GUANG DONG TEKTITE

THE 6TH SPHERE OF MY COLLECTION

COMPLETED MARCH 21ST, 2007

Finding suitable chondrite material large enough to make a 50mm sphere is difficult so I decided to add a few meteorite related specimens to my collection. Most collectors consider Tektites to be meteorite related so I decide to experiment with the more common black specimens from the south east Asian areas. I called Norm Lehrman at The Tektite Source & after a short conversation I purchased a Guang Dong Specimen that had some surface damage for $10 plus shipping, a bargain for the size I needed. I sent the specimen to John at The Rare Earth Trading Company & waited for him to complete it. Unfortunately, during the sphere making process, parts of the finished sphere "spalled" off & although there was originally enough material to make a 50mm sphere it ended up only being about 47mm, this news was a bit discouraging but I wasn't too concerned since I didn't have a lot of money invested. Just before John shipped the sphere to me I had an opportunity to purchase another, larger specimen from ebay. I sent the second specimen to John & he successfully made it into a 50mm sphere. Although the sphere is very interesting in person it is very hard to photograph. Essentially it has a black glassy surface that has zero translucency. It reflects everything & in the below picture you can actually see our house and yard.