Immo Stein is an Austrian-born Australian master gem cutter, former miner, and independent fine artist. Best known as the co-founder of the iconic Queensland gem tourism attraction, Opals Down Under, Stein has spent over half a century dedicating his life to uncovering and shaping Australia's national gemstone.
Born in Austria to a Salzburg silversmith and a seamstress, Stein trained as a blacksmith and fitter by trade. Seeking a life of adventure, he immigrated to Australia in 1961 at the age of 21. He initially worked on the historic Snowy Mountains Scheme engineering project before his journey took him to the remote, harsh desert opal fields of South Australia.
In 1962, Stein arrived in Andamooka and began mining. A year later, he taught himself how to cut and polish rough opal, discovering he had an innate, delicate "feel" for the stones.
Alongside his wife Louise, whom he met on the opal fields, Stein spent years living out of an underground "dugout" home in Coober Pedy. He eventually transitioned entirely from the unpredictable physical labour of mining to full-time opal cutting, operating under the philosophy that while mining relies on luck, the meticulous art of cutting guarantees that beauty and value are unlocked every single day.
In 1985, the Steins established Opals Down Under on the Sunshine Coast in Palmview, Queensland. Over the decades, it grew from an isolated highway outpost into a premier Australian tourist destination, drawing tens of thousands of global visitors annually to learn about, fossick for, and appreciate precision-cut opals.
In his semi-retirement, Stein has continued to channel his deep appreciation for natural beauty into the visual arts. Applying the same patience and precision required to shape delicate gemstones, he creates traditional oil paintings on canvas, capturing powerful wildlife portraits and the fluid, rolling waves of the Australian coastlines he came to love.