THE OBJECT
A devotional shape carried by men for two thousand years. The Cross renders it in its oldest form — equal arms, heavy proportions, no ornament.
The face of the piece is forged from authenticated Aletai meteorite, an iron mass that fell to Earth in the Altay region of northern Xinjiang, China. The first fragment of the strewn field was recovered in 1898; the Aletai class was officially named in 2016 after further fragments were classified. The Aletai impact created the longest meteorite strewn field ever documented on this planet, scattering more than 74 tonnes of cosmic iron across the Chinese steppe (Meteoritical Bulletin entry).
The meteorite sits inside a polished titanium-grade steel frame, smoothed at the edges so the crystalline Widmanstätten pattern of the iron carries the eye. That pattern formed in deep space over four and a half billion years, cooling at one degree per million years. It cannot be reproduced by any process available on Earth.
Suspended from a polished cable chain. Signed certificate of authenticity. Heavier than the size suggests. No two alike.