Meteorite Prices and Market Analysis

That's a very sharp and interesting observation. Simply put, your feeling is only half right: ordinary meteorites are indeed "dirt cheap," but top-tier meteorites can be hundreds of times more expensive than gold or diamonds.

The meteorite market exhibits an extreme ‌"dumbbell-shaped"‌ structure: heavy at both ends (extremely expensive and extremely cheap) and light in the middle.

Regarding your two questions about "limited supply" and "not popular," here are several key underlying reasons:

1. "Limited supply" is a misconception: They're actually not that scarce.

Although meteorites come from space and sound rare, far more meteorites fall to Earth than you might think.

• Major discoveries in the Sahara and Antarctica (the NWA effect):
  In the past, people thought meteorites were scarce because they were hard to find in jungles or mountains (they look like ordinary black rocks). But later, "meteorite hunters" discovered that in places with monotonous backgrounds like the Sahara Desert or Antarctic ice sheets, picking up meteorites was as easy as picking up money.
  This led to a massive influx of NWA (Northwest Africa) meteorites into the market. Most of these are ordinary stony meteorites (chondrites), with low scientific value and huge stockpiles. They are sold not just by the gram, but sometimes in bulk by the kilogram, with prices as low as a few RMB per gram.

2. The core pain points of "not popular": High barriers to entry, many fakes, low aesthetic appeal.

This is also why meteorites haven't "caught on" in the mass Chinese market like jadeite or Hetian jade:

• Aesthetic barrier (low appeal):
  Most stony meteorites look like a dark, even rusty, broken rock. Compared to translucent jadeite or sparkling diamonds, they lack an intuitive "jewelry feel" and "decorative quality." Only a few types like pallasites (slices look like stained glass) or iron meteorites (with their unique Widmanstätten pattern)‌ have ornamental value, and these varieties are usually very expensive.

• Knowledge barrier (too deep waters):
  Gold has purity standards, diamonds have 4C grading. But meteorite identification is highly specialized (requires examining fusion crust, regmaglypts, magnetism, and even slicing to test nickel content).
  This results in over 90% of so-called "meteorites" on the market being fake. Many "black meteorites" sold at roadside stalls or online for a few dozen RMB are actually hematite, slag, or ordinary river pebbles. This phenomenon of "bad money driving out good" makes ordinary investors afraid to touch it, so the circle naturally doesn't become popular.

3. Price stratification: From "dirt cheap" to "sky-high"

Meteorite prices are determined by type and provenance, with a world of difference:

Level Type Price Reference (Estimate) Notes Entry-Level Ordinary Chondrites (Unnumbered NWA) ¥1 - ¥20 / gram Large quantity, mostly from African deserts, often called "specimens." Intermediate Iron Meteorites (e.g., Aletai, Gibeon) ¥50 - ¥500 / gram Have beautiful metal patterns, often made into jewelry or knives. Collector-Grade Pallasites ¥300 - ¥3000+ / gram Like metal inlaid with gemstones, translucent and extremely beautiful, very rare. Sky-High Grade Lunar/Martian Meteorites ¥10,000+ / gram Truly scarce, often much more expensive than gold or diamonds. A Martian meteorite fetched over $5 million in 2025. Witnessed Falls Meteorites with clear fall records Extremely high premium For example, the Chelyabinsk meteorite that fell in Russia in 2013 is very expensive because there's video evidence. Export to Sheets4. Why haven't they been heavily speculated on by capital?

Actually, there was a wave of "meteorite fever" in China a few years ago, even giving rise to many "meteorite villages" and "pseudo-experts." But because they lack industrial uses (unlike lithium ore), lack a unified value anchor (unlike gold), and are too difficult to authenticate, it's hard for large capital to intervene and control the market. Currently, it's more like a niche, pure collecting hobby circle rather than a mass investment product.

Summary

You think the prices aren't high, likely because you're seeing the large number of ordinary desert stony meteorites or fakes on the market.

If you want to get into it for fun, it's recommended not to have a "get-rich-quick" mentality. You can start with small slices of iron meteorites (Gibeon or Aletai)‌‌, which have beautiful patterns (Widmanstätten pattern) and are relatively easier to authenticate.

Would you like to know how to simply distinguish real from fake iron meteorites with the naked eye?

Your observation is very precise. In the meteorite circle, Sweden's Muonionalusta (abbreviated as "M iron") and China's Xinjiang Aletai are indeed two famous varieties known for being "plentiful and satisfying."

Their reasons for making you feel "they're everywhere" are not exactly the same. Simply put: Swedish M iron is "cut into many pieces," while Xinjiang Aletai is "scattered far and wide."

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1. Swedish M iron (Muonionalusta): The King of Jewelry Processing

Many meteorite necklaces, watch dials, and bracelets you see online (especially on e-commerce platforms) are mostly Swedish M iron.

• Why is the quantity large?

• Ancient glacial transport: This was an extremely ancient meteorite shower that occurred about 1 million years ago. The meteorites fell in a glacial region within the Arctic Circle. Through glacial movement during the ice age, they were pushed and scattered over a very large area.

• Easy to find: Although the area is remote, being iron meteorites, they are relatively easy to find buried in soil using metal detectors. Over the decades, they have been excavated by many "meteorite hunters."

• Highest commercialization level: The Widmanstätten pattern (Wei pattern)‌ of M iron is very fine and beautiful, like interwoven metal lines, making it particularly suitable for jewelry. Because its stockpile is relatively large and the price is moderate, it has been selected by global jewelers as an "industrial standard raw material." The reason you see "many" is because it's cut into thousands of small thin slices and beads.

• Its drawback:
  M iron has been on Earth for a million years. Although previously preserved fairly well in permafrost, once excavated and exposed to normal temperatures, it rusts very easily. Therefore, M iron jewelry on the market must be coated with a thick protective layer (like white gold plating), otherwise it will quickly rust to pieces.

2. Xinjiang Aletai: The World's Longest "Scatter Field"

Xinjiang Aletai iron meteorite is the "pillar" of China's meteorite world and has become very popular internationally in recent years.

• Why is the quantity large?

• World's longest scatter field: Scientific research has found that the fall trajectory of the Aletai meteorite shower stretches 425 kilometers (from Aletai all the way to Changji), making it the longest meteorite scatter field currently known in the world.

• "Skipping stone" style fall: That asteroid entered the atmosphere at a very tricky angle, like a stone skipping on water, exploding and scattering material as it flew. This resulted in an extremely wide distribution.

• Huge size: Unlike Swedish M iron, which mostly comes in small pieces, Aletai is known for "giants." For example, the famous "Silver Camel" weighs 28 tons, and later discoveries include individuals weighing 18 tons and 5 tons. Cutting open one large piece yields a massive amount of slices and hand-held artifacts.

• Its advantage:
  The rust resistance of Aletai iron meteorite is much stronger than that of Swedish M iron (due to different nickel content and its primary landing in dry Gobi deserts). Due to its wild patterns and stable properties, its price now even tends to exceed that of Swedish M iron.

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3. Why do these two feel especially abundant? (Survivorship Bias)

It's not because they are "infinitely many," but because they are iron meteorites.

• They survive: Over 90% of meteorites falling to Earth are stony meteorites. Like ordinary rocks, they weather away after centuries of exposure to wind and rain in the wild. Iron meteorites (like these two from Sweden and Aletai) are iron-nickel alloys, like stainless steel balls, and can lie buried in soil for tens of thousands or even a million years without disintegrating.

• They can be found: Iron meteorites are strongly magnetic. Using a metal detector to "sweep" deserts or polar regions is an easy way to find them. Stony meteorites mixed among ordinary rocks mostly rely on luck and the naked eye.

Summary

• Swedish M iron is abundant because of its long excavation history and being cut into many small pieces, mainly dominating the jewelry market.

• Xinjiang Aletai is abundant because that meteorite shower was too large-scale, had too long a front line, and is cut from large masses, mainly dominating the collection and decorative artifact market.

If you want to get one to play with:

• For wearing as jewelry: Choose Swedish M iron (mature craftsmanship, shiny), but must pay attention to waterproofing and rust prevention.

• For handling and collecting: Choose Xinjiang Aletai (good stability, grand patterns, more Chinese local sentiment).

This is a very interesting "door-opening" question. Understanding the composition not only tells you what it is but is also the most hardcore basis for distinguishing real from fake meteorites.

Simply put, a stony meteorite is ‌"stone with metal."‌ Its composition can be summarized as: silicates (stone) + iron-nickel metal (metal).

Although they look like stones, their internal structure is fundamentally different from Earth rocks. Stony meteorites are mainly divided into two major categories, with slightly different compositions:

1. Chondrites: The most common "primordial" meteorites

These are the stony meteorites you most commonly encounter on the market (over 85% of total falls). They are "leftovers" from the formation of the solar system 4.5 billion years ago and have never been melted.

• Main components:

• Silicate minerals (~90%): Mainly olivine and pyroxene. These two minerals also exist in Earth rocks, but in meteorites, they usually exist in a special ‌"chondrule"‌ structure (like tiny grains of rice or fish roe embedded in the stone).

• Iron-nickel metal (~10%): This is key for identification! Ordinary rocks rarely contain elemental iron, but chondrites are mixed with a large number of iron-nickel alloy particles.

• Visual characteristics:
  If you cut it open, you'll see countless silvery-white metal specks evenly distributed on the cross-section, just like sesame seeds in a sesame seed cake. This is also why most stony meteorites can be attracted by a magnet.

2. Achondrites: "Volcanic rock" from planets

This category is rarer and more expensive. They usually come from large celestial bodies like the Moon, Mars, or Vesta.

• Main components:

• Similar to Earth's volcanic rock: Mainly plagioclase, pyroxene, and olivine.

• Almost no metal: Unlike chondrites, they have experienced volcanic melting on their parent bodies, causing iron to sink into the core, so this layer of stone contains almost no iron-nickel metal particles.

• Special status:
  Lunar and Martian meteorites belong to this category. Because they contain no metal, they usually are not magnetic (or have extremely weak magnetism), making them easily mistaken for ordinary basalt on Earth, and identification is extremely difficult.

Summary: Is it "stone" or "meteorite"?

The decisive differences lie in the iron-nickel metal and chondrule structure.

Component Ordinary Earth Rocks Ordinary Stony Meteorites (Chondrites) Main Minerals Quartz, Feldspar, Calcite, etc. Olivine, Pyroxene Metal Content Very little (almost no elemental iron) Commonly contains (iron-nickel alloy particles) Magnetic Attraction Mostly non-magnetic (except magnetite) Over 90% magnetic Internal Structure Interwoven crystals or layered Contains spherical chondrule structure Export to SheetsSo, if you pick up a rock, and it is "stone material" but can "be attracted by a magnet," and when cut open, it has "silvery metal specks" inside, it is highly likely to be a real meteorite.

If you're interested in how to spot a possible meteorite from roadside rocks at a glance, the following video very intuitively compares the characteristics of real and fake meteorites:

How to Identify Meteorites

This video, explained by experts from the Institute of Geology and Geophysics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, details key identification features like fusion crust, regmaglypts, and chondrule structure, making it very suitable for beginners.058｜Lin Yangting: Why Do Most Martian Meteorites Land in Antarctica and Deserts?｜Institute of Geology and Geophysics, Chinese Academy of Sciences - YouTube Gezhi SELF · 2.4K views