The term “precious stone” versus “semi-precious stone” is a commercial term, they are terms that exist solely in the West and was created as a marketing tool by the people who were looking to sell precious stones. 
 
Precious stones are diamonds, sapphires, rubies and emeralds. 
 
Some semi-precious stones are mined from specific countries, others are found in different areas of the world and we will be exploring these in our blog posts.