Most gemstones are found and created upon the Earth. But some stones can be a bit more extraterrestrial, as there origins have been traced back to outer space. Even a meteorite can be polished, and considered a gemstone. Pallasites are a rarer and more colorful type of meteorite, that are also cut into gemstones. These unearthly stones are considered “space gems”. Here are a few other examples.
Moldavite is probably the most popular of the gems from space. It was formed when an asteroid hit the earth about 15 million years ago. Moldavite is very brittle, and commonly used as making earrings and bracelets.
Another space gem is the space peridot. Space peridot was discovered in 1749 by Peter Pallas, a famous German naturalist. But it was known as the “sun gem” by the Egyptians. The first deposits of space peridot were originally found on the Red Sea Island. Later, it was found in other places like Pakistan and the United States.
About 36 million years ago, an asteroid slammed into northern Siberia and created the fourth largest crater on Earth. Streaking in at an estimated speed of 12 miles per second, the asteroid made an impact that ejected millions of material into the air. The ejecta are known as Asteroid Diamonds. The Popigai crater is the site of one of the largest diamond fields in the world today. But because they were formed instantly, most are smaller than two millimeters and with low purity.
