Meteorites now a collector's item?

Can you put a price on a meteorite?  Well, Christie’s London has done just that.

Many people know the 4 C’s of diamonds.  I learned very quickly when shopping for an engagement ring for my wife (Tiffany’s makes it easy, all of their diamonds have impressive 4 C’s).  But in order to approximate a price for a meteorite a new set of variables needed to be invented.  Instead of the 4 C’s (clarity, cut, color and carat), it is the 4 S’s (size, shape, science, and story).

Traditionally, a meteorite was only valued by weight, but now collectors have realized this alone cannot account for the value of the rock.  In this auction (here), the estimated values vary from an affordable $355 to an extravagant $1.1 million.

I personally am not a collector of anything (unless blu-rays count and Amazon video has put an end to that).  I enjoy artifacts and fine art, but I am happy visiting these pieces in museums around the world rather than having one sit in my living room.  But this auction made me stop and think, having a verified meteorite could be very cool and unique.

I personally would not care about shape and honestly would prefer one of smaller size, so only science and story would count for me.  A rock composed of rare elements from a unique asteroid cluster could be fascinating.  Christie’s London also brings authenticity which definitely is very important.  The last thing I want is a random rock from a Siberian mine being offered up as a meteorite displayed in my home.

But an asteroid that was in space for hundreds of thousands or even billions of years that is then able to get through the earth's atmosphere and survive is amazing.  As a lover of astronomy, having a piece from space is appealing.  Just thinking of the journey is amazing, I for one will not be looking for a lunar meteorite.  I want something from at least the asteroid belt or even farther away in origin.

While I will be sitting this auction out, I am sure that in the future I won’t be the only person in my home admiring a rock.  And again, I am serious to all the single men out there, a Tiffany’s diamond is worth the investment.  If my future space rock investment brings even half the joy of that terrestial rock, it will be well worth it.