[meteorite-list] Admire Pallasite Destruction!

From: MikeG <meteoritemike_at_meteoritecentral.com>
Date: Mon, 19 Nov 2012 11:44:59 -0500
Message-ID: <CAKBPJW_79YwHb6g4mapkcZvCYdiDQpgJiu1U28YojcN0qz8_yg_at_mail.gmail.com>

Hi Don and Adam,

I am not nearly as experienced as either of you. Having said that, I
have seen and owned stable specimens of Brenham and Admire. I will
not argue against the ruster reputation, because there are numerous
examples of these pallasites self-destructing.

The problem is, mainly, the preparation. If you cut a meteorite using
tap water or anything other than distilled water, you are guaranteeing
that specimen will be unstable. You might as well smash it with a
sledgehammer and throw it in the garbage can. Why people try to cut
corners and save money by refusing to purchase distilled water is
beyond me. Any water that is not distilled will contaminate the
specimen - every time, without exception, pallasite or not. It's the
lazy man's way to cut. The only excuse is if the cutter is using a
giant 16" slab saw (or big wire saw) that requires a constant flow of
many gallons of coolant - and distilled water would not feasible.

Second part of preparation problem is proper handling during and after
cutting - have a hot oven waiting at 250F and immediately put the
freshly-cut specimen into the oven for 12-16 hours to purge remnant
moisture from cutting. Skipping this step is suicide for a specimen,
especially for irons and stony-irons.

After cutting and drying, put the specimen into a climate-controlled
container with dessicant.

When prepared like this, any specimen (including rusters) will be much
more stable and last much longer. I've sold specimens of Brenham to
customers years ago, and they still have them, intact and rust-free in
their collections. No complaints.

I think we also cannot overlook the initial found state of the
specimen - some are inherently more stable than others because of the
conditions they endured before being recovered.

Lastly, there are intensive methods to purge contaminants and
stabilize a sick specimen - whether it's regular old rust or something
more insidious like Lawrencite disease. Different methods are out
there and they vary in effectiveness, but some do work.

Personally, I avoid specimens that have reputations of rusters, but I
do not write them off entirely. I go on a case by case basis -
depending on the seller and how it was prepared. Now, if I lost
thousands of dollars on a big unstable specimen of something like
Brenham (like Adam did), it would likely sour me to all of them
entirely. So Adam's position is understandable. I just don't agree
that all Brenhams are unstable rusters that will disintegrate over
time. From my own collection, I had a ~30g thin slice of etched
Brenham that I purchases from Robert Ward on eBay years ago. It was
superb and rust-free. I had it on display in humid Florida for two
years before reselling it. Last time I talked to the buyer, it was
still rust-free - about 5 years after purchasing it.

My advice is - if you want to take a chance on a ruster, ask a lot of
questions regarding the preparation first.

Best regards,

MikeG

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On 11/19/12, Adam Hupe <raremeteorites at yahoo.com> wrote:
> Looks very familiar. I had a complete slice of Brenham which I paid over
> $2,500.00 for do the same thing.  Some well-known dealer, which will remain
> nameless for now which was more concerned with easy money coated it with
> lacquer instead of providing a proper polish.  The lacquer was the only
> thing holding together the flexible slice as it made its way to the nearest
> trash can.  Some crystals popped out and bounced around the floor like a
> baby with nasty diapers. What a mess!
>
>
> I will never buy Breham again no matter what a dealer claims. To me, Brenham
> is a level five ruster!
>
>
> Happy Collecting,
>
> Adam
>
>
>
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: Don Merchant <dmerchan at rochester.rr.com>
> To: Meteorite-list at meteoritecentral.com
> Cc: Don Merchant <dmerchan at rochester.rr.com>
> Sent: Monday, November 19, 2012 6:28 AM
> Subject: [meteorite-list] Admire Pallasite Destruction!
>
> Hi List and Happy Thanksgiving coming up to all of you. Anyways, I purchased
> a 6+ gm. slice of the Admire Pallasite in May of 2011 from an eBay seller
> with 100% feedback and of course I am not a fan of meteorites with a
> reputation as a Ruster! The auction by this Seller bragged about how well
> prepared and preserved his Admire specimens he was selling are. Well I
> reluctantly bought a Specimen for a $30 price tag. Well now all of you on
> the list can get a good laugh and view how well preserved this specimen was
> I purchased! I have posted this on my Website so just click the link below.
> If anyone else ran into this problem, contact me off list and we can email
> the Sellers name. I did just email the Seller on this issue and the link
> below to see for himself. Nothing as yet from him, but I just contacted him,
> so I will give it some time.
> http://www.ctreasurescwonders.com/admire_pallasite.html?r=20121118002710
>
> Sincerely
> Don Merchant
> Founder-Cosmic Treasures Celestial Wonders
> www.ctreasurescwonders.com
> IMCA #0960
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Received on Mon 19 Nov 2012 11:44:59 AM PST