Malaia garnet

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Malaia garnet
Category	Varietal name
Chemical formula	(Mg,Mn)₃Al₂(SiO₄)₃ ^[1]
Identification
Color	light to dark slightly pinkish orange, reddish orange, yellowish orange
Crystal system	cubic ^[1]
Cleavage	none, may show indistinct parting ^[1]
Fracture	conchoidal ^[1]
Mohs Scale hardness	7 - 7.5 ^[1]
Luster	vitreous ^[1]
Polish luster	vitreous to subadamantine^[1]
Refractive index	1.760 (+.020, -.018) ^[1]
Optical Properties	Single refractive, often anomalous double refractive ^[1]
Birefringence	none ^[1]
Pleochroism	none ^[1]
Ultraviolet fluorescence	inert ^[1]
Absorption spectra	strong lines at 410, 420, 430nm, that may merge to form cutoff below 435nm. Also some combination of lines at 460, 480, 504, 520, or 573nm.^[1]
Specific gravity	3.78 - 3.85 ^[1]

Malaia garnet or Malaya garnet is a gemological varietal name for light to dark slightly pinkish orange, reddish orange, or yellowish orange garnet, that are of a mixture of pyrope, and spessartite. It is found in east Africa, in the Umba Valley bordering Tanzania and Kenya.^[2] Malaia was at first believed to be a type of spessartite garnet. During the 1970's rough malaia garnets were being mixed with parcels of Rhodolite garnet being offered for sale. These odd color stones were rejected, and the name given to this type of garnet was Malaia, which is a Swahili word meaning outcast.^{[citation needed]} In 1979, German and American gem dealers saw the opportunity to market the new variety of garnet, and took up the name.^{[citation needed]}