Mexican Fire Opal

Mexican Fire Opal, yet another form of opal for all you October babies. Fire Opal is the national gemstone for Mexico. Do you know what it is for the US? It is Tourmaline, one of my favorite gemstones. Fire Opal is the orange variety of Opal, and is quite rare, and expensive. Its main sources are Mexico, and Brazil, though I did see some recently from Ethiopia. You can usually tell the difference between Mexican and Brazilian because the Brazilian has a more yellow, and milky hue to it, where the Mexican is more crystalline. It is a rather soft gemstone, so care must be take when cleaning, and wearing it. If you love the color orange, then this is the gemstone for you. I do not personally own any, at least not that I know of. I have two small orange stones, but I believe them to Mandarin Garnet, not Fire Opal.