Tsavorite garnet is a variety of the garnet group species grossular, with trace amounts of vanadium or chromium that provide the green color.
In 1967, British gem prospector and geologist Campbell Bridges discovered a deposit of green grossular in the mountains of north-east Tanzania.
Tsavorite garnet has a hardness of 7-7.5 on the Mohs scale, slightly higher than other species of garnet.