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Most armor and weapons have an obvious origination. Ebony originates in Morrowind (read that in the Skyrim Art Book) and all other originations are obvious.
Where in Tamriel would Malachite be most prevalent?
I understand that the Thalmor use Glass gear as an upgrade to their own Elven gear in Skyrim, but that does not directly confirm they created it. (Lore:Glass Armor)

I started thinking of glass in our world and items/architecture that look similar in our world. What environment creates them. I immediately thought of the Egyptian/Middle East cultures. The desert.
What about Hammerfell? Obviously we only see Redguard roll around in light clothing for desert living, but what of the gear they may have used against the Aldmeri in the Great War? Their standard cloth outfits or maybe some armor?

The Aldmeri were beaten back when they ventured into the Alik'r Desert. Did (possibly) the Redguards/Empire have a gear advantage (Glass Armor) or was it just the environment?
Maybe those of you who have played the earlier ES games can chime in.

It comes from the Summerset Isles, the use of Moonstone pretty much comfirms it, IMO. It can't be used in Hammerfell, the armor looks like it traps heat. Moonstone use comes from the Summerset Isles so that's the likely location of origin.

Hammerfell is north, and Elsweyr(?) is a desert, think you missed something there...

I'm thinking that the Aleids used it, they like contours and shiny things. The other most likely would be the Summerset Isles, well, kind of, the smithing assistant that told the secret of Elven Smithing could lead to the invention of glass armor, but I don't know when this might have happened, so...

Glass gear is made from Malachite. Elven gear is made from Moonstone.

Re: Hammerfell. Most of the population lives near the coast in the port cities. They still have a use for combat armor like any other culture. Their "clothes" just wouldnt cut it. Especially since they aren't predominantly mages.

Edit: Glass always has at least one Moonstone ingot in it. Mostly Malachite, though.

The Great Alik'r Desert is the largest in all Tamriel. Yes, it's in the northern part of Hammerfell.

Learn how to smith, to create glass you need Malachite AND Moonstone.

Whoa, easy does it. I corrected my self.

Still looking for any type of confirmation via lore/books, etc.

I not angry in anyway, and there is no proof. It just that since it is classified as a metalic light armor it is most likely elven and an Summerset Elven at that.

Cool.

It just seems weird that there is an explanation of everything else related to gear. Throughout Skyrim there are mines for every type of ore. Assuming that this is true in most of the rest of Tamriel, then it just comes down to what race/province created the method to turn these items into weapons/gear.

Certainly the Aldmeri have the know how to be the originators. And the art book does model them in the armor.

Quote from artbook under Weapons: "In Skyrim we tied each set of weapons to a race in order to show a unique culture in how they were made. most of the weapons in the game are made by Nords, so we wanted to make it obvious when you came across a set that isnt Nordic. For example, the ebony weapon set is made by Dark Elves, so we gave it a more sinister and curved style..."

Definitely seems Aldmeri. there has to be some slivers of proof somewhere...

I remember someone on this forum saying Glass was Dunmer origin, I will go look for that thread.
EDIT: My mistake they did in fact say Glass is Aldmeri orgin. This makes sense, glass seems to be an improved version of Elven armour.

Read this.

Glass armor is made from volcanic glass (malachite), which is highly prevalent in Morrowind (Vvardenfell being Tamriel's largest volcano). The Altmer invented a type of armor crafted from this material, basically set into a base layer of moonstone. However, the Dunmer have long-since learned of this technique and have achieved or even surpassed the sophistication of the Altmer's.

Glass, and Ebony armor both predominatly come from Morrowind don't they? They, both require on Volcanoes and as far as I'm aware the only MAJOR Volcano is on Vvardenfell. Also, Glass is one of the most traditional armors of the Dunmeri people (that and chitin/netch/ebony).

However, I don't know if the Summerset Isles has any large Volcanoes (probably do since they're Islands) but the Dunmer/Chimer did leave the High Elves with the prophet Velothi so perhaps they took the glass with them, and were able to make more armor when they reached Morrowind.

It seems that the Dunmer, already a Dunmer not a Chimer, slave taught the technique of Moonstone forging to the rest of Tamriel. The High Elves thought it up and the Dunmer improved the design.

Malachite deposits exist in several provinces. The Altmer invented the technique, but an escaped Dunmer slave later brought it to the rest of Tamriel. Malachite deposits are especially prevalent around Red Mountain, as are Ebony deposits.

Could be there are two types of glass equipment.
In Morrowind, there were glass ingots and mines that could be found. In Skyrim, malachite is found. Is it too much of a stretch to assume therefore that glass and malachite are actually two different materials (also explaining the vast color and texture difference from Morrowind/Oblivion to Skyrim), requiring two different forging methods, one Altmer and known to the entire continent, one Dunmer and kept relatively secret?

Already said this and heres the link to a quote/source of lore: http://www.uesp.net/wiki/Lore:Light_Armor_Forging

Yes. Plus the proof Theificka presented nails it for the Altmer.

Thx for solving my scooby doo mystery folks!