Opal
The Coober Pedy area of southern Australia is world-famous for its high-quality precious opal. Wikimedia Commons/James St. John

The world's finest uncut opal has become the newest addition to South Australian Museum's collection. Dubbed Fire of Australia, the 998-gram opal is valued at nearly $900,000 and features colours which transition from green to yellow to red.

The Fire of Australia was mined by Walter Bartram at Coober Pedy in 1946. Bartram’s son, Alan, said it is important for their family for the opal to remain in South Australia. The piece has been on loan to South Australian Museum for its Opals exhibition. It becomes part of the museum’s collection thanks to a $455,000 grant from the Federal Government.

Alan said the Fire of Australia can be likened in size to two cricket balls, side by side. It is composed of nearly 5,000 carats. The Fire of Australia will be exhibiting in the main foyer of the museum until the end of February.

Rey, another son of Walter, told the Adelaide Review that their family is happy to pass the opal to the museum. The Bartram family hopes that it will be enjoyed by future generations.

“My father mined it with pick and shovel back in those days,” Rey shared. He said it is nice to own and enjoy, but it is great to know that a whole new generation can appreciate and learn how things were done in the past.

Museum director Brian Oldman has described the opal as extremely rare due to the quality of its stone. “Opal of this quality can only be created under certain climate conditions,” Oldman said.

The Fire of Australia is the finest, largest rough-cut opal in the entire world according to Oldman. He said they are grateful for the Bartram family because they wanted it to remain in South Australia. “As a result, our opal collection is now the best in the world, by quite a distance,” Oldman exclaimed.