Unearthed by chance near Mwakijembe (M-wapi-gem-bay) village in Tanga, one of Tanzania’s ‘classic’ gemstone regions, Tanga Garnet is a new, 2024 discovery of Umbalite (Malaia Garnet), named for the famous Umba River Valley, also in Tanga. A scarce, all-natural, Almandine, Pyrope and Spessartine fusion, Tanga Garnet has beautifully bright fuchsias with an exceptional brilliance, transparency, and everyday jewelry wear-ability. With its 2025 mining indicative of depletion, Tanga Garnet is unquestionably rare, and despite its beauty, will always have an inadequate supply, keeping this very special Garnet, highly-collectable and undeniably-exclusive.
Hardness 7 - 7.5
Refractive Index 1.760 - 1.765
Relative Density 3.83 - 3.88
Enhancement None
Beauty
Tanga Garnet displays stunning pinkish-purples with a highly-desirable medium saturation (strength of color) and tone (lightness or darkness of color), the marketplace ideal. Rarity aside, the difference between Tanga Garnet and the related Rhodolite (Almandine & Pyrope) are Spessartine traces, resulting in wonderfully unique colors with excellent brilliance, supercharging beauty.
Possessing a high brilliance and transparency, deft lapidary that accentuates Tanga Garnet’s innate beauty is essential, with ours optimally faceted in the legendary gemstone country of Sri Lanka (Ceylon), home to some of the world’s best lapidaries. Each crystal was carefully orientated to maximize colorful brilliance, maintaining an eye-clean clarity (the highest quality clarity grade for colored gemstones as determined by the world’s leading gemological laboratories), a high/mirror-like polish (accentuating its vitreous ‘glassy’ luster), and an attractive overall appearance (outline, profile, proportions, and shape). Tanga Garnet are often faceted as Ovals and Rounds, but any cut that maximizes brilliance is indicative of fine quality.
January’s birthstone, Garnets’ come in blues, chocolates, greens, oranges, pinks, purples, reds and yellows, and are a group of minerals possessing similar crystal structures, but varying in composition, giving each type different colors and properties. Garnet’s name is derived from the Latin ‘granatus’ (from ‘granum’, which means ‘seed’) due to some Garnets’ resemblance to pomegranate seeds. A rare, cocktail primarily of Almandine and Pyrope with traces of Spessartine, Umbalite is also called Malaia (‘outcast’ or ‘out of the family’ in Swahili) Garnet, as they don’t match the color/gemological properties of other, better-known Garnets. Used in adornment for over 5,000 years, Garnets were popular in ancient Egypt from around 3100 BC, being used as beads in necklaces, as well as inlaid jewelry (gems set into a surface in a decorative pattern). Garnet’s many myths frequently portray it as a symbol of light, faith, truth, chivalry, loyalty and honesty. In Judaism, a Garnet is said to have illuminated Noah’s Ark and Garnet (carbuncle) was also one of the gems in the ‘breastplate of judgment’ (Exodus 28:15-30), the impetus for birthstones in Western culture. Crusaders considered Garnet so symbolic of Christ’s sacrifice that they set them into their armor for protection. In Islam, Garnets illuminate the fourth heaven, while for Norsemen, they guide the way to Valhalla. A Grimm’s fairy-tale even tells of an old lady, who upon rescuing an injured bird was rewarded for her kindness with a Garnet that glowed, illuminating the night.
Rarity
Part of East Africa’s Great Rift Valley, one of the greatest gem deposits on earth, East Africa’s Mozambique Belt has yielded some of the world’s finest gemstones including exceptional, Garnets, Sapphires, Tourmalines, and Zircons. Since the 60s, Tanzania’s Tanga Region has been one of the world’s most significant gemstone locales. Containing a variety of metamorphic and igneous rocks, the Tanga Region’s gemstones are primarily mined from primary and eluvial deposits. While Umbalite was first unearthed here in 1978, mining of this rare, Tanzanian gemstone has been very irregular since its discovery, with the last significant 2015 occurrence further south at Mahenge, in the Ulanga District of Tanzania’s Morogoro Region.
Around April 2024, a local gemstone prospector searching the hills of Tanga’s Mkinga District, discovered weathered, bright, purplish-pink Garnet crystals near Mwakijembe (aptly ‘shovel it’ in Swahili, one of Tanzania’s official languages). Featuring a wonderful open color, additional miners soon rushed to try their luck. Undoubtedly something special, they were later confirmed to be rare Umbalite. Far scarcer than Rhodolite, Tanga Garnet possesses a rarity similar to the coveted Spessartine and Tsavorite, which has also been found in this region. Tanga Garnet’s color consistency and good sizes are also ideally suited to jewelry, especially when compared to Mahenge Umbalite. While the deposit’s size is unknown, since January 2025 miners are reportedly unearthing fewer brighter Garnets, instead finding the region’s usual darker hues/Rhodolite compositions, indicative of depletion.
Due to Umbalite’s rarity, Tanga Garnet has quickly become highly prized by gem collectors, with savvy connoisseurs securing while still available. Increasingly limited, especially in calibrated sizes for jewelry collections, Tanga Garnets are also totally natural and unenhanced, accentuating desirability, rarity, and value.
Durability & Care
Tanga Garnet (Mohs’ Hardness: 7 – 7.5) is an excellent choice for everyday jewelry. Tanga Garnet should always be stored carefully to avoid scuffs and scratches. Clean with gentle soap and lukewarm water, scrubbing behind the gem with a very soft toothbrush as necessary. After cleaning, pat dry with a soft towel or chamois cloth.
Map Location
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