Windmanstatten Pattern.
This pattern is only created by extremely slow cooling
(1-100 degrees per 1 million years!)…only found in extraterrestrial
iron. The fine interweaving of kamacite and taenite bands or ribbons
creates this pattern. It can easily be seen upon close viewing of the
surface which was etched to bring out this pattern. This meteorite is
90% nickel iron but also contains cobalt and phosphorus.
This item comes gift boxed.