r. Bridges first discovered Tsavorite in Tanzania in 1967 in the shadow of Mt. Kilimanjaro. He had been doing consulting work for Tiffany & Company on the original Tanzanite deposit (Life Magazine article, May 9, 1969) at the time. He discovered the first Tsavorite deposit in Kenya in the latter part of 1970 in the Taita/Taveta District. In order to have time to peg and locate the extensions of the deposit, secrecy was necessary. Driving into the bush by different routes, covering the vehicles tracks, and working with a very small team, he was able to locate the important sections of the Tsavorite belt most likely to contain economic deposits. There were still rhinos around in those days and even more elephants and other wild animals than at the present time.

In 1974 the famous Treehouse Camp was built near G.G.I which was the first viable Tsavorite mine. Many well known personalities in the gem industry have visited this camp. (see photo) Also, in 1974, Tiffany and Company made a publicity promotion to bring Tsavorite into the mainstream. Henry B. Platt, then President of Tiffany, placed ads in The New Yorker (11/74) magazine, The New York Times, etc. announcing the introduction of Tsavorite to the gemworld. It was during this promotion that green grossular garnet was given its trade name "Tsavorite" by Mr. Platt and Mr. Bridges. The name is derived from the adjoining Tsavo National Park famous for its mighty "red" elephants who wallow in and spray themselves with red iron-rich mud during the rainy seasons.

Over the past 25 years, Campbell and Judith Bridges have been promoting and marketing Tsavorite worldwide. Mr. Bridges has written many articles for trade and commercial magazines, such as JQ, JCK, Colored Stone Magazine, Msafiri Magazine, & Vogue. He was a speaker at the GIA International Symposiums in 1981 and 1991, lectured at the Tucson Gem and Mineral Show in 1981, The Precious Stones Congress in Tel Aviv in 1983, chaired a panel and gave a presentation speech at the International Colored Gemstone Association Congress in Bangkok in 1987 and was the Kenyan guide and advisor to National Geographic's correspondent in 1991 for a gem article.

The famous Scorpion Mine was opened in 1981 and has set the standard for fine Tsavorite. This mine continues to produce and we are now underground at a level of 320 feet in two tunnels.

Tsavorite, known first as a connoisseurs' stone has now been shown to occur in sufficient quantities to enable it to become the world's finest natural green commercial gemstone.