The earliest mention of opals in literature is at beat hazy. There is evidence, however, that a Greek poet, priest and seet of Africa (the area near Athens) called Onomacritus (530-480 BC) write the following in ± 500 BC:
“The delicate color and tenderness of the opal reminds me of a loving and beautiful child.” (Precious Stones & Gems, p.162, Streeter, E W, 1877.)
If Onomacritus knew the opal as it is known today, and it was not same other colored gemstones, then we may ask: “Where did that opal come from in that early time?” It is generally accepted that the oldest known opal come from Europe, specifically mines in Hungary.
In 77 AD Pleny The Elder (23024-79 AD) described opal in volume 37, of his Historia Naturalis (Natural History) that deals with precious stones and gems. What he wrote is so often quoted in literature that I refrain from doing it here. Pleny also refers to the famous and covered opal ring of the Roman Senator Nonius (± 50 BC). Where did it come from?
Pleny wrote “…India is the sole mother of opal…” Since Roman times, Europeans valued India as a source of rare gemstones-everything that came from the Orient had appeal. To quote Fenchtwanger, Dr L: A popular Treatise On Gems, (1867) p.300.” Although precious opal was never found in the East, yet it bears the name of “Oriental Opal” among jewelers: for in former times opal were carried by the Grecian and Turkish merchants from Hungary, their native locality, to the Indies, and brought back by the way of Holland to Europe as Oriental Opals…”
Amsterdam was a major gem cutting and trade center. Tavenier, a French traveler and merchant of precious stones in Europe and the Orient, traded opals from Hungary in the late 17th Century. He claimed that precious opal was to be found only in Hungary.
Byzantium (present day Istanbul) was the established trade center linking East and West. The opal’s source was a well kept secret by the gem merchants. During the Middle Ages it was still considered to come from the East and therefore was call “Oriental Opal”. India has never been a source of precious opal.
F. Leechman, in The Opal Book (1961), ascertained that until at least 250BC, opal was almost unknown, which is certainly a plausible assumption. He further writes: “It seems fairly certain on this evidence that opal became established as a gemstone in the civilized world sometime between 200 and 100 BC, and that it came from the east, except that Byzantium lay to the east of Greece and Rome…”
Georg Schenk, in his book, Dor Edelopal Bergbau In Dubnik CSSR, (1983) states: “Most likely it was in the 1st Century BC that the precious opalsn from Dubnik found their way to Rome, when the Roman armies penetrated through the Carpathian Mountains…”
Boetius De Boodt (1609), personal physician of Emperor Rudolf II, wrote that he heard from the locals of the ancient Hungarian opal mines near Dubnik, that opal was found there 500 years before. From this it is clear that the European opal source in former Hungarian territory is old. How far back into the world is not certain. Here it is interesting to note theories from other researchers. Rudolf Duda, curator of the East Slovak Museum in Kosice, states: “The opals from antiquity far more likely originate in East Africa ( Njoro, Kenya) or from Turkey (Simav)…”
Peter Dillen, in his book: Die Enstehung Der Edelsteine In Der Natur (1988), refers to “the oldest opal mine in the Simav area in Turkey, where one finds substantial evidence of roman influence, such as coins and ruins.
Frank Anderson, in his book: Riches of the Earth (1981), said the “opal came from Turkey, and was of considerable worth”.