Most people in the opal world focus on the big, bright, high-value stones — and fair enough, they’re the stars of the show. But over the years of cutting and mining opal, I’ve learned something important: your opal chips are far more valuable than you think.
Whether you’re a cutter, collector or jewellery maker, those small pieces you’ve been throwing aside could be hiding serious potential. In fact, some of the most creative and profitable pieces I’ve made have come from chips that most people would have ignored.
To show you exactly what I mean, here’s a short video breaking down why opal chips deserve your attention:
Why You Should Stop Throwing Away Opal Chips
When cutting opal, it’s easy to get tunnel vision. You’re focused on the main stone — the big colour bar, the clean dome, the perfect polish. But every time you trim, shape or remove excess material, you’re creating chips that still contain:
- bright colour
- rare patterns
- high-quality crystal or black opal material
- usable shapes for jewellery
These aren’t “scraps.” They’re miniature gemstones.
The Truth About Pits, Chips & Sand Spots in Opal
Every cutter knows the moment: you start shaping an opal and suddenly you hit a pit, a sand spot, or a chip that runs deeper than expected. This is completely normal. Natural opal often forms with internal pits that can run from the top all the way to the bottom of the stone.
Removing these imperfections will almost always make the opal smaller — but it will also make it far more beautiful. A clean, polished opal with no pits or sand spots is always more desirable than a larger stone with visible flaws.
The process usually looks like this:
- Start with the rough opal or chip.
- Remove any loose chips around the edges.
- Grind out sand spots and surface pits.
- Evaluate the stone again — now you can see the true shape.
- Decide on the final shape (oval, teardrop, freeform, etc.).
- Remove deeper pits that may run top-to-bottom.
- Refine the shape once the imperfections are gone.
- Polish the opal and reveal the finished gemstone.
This is why cutters should never ignore chips — many of them can be turned into stunning, high-quality stones once the pits and sand are removed.
What You Can Do With Opal Chips
Here are some of the most popular and profitable uses for opal chips:
1. Inlay Jewellery
Opal chips are perfect for inlay rings, pendants and earrings. Many jewellers actually prefer chips because they can create seamless colour mosaics.
If you want to see how different opal types behave in jewellery, check out my guide on black opal vs white opal.
2. Doublets & Triplets
Small pieces of bright colour can be turned into beautiful doublets or triplets — a great way to maximise value from material that would otherwise be wasted.
3. Collector Bottles
Many collectors love small bottles filled with Lightning Ridge or Coober Pedy chips. They’re affordable, colourful and great for display.
4. Practice Material for New Cutters
If you’re learning to cut opal, chips are ideal. They let you practice shaping, dopping and polishing without risking expensive stones.
Beginners might also find my guide on how to choose rough opal helpful.
Opal Chips Still Hold Real Value
Some chips contain the same brightness and pattern as the main stone — just in a smaller form. A bright chip of black opal can still be worth more than a dull full-size stone.
And with opal demand rising, especially in the UK, people are looking for affordable ways to own real Australian opal. Chips fill that gap perfectly.
If you want to understand why opal demand is increasing, you might enjoy my article on why black opal is becoming more popular.
Final Thoughts
So next time you’re cutting, don’t sweep those chips into the bin. Sort them, save them, and use them. They’re small, but they’re still opal — and opal is never worthless.
Whether you’re a cutter, collector or jeweller, your chips might be hiding more value than you realise.