ITQIY – Partial Slice with Fusion Crust | 14.80 g

This partial slice of ITQIY, weighing 14.80 grams, offers a remarkable combination rarely preserved together: a polished interior surface revealing its distinctive crystalline texture, and a surviving remnant of fusion crust along the edge of the slice.

The interior displays a tightly interlocked mosaic texture dominated by enstatite grains, with interstitial metal filling the spaces between individual crystals. This texture is highly unusual and immediately distinguishes ITQIY from ordinary enstatite chondrites or classical achondrites, making it a meteorite of exceptional petrographic interest.

The presence of fusion crust on a sliced specimen is particularly noteworthy. It provides a direct visual link between the meteorite’s atmospheric entry and its pristine interior, allowing the observer to appreciate both the violent passage through Earth’s atmosphere and the deep internal structure of the parent body material in a single specimen.

This slice was prepared with great care to preserve both scientific integrity and aesthetic balance. The polished surface enhances mineral contrast without altering the natural structure, while the retained fusion crust preserves crucial contextual information.

Scientific & Collecting Significance

ITQIY is a unique meteorite, known from a single recovered mass, and represents an exceptional opportunity for collectors and researchers alike. Slices such as this one are particularly valuable, as they allow detailed study of texture and mineral relationships while retaining external features rarely seen on sectioned specimens.

Discovered personally by Luc Labenne during meteorite fieldwork in the desert, ITQIY holds not only scientific importance but also a strong provenance narrative, directly linking the specimen to its finder.

This slice is ideal for:

• Advanced private collections

• Comparative petrographic studies

• Museum or institutional displays focusing on rare or unique meteorite types