Australian Fire Opals Vs Mexican Fire Opals Only a few gemstones in the world can evoke such a thrill and admiration as opals. But, among many different types of opals, one stands out – the fire opal. However, not all fire opals are the same. Fire opals were first discovered in Australia, in the second half of 19th century and people immediately fell in love with them. Australians started to exploit and mine fire opals in order to sell them to rich customers in Europe, the most famous aficionado being the Queen of the United Kingdom, Victoria, who had the entire collection of Australian op...