I FOUND A GEM FROM HEAVEN!
Extraterrestrial peridot is among the very rarest gemstones in the world. Even more rare, is extraterrestrial cat's-eye peridot. I found some of this extremely rare chatoyant cat's-eye peridot in August 2006, in a pallasite meteorite that I was cutting for Steve Arnold. Steve is a well known meteorite hunter and has found more of the rare pallasite meteorites than anyone in the world. Some of the faceted and cat's-eye peridot gems that I have cut, are shown below and also in the 2008 Summer issue of "Gems and Gemology" p. 177.
    These are EXTREMELY rare and unique gems. They come from one of the very rarest meteorites, a pallasite, that contains peridot (pronounced pair-uh-doh) the August birthstone. The peridot crystals were mixed in with the solid iron when it was formed-- at the beginning of our solar system, when two plannetoids or asteroids collided! The pallasites are estimated to be in the neighborhood of 5 BILLION years old! That's incredibly older than any gem from earth.
    Until Steve's discovery of the meteorite and my discovery of the chatoyancy which produces a cat's-eye effect, I do not believe any cabochon cut meteoric cat's-eye gems had ever been cut before, although I did find a reference from a magazine article that noted the inclusions and suggested a cabochon might produce a phenomenal gem. Ref "Gems and Gemology" Spring 1992. Steve's find is also unique, due to the fact that it contains peridot crystals that are large enough to facet and cut cabochons.
    I have recovered and cut some unbelievable fine gems of meteoric peridot! These are truly a gift from heaven! I call them "heavenite", The reason for this rarity is that meteoric peridot is usually so fractured that it is next to impossible to find a crystal clean and large enough to facet.
    Most recently GIA Labs, can now distinguish and certify meteoric peridot. It can be positively identified and distinguished from earth peridot.

TV Show Questions
    The Science Channel did a show about hunting meteorites, in May 2009, featuring Steve and Geoff Notkin, another partner in the project. There has been some confusion about my claim to the disovery of chatoyancy in this meteorite peridot. The editors of the TV show gave credit to Steve and Geoff for the discovery of the meteorite specimens and the way it was presented, some viewers have mistakenly thought Steve also discovered the cat's-eye peridot. In a recent letter Steve stated, "...there isn't any question that Rick ...is indeed the one who made the discovery." He also says "From one of the rough gems that Rick was working with, he cut his first cabochon gem that displayed the "Cat's-Eye" effect. As far as we can tell, using my (Meteorite) material, Rick is the first person to have actually cut a cabochon pallasite peridot displaying this chatoyancy from ANY pallasite's peridot."

Pictured at left is one of my faceted meteoric peridot gems. This gem weighs approx .53 carat. At right is myself and Steve Arnold with a large 246 pound pallasite. Steve found it, I enjoyed the pleasure of helping to dig it up. Being one of the first to see this treasure that had been traveling around our solar system for billions of years, before crashing into our tiny blue planet, was an indescribable feeling. A day to remember! Below is the meteorite after being cleaned up some. The pockets of green are peridot. Click on picture to enlarge.