[meteorite-list] The Cheapening of Meteorites Continues....

From: Michael Gilmer <michael_w_gilmer_at_meteoritecentral.com>
Date: Thu, 22 Jan 2009 09:39:44 -0800 (PST)
Message-ID: <432079.24605.qm_at_web58402.mail.re3.yahoo.com>

Hi George,

I appreciate your feedback. I think we agree in principle. And I am
sure NASA had it's valid reasons to encase specimens in lucite.
I cannot object to this kind of use, for I think the purpose is to
preserve the specimen for future study. I doubt NASA put it's
meteorites in lucite strictly for aesthetic purposes or for
commercial resale. Although in today's climate of tight budgets,
maybe NASA should revisit it's marketing strategy to the public.
(another issue entirely)

In what I wrote, I was intentionally vague in my description of
these junk/dimestore objects. I know there are perhaps one or two
people on this list (or more) that may engage in these activities,
and I do not want to bring attention to them, or call them out
publicly. I don't know the sellers of these objects, and they might
be genuinely-nice but misguided people. I don't accuse them of doing
anything dishonest or illegal, I simply assert that it's in poor
taste and could be harmful to the hobby/field as a whole. And there
are a few aesthetic exceptions that I find to be quite tasteful and
attractive personally. I have no issue with David D's elegant
spheres. They are lovely and striking. And the spheres are made of
common, high-TKW meteorites that are not in short supply or in danger
of vanishing from the market. I think the creation of these spheres,
in this manner, is a good thing for the hobby. I know it may sound
hypocritical of me to have apparent favorites in this regard, but
we all have our personal boundaries of what is tasteful versus
tacky. I also have little/no issue with knives made from meteoritic
iron. There are numerous examples in history of people fashioning
knives and tools from meteorite finds, long before they were
understood to be meteoritic. Alot of work and true craftsmanship
goes into making the best examples of these meteorite knives and
the end result testifies to that fact, and buyers pay a premium for
them. And then, in contrast, we see objects that immediately rub
us the wrong way and invoke some deeply-seated negative response.
Perhaps I am being judgemental, but I do think meteorites should be
treated with respect and presented with respect. Anything that
presents a cheap, gaudy, tacky, ugly, or disrespectful view of
meteorites should be discouraged. It's not a "hanging offense",
but I do strongly wish that vendors of these objects would put their
creativity and energies elsewhere into something more appropriate.

Ok, I am going to duck behind my vegetable-proof lexan shield. ;)

Best regards and clear skies,

MikeG

.........................................................
Michael Gilmer (Louisiana, USA)
Member of the Meteoritical Society.
Member of the Bayou Region Stargazers Network.
Websites - http://www.galactic-stone.com and http://www.glassthrower.com
..........................................................



--- On Thu, 1/22/09, George Blahun Jr <ks1u at att.net> wrote:

> From: George Blahun Jr <ks1u at att.net>
> Subject: Re: [meteorite-list] The Cheapening of Meteorites Continues....
> To: michael_w_gilmer at yahoo.com
> Cc: meteorite-list at meteoritecentral.com
> Date: Thursday, January 22, 2009, 9:19 AM
> Michael:
> Hello. I do understand your concern over turning
> meteorites into "trinkets" and "junk",
> but I think it's important to discriminate between the
> historical uses of some of this meteoritic material and the
> "dime store" variety. While I don't
> understand gold plating etched slices, I do find some
> current uses of "some" material appealing. Knives
> and coins and some jewelry are appealing to me, although
> I'm sure not to everyone. There are also areas that are
> bound to be controversial. Yesterday I was at the Boston
> Museum of Science and saw a piece of lunar highland rock
> encased in a lucite sphere, given to the Museum by NASA. I
> would have preferred this not be encased, but I'm sure
> NASA put some thought into why this should be so. Anyhow,
> hopefully, as you have said, no one will be bidding on the
> plated Gibeon. However, if I knew the only piece of lunar
> rock available (legally) to me was encased in Lucite,
> I'd probably try to get it anyhow.
>
> Clear skies
>
> George


      
Received on Thu 22 Jan 2009 12:39:44 PM PST