5 products that come from outer space
Photo: Shutterstock
- Meteorites have been used for a variety of practical purposes since the Bronze Age.
- Since we can get iron from Earth, some of these items are focused towards collectors.
- These items are practical, beautiful, and remind us of the heavens we interact with more than we think.
Humans have been using metals mined from meteorites for most of our history. King Tut had a dagger, bracelet, and headrest made from meteoric iron; the Paleo-Eskimo and Inuit of Greenland mined fallen meteorites for the stuff; and many other Bronze Age cultures made tools from it since they hadn’t figured out how to smelt the iron in Earth’s ground yet.
Today, products from space are used less often, as we have terrestrial sources of the same metals which are more reliable. However, this doesn’t mean you can’t find beautiful things made from celestial materials. Here, we have five examples of products that have extra-terrestrial materials in them.
Manly Bands makes wedding rings out of the rare Gibeon meteorite.
Photo: Manly Bands Rings
Manly Bands makes men’s wedding bands that are a bit more exciting that your usual gold and silver. It uses materials that span the periodic table—like carbon fiber, titanium and tungsten—and even wood, antler, and dinosaur bone. What caught our eye, though, are the rings that use shards of Gibeon meteorite, which crashed into Namibia in prehistoric times, and have a cool medium grey coloring and characteristic Widmanstätten pattern. The website includes instructions on how to properly care for the rings so that you can keep this out-of-this-world piece for years to come and get a glimpse of space every time you look at your hands.
Photo: The Space Store
Are you looking for a little more variety than just rings? More of a necklace person? That’s fine; The Space Store has you covered. They have a variety of items made with meteorites, including watches, pendants, earrings, and jewelry. If you have a more minimalist sense of fashion, they also offer vials of moon dust.
Photo: Grayson Tighe
A long time ago in a galaxy not so far from here, people didn’t type everything they had to say. They wrote it on paper with indelible ink, taking the time and effort to produce the thoughts they wanted to record by hand. These Grayson Tighe pens are made from Gibeon meteorite, gold, and stainless steel by hand in Switzerland.
The price isn’t listed on the website, so you might have to ask for it. That was something else we used to do way back when.
Photo: ZucatiCorp
What every hardcore DnD player needs, but didn’t know they wanted. Crystal Case‘s stones are made from meteorite samples found in the desert of Oman, they are unweathered and quite durable. Until mithril dice become available, this is probably the coolest die you’re going to come across. Dice made of this stuff are relatively hard to produce. As a result, similar ones on Etsy go for a lot more.
Image provided by Perceval
For those with high-end taste in pocket knives and a flair for the exotic or who just really want to master their King Tut cosplay, these blades by Perceval feature handles made of Muonionalusta meteorite to complement their fine craftsmanship.
Made in Thiers, France, a historical center of knife manufacturing, the knives combine a tradition of excellence with a unique material that reminds us of humanity’s long relationship with the heavens and the occasional stony visitors we get.
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