The Story
Multiple items are currently in stock, each with unique variations from the one shown here.
Meteorite is showcased in a display case 4.5"x 5.5"
The Aletai meteorite is a true space traveler—an iron-nickel meteorite found in the Altay (Aletai) region of northern Xinjiang, China. Pieces of it have been recovered for well over a century, including some famously large masses.
Composition : Aletai is mostly metal, primarily iron with about ~10% nickel, plus small amounts of other minerals commonly seen in iron meteorites (like troilite and schreibersite). Scientifically, it’s classified as a coarse octahedrite in the IIIE-an group.
The pattern everyone loves: When a slice is cut, polished, and etched, Aletai can reveal the classic Widmanstätten pattern—those crisscrossing metallic bands that look almost like a frozen circuit board. That pattern forms only when metal cools incredibly slowly inside an asteroid, long before it ever reached Earth.
What it’s used for: Because it’s both durable and beautiful after etching, Aletai is popular as collector slices, desk/display pieces, and even jewelry or inlays where the natural pattern becomes the centerpiece.
Description
Multiple items are currently in stock, each with unique variations from the one shown here.
Meteorite is showcased in a display case 4.5"x 5.5"
The Aletai meteorite is a true space traveler—an iron-nickel meteorite found in the Altay (Aletai) region of northern Xinjiang, China. Pieces of it have been recovered for well over a century, including some famously large masses.
Composition : Aletai is mostly metal, primarily iron with about ~10% nickel, plus small amounts of other minerals commonly seen in iron meteorites (like troilite and schreibersite). Scientifically, it’s classified as a coarse octahedrite in the IIIE-an group.
The pattern everyone loves: When a slice is cut, polished, and etched, Aletai can reveal the classic Widmanstätten pattern—those crisscrossing metallic bands that look almost like a frozen circuit board. That pattern forms only when metal cools incredibly slowly inside an asteroid, long before it ever reached Earth.
What it’s used for: Because it’s both durable and beautiful after etching, Aletai is popular as collector slices, desk/display pieces, and even jewelry or inlays where the natural pattern becomes the centerpiece.