16-Inch Gemstones
The 16-inch strand is the industry standard—and no one stocks more of them than Dakota Stones. Browse more than 200 stone types across every color and pattern, from everyday staples like Amethyst and Jasper to collector favorites such as Red Garnet and rare Turquoise mine-runs. Because the strands measure a full 15 – 16 inches, you get enough beads for matching earring pairs, stretch bracelets, or a necklace focal and still have extras for accents.
Need to drill down fast? Use the filter bar to sort by Stone Type when you know the gem you want, or by Color when you’re building a palette first. Shapes range from classic rounds and rondelles to cubes, heishi, chips, and rare designer cuts—each strand calibrated for even sizing and smooth stringing.
Whether you’re a hobbyist replenishing a bead board or a pro assembling a full production run, this category is the workhorse of our catalog: reliable lengths, vast variety, and new additions arriving every month. Dive in, filter your way to the perfect strand, and keep your design queue flowing with Dakota Stones’ biggest collection.
Atlantisite Stichtite 12 Round - 15-16 Inch
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$65.00
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$65.00
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$65.00
$65.00
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$65.00
Stichtite is a mineral, a carbonate of chromium and magnesium. Its color ranges from pink through lilac to a rich purple color. Discovered in 1910 ...
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$65.00
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$65.00
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$65.00
$65.00
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$65.00
Atlantisite Stichtite 6mm Round - 15-16 Inch
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$39.00
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$39.00
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$39.00
$39.00
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$39.00
Stichtite is a mineral, a carbonate of chromium and magnesium. Its color ranges from pink through lilac to a rich purple color. Discovered in 1910 ...
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$39.00
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$39.00
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$39.00
$39.00
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$39.00
Atlantisite Stichtite 4mm Round - 15-16 Inch
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$34.00
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$34.00
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$34.00
$34.00
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$34.00
Stichtite is a mineral, a carbonate of chromium and magnesium. Its color ranges from pink through lilac to a rich purple color. Discovered in 1910 ...
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$34.00
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$34.00
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$34.00
$34.00
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$34.00
Atlantisite Stichtite 8mm Round - 15-16 Inch
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$44.00
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$44.00
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$44.00
$44.00
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$44.00
Stichtite is a mineral, a carbonate of chromium and magnesium. Its color ranges from pink through lilac to a rich purple color. Discovered in 1910 ...
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$44.00
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$44.00
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$44.00
$44.00
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$44.00
Atlantisite Stichtite 10mm Round - 15-16 Inch
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$61.00
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$61.00
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$61.00
$61.00
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$61.00
Stichtite is a mineral, a carbonate of chromium and magnesium. Its color ranges from pink through lilac to a rich purple color. Discovered in 1910 ...
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$61.00
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$61.00
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$61.00
$61.00
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$61.00
Moss Agate 2x6mm Thin Rondelle - 15-16 Inch
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$16.00
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$16.00
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$16.00
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$16.00
Moss Agate is a variety of Chalcedony, clear to milky white to dark green, with inclusions that appear in patterns similar to moss or lichen. The i...
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$16.00
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Fancy Jasper 2x6mm Thin Rondelle - 15-16 Inch
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$14.00
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$14.00
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$14.00
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$14.00
Fancy Jasper, also known as Rainbow Jasper, ranges in color from light to dark green, deep red, tan, cream, pink and mauve. It is a chalcedony beli...
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$14.00
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$14.00
African Bloodstone 2x6mm Thin Rondelle - 15-16 Inch
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$14.00
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$14.00
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$14.00
Bloodstone most commonly refers to green Jasper with red inclusions consisting of Hematite. Naturally occuring in hues of blue to green to green wi...
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$14.00
Diopside 6mm Faceted Round A Grade - 15-16 Inch
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$88.00
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$88.00
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$88.00
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$88.00
Diopside is a calcium and magnesium silicate mineral. It is transparent or translucent, and can display a nearly emerald green color due to the pre...
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$88.00
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$88.00
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$88.00
Diopside 2.5mm Table Cut Cube Bead - 15-16 Inch
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$61.00
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$61.00
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$61.00
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$61.00
Diopside is a calcium and magnesium silicate mineral. It is transparent or translucent, and can display a nearly emerald green color due to the pre...
View full details
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$61.00
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$61.00
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$61.00
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$61.00
Diopside 2x3mm Faceted Rondelle AA Grade - 15-16 Inch
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$52.00
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$52.00
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$52.00
$52.00
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$52.00
Diopside is a calcium and magnesium silicate mineral. It is transparent or translucent, and can display a nearly emerald green color due to the pre...
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$52.00
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$52.00
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$52.00
Green Aventurine 6x11mm Side Drilled Points - 15-16-Inch
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$28.00
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$28.00
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$28.00
Green Aventurine is a green translucent quartz with glimmering metallic inclusions. Green is the most common color for Aventurine, but it can also ...
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$28.00
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$28.00
African Turquoise 8mm Faceted Bicone - 15-16 Inch
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$22.00
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$22.00
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$22.00
$22.00
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$22.00
African Turquoise is not actually Turquoise, but rather a speckled teal Jasper found in Africa and often treated to simulate the beautiful blue to ...
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$22.00
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$22.00
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$22.00
Chrysocolla 8mm Faceted Bicone - 15-16 Inch
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$56.00
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$56.00
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$56.00
Chrysocolla, a hydrous copper silicate, is often mistaken for turquoise due to its rich blues and blue to greens. It often also occurs with colors ...
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$56.00
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Chrysocolla 4x6mm Triangle Cut Faceted Rice Bead - 15-16 Inch
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$36.00
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$36.00
Chrysocolla, a hydrous copper silicate, is often mistaken for turquoise due to its rich blues and blue to greens. It often also occurs with colors ...
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$36.00
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$36.00
Moss Agate 2x4mm Tube Beads - 15-16 Inch
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$12.00
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$12.00
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$12.00
Moss Agate is a variety of Chalcedony, clear to milky white to dark green, with inclusions that appear in patterns similar to moss or lichen. The i...
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$12.00
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$12.00
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$12.00
African Turquoise 2x4mm Tube Beads - 15-16 Inch
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$12.00
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$12.00
African Turquoise is not actually Turquoise, but rather a speckled teal Jasper found in Africa and often treated to simulate the beautiful blue to ...
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$12.00
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$12.00
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$12.00
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$12.00
Fancy Jasper 6x3mm Saucer Beads - 15-16 Inch
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$12.00
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$12.00
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$12.00
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$12.00
Fancy Jasper, also known as Rainbow Jasper, ranges in color from light to dark green, deep red, tan, cream, pink and mauve. It is a chalcedony beli...
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$12.00
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$12.00
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$12.00
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Olive Jade 8x10mm Triangle Cut Faceted Puff Oval A Grade - 15-16-Inch
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$29.00
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$29.00
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$29.00
Olive Jade is the commercial name for this yellow to green to olive green stone and ranges from translucent to opaque. This material is actually Se...
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$29.00
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Mica 6mm Round Green - 15-16 inch
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$15.00
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$15.00
Mica is a mineral name given to a group of minerals that are physically and chemically similar. They are all silicate minerals, known as sheet sil...
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Green Lodalite Quartz 6-8X8-10mm Pebble - 15-16 inch
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$12.00
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$12.00
Green Lodolite is Quartz with inclusions of sand. These inclusions range broadly in type and color and produce patterns that can look like gardens....
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Green Lodalite Quartz 6-8X10-12mm Nugget Faceted - 15-16 inch
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$21.00
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$21.00
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$21.00
Green Lodolite is Quartz with inclusions of sand. These inclusions range broadly in type and color and produce patterns that can look like gardens....
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$21.00
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$21.00
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$21.00
Australian Chrysoprase Natural 8mm Energy Prism Faceted - 15-16 Inch
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$37.00
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$37.00
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$37.00
$37.00
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$37.00
Chrysoprase is a bright apple green, translucent stone, whose color often caused ancient jewelers to confuse it with Emerald. A cryptocrystalline C...
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$37.00
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$37.00
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$37.00
Serpentine 8mm Round - 15-16 Inch
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$9.00
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$9.00
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$9.00
$9.00
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$9.00
Green Grass Jasper is an opaque blue-green to yellow-green with black inclusions forming marbled patterns in the stone. Green Jasper was known as a...
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$9.00
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$9.00
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$9.00
$9.00
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$9.00
Fluorite 8x16mm Faceted Tube - 17-18 Inch
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$54.00
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$54.00
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$54.00
$54.00
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$54.00
Fluorite is a luminous, soft and glassy stone, sometimes referred to as “the most colorful mineral in the world.” It is one of the most sought to a...
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$54.00
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$54.00
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$54.00
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$54.00
African Turquoise 6mm Star - 15-16 Inch
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$12.00
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$12.00
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$12.00
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$12.00
African Turquoise is not actually Turquoise, but rather a speckled teal Jasper found in Africa and often treated to simulate the beautiful blue to ...
View full details
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$12.00
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$12.00
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$12.00
$12.00
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$12.00
Ethiopian Opal 1x2-3x5mm Graduated Irregular Rondelle - 15-16 Inch
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$52.00
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$52.00
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Ethiopian Opal was first discovered in Ethiopia in 1994, with additional major finds in 2008 and 2013. Beautiful specimens of Precious Opal, Fire O...
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$52.00
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Atlantisite Stichtite 3mm Round - 15-16 Inch
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$25.00
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$25.00
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$25.00
$25.00
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$25.00
Stichtite is a mineral, a carbonate of chromium and magnesium. Its color ranges from pink through lilac to a rich purple color. Discovered in 1910 ...
View full details
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$25.00
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$25.00
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$25.00
$25.00
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$25.00
Frequently asked questions
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What is a 16-inch strand and why is it the trade standard?
A 16-inch strand is the working length most US jewelry designers buy for design-grade work — necklaces, multi-strand layouts, and bulk component sourcing. It gives enough beads to lay out a full 18–20 inch necklace with clasp and findings, or to cut down into shorter assemblies without running short. The 16-inch length has been the trade default for decades because it standardizes pricing and bead-count math across stones and cuts. Dakota's 16-inch hub covers the full catalog at this length, across rounds, rondelles, faceted cuts, cubes, coins, and shape work. The bracelet counterpart is the 8-inch strand. -
How many beads per 16-inch strand at common sizes?
Approximate bead counts per 16-inch strand assume snug-strung beads with no spacer drift. At 2mm you get roughly 200 beads, at 3mm about 135, at 4mm about 100, at 6mm about 66, at 8mm about 50, at 10mm about 40, and at 12mm about 33. Faceted cuts, rondelles, and irregular shapes (pebble, nugget, coin) vary — count is driven by the bead's drilled axis, not its widest dimension. Exact count should be disclosed; ask before buying if a piece-count is critical for your design and isn't specified. -
16-inch vs 8-inch — which length for which project?
16-inch is the necklace and design-strand length: enough material for an 18–20 inch finished necklace, multi-strand torsades, long earring drops, or component cutting. 8-inch is the bracelet length: pre-cut to the wrist standard, sized for stretch-cord bracelets and single-wrap pieces. Designers running production bracelet lines typically buy 8-inch to skip the cut-down step; designers doing necklace work, statement pieces, or mixed assemblies buy 16-inch for the bead count and pricing efficiency. Both lengths share the same stones and cuts where stocked — the choice is about finished-piece geometry, not material grade. -
What stones and cuts does Dakota carry in 16-inch?
The 16-inch hub spans the full catalog. Most-stocked stones include agate, turquoise, quartz, jasper, tourmaline, moonstone, garnet, labradorite, opal, and amazonite, with deeper coverage across feldspar, chalcedony, and silica varieties. Cut coverage runs from smooth round and faceted round (the largest categories) through rondelle, microfaceted round, pebble and nugget, cube, table-cut cube, faceted cube, and coin. Standard sizes are 4mm, 6mm, 8mm, and 10mm, with 2mm and 3mm in microfaceted work and 12mm in larger statement rounds. Filter by stone, cut, or size to narrow the grid. -
How does Dakota measure 16-inch strand lengths?
Strand length is measured end-to-end along the drilled axis, beads strung snug with no gaps. A 16-inch strand can run 15.5 to 16.5 inches depending on bead shape and how the cutter finished the temporary string — irregular shapes (nugget, pebble, raw-faceted) sit at the looser end because the drill points don't always center on the bead's midline. Bead count per strand reflects this variance. Length and approximate count should be disclosed; if you need a tight tolerance for a calibrated production run, ask before buying so the team can pull and measure before shipping.