Ytterbium is a light yellow metal from the so-called ‘Rare Earth’ group. Being fairly soft and delicate there’s little interest from metallurgists. On the other end, a lack of remarkable properties in its chemistry relegates it to near anonymity even in an age where the other rare earths seem to get a lot of press coverage.

Another huge ding is the maddening difficulty in machining. In its pure state ytterbium is fibrous like wood or muscle tissue so processes involving hammering, lathing or polishing need to be very carefully managed to prevent ruining the workpiece. A tug too hard or a cut at the wrong angle and the whole thing turns into confetti.

Measures 15x8x1.34mm