We are back in action. I have finally
retired and moved back home.
WEBSITE NEWS
(Click on Yellow underlined links to go
directly to new pages)
December 25, 2016: I've been having trouble
with our website editor. You may find some pages are behind on updates. Sorry! Just email me to confirm availabilities
February, 2016:
All, I have been slow getting this website updated and new material posted, but I am working on it. Not yet shown
are nearly a hundred moldavite teardrops, Lots more Saffordites (which sell out before I can post them!), Billitonites,
Besednice queens, LDG, Australites, Fulgurites, Bikolites, and thousands of other pieces. If I haven't updated
your favorite lists, let me know of your interests.
Note 9/19/2015 BELIZE Tektites: I now have a source for backorders.
Let me know if you want me to find one for you.
December 19, 2012 Argentine Escoria page fully updated with addition of Chasico, La Poloma (Uruguay) and Monte Hermosa pieces.
November 27, 2012Bediasite
page fully updated adding some of the finest pieces
you are ever likely to see!
February 18, 2012: We have just completed a full update of the Besednice Moldavite page and have added nearly 100 new specimens including some of the finest museum pieces we have ever
offered! This is a rare and possibly final opportunity to acquire Besednices of this quality! New inventory also
added to Moldavite
Teardrops page.
August 7, 2012: We have just added over 40 new
specimens to the Javanite page. Truly rare pieces!
December 29, 2011:
We're back. The long African commute is over. Norm has retired from
his day job. I'll be working on a major overhaul and update of the website over the next few weeks months. Thanks
for your patience!
February 8, 2012:
2012Tucson show Against all expectations, we got
some great new top-shelf Besednice Moldavites. As usual, Cookie found the trophy of the trip, a superb stretch
Indochinite!
Click for a larger view. Offers will be considered. Sold!
1/18/07 New informational page on Tektite Specific Gravity
added with do it yourself details. How to check for bubbles and get clues pertaining to provenance. Click Here to go There.
We specialize in Tektites and closely related
materials. While our emphasis is on exceptionally high quality specimens and pricing is mostly by the piece rather
than by the gram, we try to offer materials in a broad range of prices and qualities. Whether you're a discriminating
collector, an educator, a researcher, or just getting started, have a look at our catalog. You will find this site
to be an exceptional educational resource. Enjoy!
At any point in time we have an assortment of a few hundred items described. We have an inventory of about 100,000
tektites on hand, so e-mail inquiries regarding the particular objects of your passion. We may well have what you're
looking for! We can supply some materials in bulk quantities; Please inquire.
*** The Tektite Source***
Following is a quick INDEX: Click on any of the following
text to jump directly to the relevant page. When finished
there, close that
page to return here.-
Ordering information : Please email us at [email protected] to confirm availability. We accept payments via Paypal, or by snailmail as money orders,
and in most cases, personal checks. Shipping and insurances costs may be extra.
IMCA #4946
Wabar glass, Besednice moldavites, Flanged Australite buttons, Georgiaites, Bediasites, Tibetanites, Libyan
Desert Glass, Darwin glass,
Irghizites, Aouelloul glass, Monturaqui glass, and LUNKER Lei gong mo (with dumbells approaching a half kilo!!!!!)
Following is a small sampling of gallery photos from our collections. Most images are linked to blow-ups. Click on the small image to view the latter
on a new page. Close that page to return
Australite flanged buttons are the
most coveted tektite morphology in the world. There is a particular size range wherein spherical tektites re-entering
the atmosphere melt on the frontal surface, and the viscous liquid streams back and curls into the pressure eddy
at the shoulders, forming the distinctive flying-saucer rims. Rarely, these rims survive impact. A small fraction
of this small fraction (of the small fraction that were the right size to begin with---) endure the nearly 800,000
years of abuse on the earth's surface unscathed. These are the trophies. I had to trade my youngest daughter's hand in marriage for the one on the left. No kidding.
Here is an absolutely flawless, stunning
Moldavite from Besednice, Czech Republic.
The Besednice Moldavites are widely held to be the finest found and the beautiful emerald-green glass is sometimes
faceted as a gem---but with natural ornamentation like this, I find it hard to consider that an improvement. The
Moldavites are considered to be related to meteorite impact at the Ries crater in Germany at about 15 million years.
Moldavites were found in association with the famous Venus of Willendorf (Austria) archaeological site dated at
about 29,000 years. Tektite collecting is an ancient tradition!
Many years ago, I saw this one for sale in a nature shop, but couldn't afford it at the time. I called my family
over to view it, and remarked that it was probably the finest moldavite that they would ever see. I also added
some comment to the effect that not buying it would probably haunt me . It did. One year later we visited the same
shop again, and it was still there. I told the shop owner that I couldn't believe it had not yet sold. She suggested
that it was still waiting for its "real" owner, and had made itself invisible to everyone else. I replied
that the "real" owner was back to claim the prize, and started counting out the money--- Today I wouldn't
accept 10 times what I paid for it.
Georgiaite! Easily one of the finest Georgiaites
known, this spectacular teardrop is a flawless 17.9 gms. It has been featured in two textbooks. I bought it directly
from the finder a couple of years ago. The total known number of Georgiaites in captivity is fewer than 1500. These,
along with Texan Bediasites are related to a 34.5 million year impact in Chesapeake Bay. Be sure to click the image
for a larger view of this beauty.
Central Stone of King Tut's Breastplate!
Libyan Desert Glass is another uniquely beautiful material. Found in one of
the most remote and inhospitable regions on earth, collection requires a journey of 1000 kilometers across billowing
sand seas from the nearest roadways. If you carry enough fuel and water for 2500 kms, you might get out alive.
Somehow, the ancient Egyptians found and retrieved this magical glass. Related to meteorite impact about 28.5 million
years ago, this exceptionally high-silica content glass has been sculpted and polished by eons of wind-blown sand.
We've had the chance to personally collect heaps of Australites in the stinking hot, fly-infested, remote, blindingly-white dry lakes
and salt flats of the Kalgoorlie region of Western Australia (about as close as you can get to heaven on this planet!).
This is recommended as a great way to gain a first-hand understanding of the reason why Australites are so expensive
and rarely found on the market. That's also a feeble explanation for the fact that we've not yet listed many Australites
for sale, despite a stock of several thousand. I couldn't possible charge what they're worth to the finders (us)!!!
Brought to you by Norm & Cookie Lehrman,
who's manic collecting habits have resulted in a host of eccentric mannerisms and peculiar facial tics. It remains
to be seen if a venture into commerce such as this can effectively counter or even postpone significantly the necessity
of their move into a tent in the backyard in order that there might be adequate space for the burgeoning collections
indoors.
