You are thinking of a unique gift to buy a foreign friend of yours, but you don’t know what to get him.

You could send them a gift from your hometown resort, which they can take back to their home country, but that smacks of self-promotion so it’s not the best idea. Instead, why not get them a gemstone that represents their country?

Opal is the gemstone of Australia and is 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 jewel of the state of Nevada. While Australians may view opal as lucky, for centuries the Russians viewed it as bad luck and the representation of the evil eye.

Canada’s national gemstone is labradorite, which is usually seen in a variety of colors. Not surprisingly, the stone is mined on Paul’s Island, near the city 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 19th century. The gemstone is similar to emerald but is described as being harder than emerald. It gets its name in honor of Alexander II, who launched it on the same day the gemstone was discovered in 1834.

Ireland’s national gemstone is Connemara marble, which has been mined in the country for centuries along the west coast. The gemstone, unsurprisingly, is green in color, reflecting Ireland’s love of 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 dinosaur digs. Amber has also been found with insects inside, imprisoned for millions of years in a yellowish prison.

Iran’s national gemstone is turquoise, which is a blue-green gem that is rarely one color. 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 for every country in the world, and this only scratches the surface, so if you are going to buy someone their national gemstone gift, do some research and find the right one for them. There is no point in giving the wrong one and looking stupid.