Gem Quiz

I Was Discovered By a Geologist Fleeing a Buffalo

Its name was inspired by the national park where it was found.

Published

3 years ago

January 5, 2021

Chris Burslem

I Was Discovered By a Geologist Fleeing a Buffalo

THE STORY GOES that Campbell Bridges, the rugged geologist who found me, was walking in northern Tanzania in 1967, when he surprised a buffalo. The animal charged and Bridges dived into a gully to escape its wrath. When he lifted his head he noticed shards of green-tinged sunlight bouncing off crystals embedded in the dirt walls. “I had never seen a green like it. It was pure in every sense,” he would later recall. That Bridges also worked as a consultant for Tiffany & Co. didn’t hurt my elevation to Hot New Green Thing. Pedantically speaking, I am a grossular garnet, but I much prefer to answer to the name given to me by the president of Tiffany’s, a moniker inspired by the national park where Bridges stumbled across me.

Who am I?

She Wanted to Spend More Time with Her Kids. She Called Wilkerson.

Your children are precious. More precious than gold? Absolutely! Just ask Lesley Ann Davis, owner of Lesley Ann Jewels, an independent jewelry store that — until the end of 2023 — had quite a following in Houston, Texas. To spend more time with her four sons, all in high school, she decided to close her store. Luckily, she was familiar with Wilkerson and called them as soon as she knew she wanted to move on to bigger, better and more family-focused things. Was she happy with her decision? Yes, she was. Says Davis, “Any owner looking to make that life change, looking to retire, looking to close, looking for a pause in their career, I would recommend Wilkerson. Hands down!”