NWA 15855 - CV3 Carbonaceous Chondrite - Complete Slice - 24g - Western Sahara

A 24g complete slice of NWA 15855, one of our own CV3 classifications. The polished face is densely packed with chondrules from edge to edge, giving a clear view of the texture that makes CV3 material so rewarding under a loupe.

NWA 15855 is a CV3 Carbonaceous Chondrite found in the Western Sahara and classified for OuterSpacer Meteorites. CV chondrites take their name from Vigarano, the Italian meteorite that defines the group, and the petrologic type 3 shows that the stone has seen little heating or alteration since it formed, so much of its original texture survives.

CV3 meteorites are known for their large, well-formed chondrules and for calcium-aluminium-rich inclusions, or CAIs, the irregular pale patches scattered through the matrix. CAIs are the oldest dated solids in the Solar System, at around 4,567 million years old, and formed close to the young Sun before being gathered into the parent asteroid. Polished slices of NWA 15855 show a dark brown to grey matrix densely packed with chondrules, with pale inclusions dotted throughout.

For collectors, NWA 15855 offers a classified CV3 with strong visual character and a direct link to the earliest stages of Solar System history. Allende, the best-known CV3, has been central to research on CAIs since its fall in Mexico in 1969, and slices like this one carry the same kind of primitive material. Each slice is presented in a display box with a specimen label.