Specimen weight: 769 grams

This specimen is a partial slice, cut thin enough to show very nice translucence of the olivine crystals, yet thick enough to maintain the beautiful golden color of the olivine crystals. If Fukang is cut too thin, the crystal color fades to a light yellow instead of the true deep gold color. This is a truly museum-quality specimen, since I have exchanged several matching slices to museums worldwide!

The Fukang meteorite was found in Xinjiang Province, China in 2000 by a hiker. A single mass weighing 1003 kilograms (2010 lbs) was found. The man had often stopped and had lunch on this giant rock, and he always wondered what the metal and crystals were. He finally took a hammer and chisel and broke some pieces off, which he sent to the USA to confirm that it was a meteorite. I negotiated with the finder by email and was planning to fly to China to see the mass, but he did not want me to see it, he was afraid that I might steal it, as if I could put a 1 ton meteorite in my pocket! After that, I decided it was not worth the time and money to try and purchase the meteorite. It was later purchased by a consortium of buyers. I have bought many kilos of pieces from them, including the 10 kilogram center block this piece was cut from.