One of the most beautiful rare African Gems. It was discovered in early 1970 in East Africa. When miners first tried to sell this new Garnet color that was basically mined among Rhodolite materials, no dealer wanted to offer any price for this new strange gem. While miners kept finding more, they nicknamed it: "Malaya" a Swahili word that means first, "outcast" and second "prostitute," but overall meant trash. They felt this way because dealers rejected these materials that seemed to have no identity.
Thanks to a few knowledgeable American and German dealers that started buying this material and marketing it as a new type of rare color garnet, the Malaya Garnet took off and the supply of the above 2 ct. sizes never have been able to meet the market demand until today.
Malaya Garnet Is An African Gem
Unfortunately, most buyers who think Malaya Garnet come from Malaysia may think that maybe because they assumed so, or they were told so by a seller who did not know how to answer the question! Malaya Garnet is usually found between Kenya and Tanzania, especially around the Umba valley region that is well known for its buried treasures. For this reason, some European dealers tried to call it "umbalite," a confusing name that never has been well accepted in the trade.
The Most Valuable Non-Green Garnet
Unlike Hessonite Garnet which is a yellow to yellow orange, a grossular variety and unlike spessartite garnet, which is known as a separate garnet family, usually orange to light orangy brownish, Malaya Garnet is a mixture of Almandite and Spessartite, it ranges in color between light to deep orange and pinks to pinkish orange also called a peachy color which is considered the most valuable Malaya color. Stones over 3 to 5 CT or above are extremely rare and very expensive.
The Most Distinguishing Factor
Malaya Garnet is very appreciated among gem collectors. Investors buy this beautiful gem because of its uncomparable beauty and extreme rarity, a gem that when first discovered, was underestimated and today is still mined in only one place. Africa.
If you are confused and you can’t tell if what you are looking at is a Malaya Garnet or not, remember Malaya Garnet has a brilliance that is never noticed in any other type of garnet. Its glow and brilliance is the kind that when you see it, you just can’t resist its beauty.
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