Round stone sentiment pebble hand-carved with the word Hope Colour: Turquoise Diameter: 45mm Made in India Our sentiment pebbles and paperweights are hand-made by specialist producer groups in Agra the hub of stone craftsmanship in India, Nairobi and Kenya. Palewa is a form of Indian soapstone which is a type of metamorphic rock. It is largely composed of the mineral talc, thus is rich in magnesium. It has been used throughout history for inlaid designs and sculptures. Some Native American tribes would use this stone to make bowls, cooking slabs and other objects; this was particularly common during the late Archaic archaeological period. Vikings also hewed this form of soapstone directly from the stone face, shaped it into cooking pots and sold these at home and also abroad.