Lion of Merelani information

The Lion of Merelani is a tsavorite gemstone from Tanzania that is in the collection of the National Museum of Natural History of the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, DC. The gemstone weighs 116.76 carats, has 177 facets, and is an intense green color. It was donated in the memory of Campbell R. Bridges, the gemologist who discovered tsavorite, who was murdered in 2009. It is the largest known tsavorite gemstone and the largest fine gemstone ever to be cut and polished in the United States.