Orgueil - C1 Carbonaceous Chondrite

Orgueil is a historic witnessed CI1 Carbonaceous Chondrite fall from southern France, which occurred on 14 May 1864 near the village of Orgueil, close to Montauban. A luminous meteor and detonations were reported before around 20 stones fell across the area, with a total recovered mass of about 14 kg. As a CI1 Carbonaceous Chondrite, Orgueil belongs to one of the rarest and most primitive meteorite groups, with a bulk composition that closely matches the Sun, excluding volatile gases.

Orgueil specimens are typically dark, fine-grained, fragile, and heavily altered by water-rich processes on their parent body. Unlike many Chondrites, CI1 meteorites generally lack visible chondrules, instead preserving a very fine matrix rich in hydrated minerals, carbon-bearing compounds, and volatile elements. This makes Orgueil visually understated but scientifically exceptional, as it records some of the most chemically primitive material available from the early solar system.

Studying Orgueil has played a major role in understanding solar system chemistry, aqueous alteration, and primitive asteroid material. Its composition has long been used as a reference for estimating cosmic elemental abundances, and it remains one of the most studied Carbonaceous Chondrites. For collectors, Orgueil is exceptionally desirable due to its rarity, historic witnessed fall status, French provenance, and scientific importance. Each specimen represents a direct sample of some of the most primitive material ever recovered on Earth.