Tsavorite Gecko Brooch in Sterling Silver and Gilt

• Sterling Silver - Sterling silver is a mixture of 92.5% pure silver and 7.5% of another metal, usually copper. Fine silver is 99.9% pure silver, and is relatively soft and the addition of the very small amount of copper gives the metal enough strength and hardness to be worked into jewellery, decorative and household objects.
• Tsavorite - Tsavorite is a green coloured garnet, first discovered by a British geologist, Dr Campbell R. Bridges in 1961 in Zimbabwe while working for the United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority.
  
  Unable to obtain a mining permit, he began prospecting in Tanzania and in 1967 made a second discovery of Tsavorite in northern Tanzania in 1967. Dr Bridges commenced mining the deposit, but the mine was nationalised by the government, so Dr Bridges moved to Kenya, where he made a third discovery of the mineral at the end of 1970.
  
  Tiffany & Co. began promoting the then unnamed mineral in 1973 in association with Dr. Campbell, and it was agreed it should be named Tsavorite, after the Tsavo National Park in Kenya, near to where it was mined.
  
  Dr Bridges died aged 71 in 2009 on his property in Tsavo National Park, Kenya, when he and his son were attacked by a mob in a dispute over mining rights.

This item has been included into following indexes:

• brooches, set with
  • other materials 1,859
  • tsavorite 1
• brooches, silver - silver items 2,539