About the Gibeon Meteorite
Our Gibeon rings are made from high grade pieces of Gibeon Meteorite. The Gibeon flamed into our atmosphere as a visible star-like streak an estimated 30,000 years ago, landing in what is present day Namibia. Prior to this, the Gibeon meteorite traveled through space for over four billion years before it was finally trapped by the Earth's gravitational field and pulled to earth as a fire ball. It is composed primarily of various alloys of iron and nickel, as well as a number of extremely rare trace elements, not found on Earth. It was derived from the core of an extinct planet that was blown apart billions of years ago during the formation of our solar system by a catastrophic impact event. The beautiful crystalline patterns within Gibeon meteorites are known as "Widmanstatten patterns", and are unique to meteorites. Not all Gibeon meteorites are of equal quality. We are prefessional meteorite dealers and experts at the selection and preparation of high grade Gibeon meteorites. Our Gibeons have beautiful Widmanstatten patterns. Some of the meteorite rings being offered elsewhere appear to have indistict, or grainy "Widmanstatten patterns". This can occur through improper selection or improper handling of the meteorite. Widmanstatten patterns can only form over millions of years of cooling. It has been estimated that it took about 1000 years for these molten pieces of planetary core to cool by just 1 degree celsius! There isn't any material on Earth that exhibits the Widmanstatten pattern of meteorites, and each piece of meteorite has its own unique pattern. The beautiful crystalline patterns characteristic of iron meteorites are more than just beautiful oddities-they tell us how long it took for the planetary core from which the meteorite is derived to cool!
Though the Gibeon meteorite was "officially" discovered in the Namibian desert in 1838, local craftsmen had been making spear points and other tools out of the fragments for perhaps thousands of years. The meteorite is etched with an acid to reveal its natural Widmanstatten pattern, which is unique to each ring.
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Meteorite Ring Care
Due to its nickel content, the Gibeon meteorite tends to be naturally rust-resistant, though as with any fine jewelry, it should not be exposed to chlorine, bleach, chlorides or house hold cleansers.
In cold weather or if you go swimming, your finger can shrink quite a bit causing your ring to fall off.
After a number of years, the etched pattern of your ring may be less sharp. If this occurs, the ring can be re-etched. Please contact us to arrange for this.
