Breaking Opal Cutting Rules

When it comes to opal, there are a few golden rules I live by. In this cutting session, though, I broke one of my biggest: never rely on someone else’s word when buying rough. Breaking Opal Cutting Rules turned into an unexpected lesson in trust, instinct, and just how unpredictable opal can be. Armed with three opal gemstones—two already faced and one rough—I set out to see whether the rough piece would match the glowing promise of its companions.

Trust Your Gut in Opal Cutting

At first, the rough opal showed promise, with thin color bars and a glimmer of green, orange, and yellow hinting at hidden potential. I carefully took the top down, hoping it would open up into something spectacular. But the deeper I cut, the clearer it became: this gemstone wasn’t the same as the others. In fact, the thinner side revealed darker color while the thicker side turned out lighter—the complete opposite of what I expected.

Still, there was enough color to work with, so I shaped the piece into a striking marquise. Alongside it, I cut the other two stones from the parcel, each revealing stronger play-of-color and more value than the rough piece that had lured me in with false hope.

Lessons Learned from Breaking the Rules

In the end, the three gemstones, two black opals and one dark, totalled over $13,000 in value—thankfully turning the risk into reward. But the real takeaway was simple: trust your own intuition above all else. Breaking my own opal cutting rules might make for a great story, but in this case, it was a reminder that no one knows a gemstone better than the cutter holding it.

Whether it’s the gamble of a thin color bar or the thrill of unexpected patterns, every cut is a chance to learn. And sometimes, the best lesson is knowing when to listen to your gut.