The Flame Queen opal is a red-on-black opal, and the best-known example of “eye-of-opal.” When opal in-fills a cavity, an eye-like effect is created.
The Flame Queen’s has a central raised dome, which flashes red or gold depending on the angle of view. It is surrounded by a band of deep blue-green, which gives it the appearance of a fried egg. The stone weighs 263.18 carats and is roughly triangular in shape, measuring 7.0 x 6.3 x 1.2 centimeters (2.75 x 2.50 x .50 inches).
The Flame Queen was discovered in 1914 by Jack Philips, Walter Bradley and “Irish” Joe Hegarty, three partners working the Bald Hill Workings at Lightning Ridge in Australia. They had taken over a shaft abandoned by another miner who had gone to fight in World War I.
The three men sold the Flame Queen to a buyer on the opal field for just £93.
The Flame Queen was exhibited at the Geological Museum, London, in 1937 on the occasion of the Coronation of King George VI and again at the Gemological Institute, London, in 1980 and 1981.
At one time if was part of the Kelsey I. Newman Collection Opal collection, and more recently the Jack Plane Collection. It was sold at auction in 2008.