As I mentioned in my previous entry, boulder opal did not have much of a market before 1970. Prior to that time, only opal actually cut out of the boulder was offered for sale.
However, even this boulderless-opal found buyers. According to the book Opals by Fred Ward, these opal first appeared in 1873 at a London gem exhibition, and were so successful that several leases, mines and sales were documented between that year and 1888.
Ward gives Tully Wollaston credit for introducing Queensland sandstone opal to the rest of the world. In 1888, Wollaston set out for Queensland with two other men, to find Joe Bridle, the first miner who found these opals, apparently. Wollaston purchased all he could, then took the material to England to sell. It took some persistence in the face of rejection, but finally some London jewelers purchased the material, and the market expanded rapidly after that, for a number of years – before the other opal fields in Australia made their debut.
