Today, meteorite collecting is fairly easy, but in times before the internet it was a difficult endeavor to acquire these precious rocks from space. There were only a few collectors and the exchange of material was only possible by sending personal letters and hand typed collection lists.

In the beginning 70´s, Prof. Winbeck (* 11th Feb. 1946) began collecting meteorites as a student. His first contact to the matter was thanks to the Zeitschels, probably the most famous European collectors in these times. Over the years, Prof. Winbeck developed a long-term friendship with Niki and Walter Zeitschel, documented by the huge amount of personal letters. Little by little, Prof. Winbeck got in contact to more “meteorite people”, e.g. the German geologist Hartmut Schmelzer, who searched the Imilac strewn field in 1978 or Jim Westcott, who worked under the guidance of Glenn Huss and Harvey Nininger, was one of his overseas contacts. The collection grew over a period of almost 20 years (1972 – 1989).

For the last two decades, the Prof. Winbeck Collection of Meteorites was treasured in an old abbey in Bavaria, Germany. Prof. Winbeck focused more on the expensive restauration of the abbey.

Today, we are proud to wake up the “Sleeping Beauty” and to present this stunning old collection to the meteorite enthusiasts.

SPACEJEWELS & SV-METEORITES