You are thinking of a unique gift to buy a foreign friend of yours, but you don't know what to get them.
You could get them a gift from the tourist center of your hometown, which they can take to their home country, but that reeks of self promotion so it is not the best idea. Instead, why not get them a gemstone that represents their country.
The Opal is the gemstone of Australia and considered a good luck charm for the country. In fact, the country's women's national basketball team is nicknamed The Opals.
The Opal is also the state gem of Nevada. While the Australians may see the Opal as lucky, for centuries the Russians saw it as bad luck and the representation of the evil eye.
Canada's national gemstone is the labradorite, which is usually seen in an array of colors. Not surprisingly, the stone is mined on Paul's Island, near the town of Nain in the province of Labrador.
Alexandrite is the gemstone of Russia, where it was discovered in the emerald mines near the Tokovaya River in the Ural Mountains in the 1800s. The gemstone is similar to emerald but described as harder than emerald. It is named in honour of Alexander II, who took his thrown the same day the gemstone was discovered in 1834.
The national gemstone of Ireland is Connemara Marble, which has been mined in the country for centuries along the west coast. The gemstone, is not surprisingly, green in colour, reflecting Ireland's love for all things green. Connemara originated over seven million years ago and is considered very rare.
Amber is the national gemstone of Spain. We all know what amber is, it is fossilized sap from millions of years ago that is often found in digs for dinosaurs. Amber has also been found with insects inside, imprisoned for millions of years in a yellowish prison.
The national gemstone of Iran is turquoise, which is a blue green gem of that is rarely a single colour. Obviously, since it is their national gemstone, turquoise is found in Iran and has been mined there for millions of years.
There are many different gemstones out there for every country in the world, and this just touches the surface, so if you are going to buy someone the gift of their national gemstone, do some research and find out the right one for them. No sense giving the wrong one and looking stupid.
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