{"id":798498,"date":"2026-07-13T23:07:35","date_gmt":"2026-07-13T23:07:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/798498\/"},"modified":"2026-07-13T23:07:35","modified_gmt":"2026-07-13T23:07:35","slug":"overseas-dealers-flock-to-winton-opal-festival","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/798498\/","title":{"rendered":"Overseas dealers flock to Winton Opal Festival"},"content":{"rendered":"

The outback town of Winton is known for dinosaur fossils and as the location of the first performance of Waltzing Matilda, but has also become an important part of a growing international luxury trade.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

Uncut stones as well as jewellery can be found at the festival. (ABC Western Qld: Lachlan Ford)<\/p>\n

Western Queensland’s signature boulder opal, known for its colourful appearance, is second in value only to Lightning Ridge’s black opal.<\/p>\n

Before the stones find their way into the hands of foreign buyers, they are laid out on folding tables in Winton’s main street.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

Winton’s main street was transformed into an opal marketplace for two days. (ABC Western Qld: Lachlan Ford)<\/p>\n

Miners and artisans set up before dawn, hoping their stones reflect the sun just right, and catch the eye of a dealer from abroad.<\/p>\n

The Winton Opal Festival brings in miners from some of the most remote parts of the state, building Australia’s reputation as the world’s top producer of the precious stone.<\/p>\n

\"Clear<\/p>\n

Boulder pipe crystal opal mined in Queensland can be priced as high as $5,000 per gram. (ABC Western Qld: Lachlan Ford)<\/p>\n

Lower demand and fussy customers<\/p>\n

J\u00fcrgen Sch\u00fctz, who believes his 120-year-old family business holds the largest stock of opals in the world, says he has been coming to Winton for almost 50 years.<\/p>\n

\"Three<\/p>\n

J\u00fcrgen Sch\u00fctz (centre) directs the world’s oldest active opal-cutting factory, based in Germany. (ABC Western Qld: Lachlan Ford)<\/p>\n

He was in town scouting for rough boulder opals for his team of cutters in Germany to turn into luxury items.<\/p>\n

“The miner has an idea and the buyer has an idea,” Mr Sch\u00fctz said.<\/p>\n

“The question is if you can match.”<\/p>\n

He said misconceptions about the unique nature of opals had given some customers unrealistic expectations.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

Dealers from Vietnam, Switzerland, the US and Germany visited Winton for the event. (ABC Western Qld: Lachlan Ford)<\/p>\n

“You would not believe, sometimes we get an exact picture of an opal they want,” Mr Sch\u00fctz said.<\/p>\n

“So it’s very hard when I go home and have to explain to the customers, ‘Look, what you’re looking for is not available.'”<\/p>\n

Global uncertainty and travel interruptions have slowed his sales this year.<\/p>\n

“We sell things that people don’t need. You need something to eat, you need some clothes, but you do not need our stuff,” Mr Sch\u00fctz said.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

An awards ceremony at the Winton Opal Festival highlighted jewellery, fashion and art pieces made with opal. (Supplied: Queensland Boulder Opal Association)<\/p>\n

Part-time miners try to break even<\/p>\n

Stallholder Wayne Radley said there were fewer overseas buyers this year.<\/p>\n

“A few of them are here, but nothing like the last two years,” he said.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

Wayne Radley says his daughter Maria (in yellow) has taken a particular liking to mining, even if it means living off-grid. (ABC Western Qld: Lachlan Ford)<\/p>\n

Mr Radley mined on and off for 31 years and hoped he would one day make a full-time living from his mining lease near the Northern Territory border.<\/p>\n

His site is so isolated that visiting the nearest store requires a 13-hour round trip.<\/p>\n

“If you’re not into it and the passion, you wouldn’t do it. Because look at the hands. Destroyed,” Mr Radley said.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

The Radley family’s lease is a long way from the shops. (Supplied: Wayne Radley)<\/p>\n

But he said taking family on mining trips from their home on the Sunshine Coast was worth it.<\/p>\n

“Just being the person to first find that rock that nobody has ever seen before is, I don’t know how to describe it, it’s an addiction and it gets in your blood,” Mr Radley said.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

Opals are valued for their iridescence and no two are alike. (ABC Western Qld: Lachlan Ford)<\/p>\n

Living off the grid had its challenges, but he said his seven-year-old daughter Maria had taken a particular liking to mining with him.<\/p>\n

“I like opals because they’re very colourful,” she said.<\/p>\n

“My favourite colours are red, blue and pink.”<\/p>\n

Local trade bouncing back<\/p>\n

Mr Sch\u00fctz and others said exports to the US remained a sore spot due to tariff changes, but many local sellers were happier with how the market was recovering.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

Leanne Smedley, seen here with John Doyle, says fuel price increases were felt in the industry. (ABC Western Qld: Lachlan Ford)<\/p>\n

“It’s a little bit down because of that whole economy thing, but it’s not the end of the world,” opal miner Leanne Smedley said.<\/p>\n

She said the fuel crisis had also affected sales.<\/p>\n

“These last three weeks, these towns out through the west have had an influx of tourists again like they generally do, so everybody’s feeling a little happier,” Ms Smedley said.<\/p>\n

She said aqua-turquoise opals remained popular this year, despite red being the rarest colour.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

Daniel Black, a fourth-generation opal miner, says it’s a tough business to be in. (ABC Western Qld: Lachlan Ford)<\/p>\n

Queensland Boulder Opal Association president Daniel Black said the festivals were as much about networking as they were about selling.<\/p>\n

“We do provide our members with a list of potential buyers, but I think this sort of opens that up to more personal relationships,” he said.<\/p>\n

But Mr Black said there remained plenty of challenges and costs in opal mining.<\/p>\n

“It’s a pretty hard industry to be part of,” he said.<\/p>\n

“It’s not guaranteed.”<\/p>\n

The opal festival trail will continue in Yowah and Lightning Ridge ahead of the Australian Opal Exhibition on the Gold Coast.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The outback town of Winton is known for dinosaur fossils and as the location of the first performance…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":798499,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[64,63,375004,375003,374999,99,375002,375001,375000,374998,374997],"class_list":["post-798498","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-business","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-australian-opal-festivals","tag-australian-opal-market","tag-boulder-opal","tag-business","tag-lightning-ridge-opals","tag-opal-mining","tag-opals-in-queensland","tag-pipe-crystal-opal","tag-winton-opal-festival"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/798498","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=798498"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/798498\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/798499"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=798498"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=798498"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=798498"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}