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.
Products: 2264
Crystal Quartz 4-9mm Pebble - 15-16 Inch
Crystal Quartz is a naturally occurring clear and colorless Quartz. It is a crystalline form of Quartz said to have many divine properties includin...
View full detailsMorganite 6x8-8x10mm Pebble 15-16 Inch
Morganite gets its pink hue from the presence of manganese or cesium in the stone. It's actually a pink variety of Beryl -- the family of gemstones...
View full detailsPrehnite Natural 6X8 Pebble SD A Grade - 15-16 Inch
Prehnite was the first mineral to be named after a person: its discoverer, Dutch Colonel Hendrik Von Prehn. Von Prehn discovered the stone in South...
View full detailsRose Quartz 7x9-8x10mm Pebble - 15-16 Inch
Rose Quartz is a silicon dioxide crystal and one of the most common varieties of the Quartz family. It is a translucent to transparent stone with a...
View full detailsMookaite 7x9-8x10mm Pebble - 15-16 Inch
Mookaite is a variety of Jasper in colors of red, burgundy, pink, mauve, purple, yellow and white. It takes its name from Mooka Creek, near the Ken...
View full detailsTiger Eye 7x9-8x10mm Pebble - 15-16 Inch
Tiger Eye is a macrocrystalline Quartz stone with bands of rich golds and browns. Its chatoyant layers that create a flash which seems to emanate f...
View full detailsSeraphinite 7x9-8x10mm Pebble - 15-16 Inch
Seraphinite's chatoyancy (optical reflectance) gives it a feathery appearance associated with angels (also known as seraphim.) Seraphinite is most ...
View full detailsBrazilian Amazonite 7x9-8x10mm Pebble - 15-16 Inch
Brazilian Amazonite is an opaque blue to green to light green stone, often occurring with inclusions of white, yellow or gray and occasionally tran...
View full detailsPietersite 7x9-8x10mm Pebble - 15-16 Inch
Pietersite has been called the Tempest Stone for its colors of deep blue and gray with metallic gold and flashes of brilliant chatoyancy as it catc...
View full detailsBlue Moonstone 7x9-8x10mm Pebble A Grade - 15-16 Inch
Moonstone naturally occurs in a broad spectrum of colors, but is most commonly associated with white, gray and peach. It's soft chatoyancy is remin...
View full detailsAzurite 7x9-8x10mm Pebble - 15-16 Inch
Azurite is a Copper carbonate mineral that forms in masses, stalactites, botryoidal, and short prismatic crystals. Azurite in crystal form is extre...
View full detailsTiger Eye Mixed Yel/Red/Blue 7x9-8x10mm Pebble - 15-16 Inch
Tiger Eye is a macrocrystalline Quartz stone with bands of rich golds and browns. Its chatoyant layers that create a flash which seems to emanate f...
View full detailsCacoxenite 7x9-8x10mm Pebble - 15-16 Inch
Cacoxenite is the trade name for this naturally occurring blend of seven stone types. It was originally named for the visible inclusions of the min...
View full detailsCharoite 7x9-8x10mm Pebble - 15-16 Inch
Charoite is a stone that naturally occurs in intense purple hues, as well as grays, browns, greenish yellows, white and black. These colors swirl t...
View full detailsChrysocolla 7x9-8x10mm Pebble - 15-16 Inch
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 ...
View full detailsBotswana Agate 7x9-8x10mm Pebble - 15-16 Inch
Botswana Agate displays highly defined parallel banding, usually in white on hues of brown, gray, pink, tan, apricot and purplish red. Botswana Aga...
View full detailsLarimar 7x9-8x10mm Pebble - 15-16 Inch
Larimar is a translucent blue, turquoise and white stone that can have streaks and patterns of white, as well as red or brown either from oxidation...
View full detailsLabradorite 7x9-8x10mm Pebble A Grade - 15-16 Inch
Labradorite is remarkable for the way its aggregate layers refract light, creating iridescent flashes of blue, gold, pale green or copper red. This...
View full detailsBlack Rutilated Quartz 7x9-8x10mm Pebble - 15-16 Inch
Rutilated Quartz is a silicon dioxide mineral with unique needle-like inclusions of Rutile. These “needles” usually appear golden, but can also app...
View full detailsBlue Lace Agate 7x9-8x10mm Pebble - 15-16 Inch
Blue Lace Agate is a naturally occuring soft blue agate, laced with bands or swirls of brighter blue, periwinkle, white and occasionally gray or br...
View full detailsElisa Turquoise 5-6mm Pebble - 15-16 Inch
This turquoise is mined from the Sonora mines in Mexico. Like all other natural turquoise, its coloring is the result of the chemical reaction that...
View full detailsEthiopian Opal 5-6mm Pebble Black - 15-16 Inch
Ethiopian Opal was first discovered in Ethiopia in 1994, with additional major finds in 2008 and 2013. Beautiful specimens of Precious Opal, Fire O...
View full detailsSleeping Beauty Turquoise 5mm Pebble - 15-16 Inch
Dakota Stones’ Sleeping Beauty Turquoise is from the Sleeping Beauty mine in Globe, Arizona — famous for the outstanding robin’s egg blue color and...
View full detailsBanded Aquamarine and Blue Moonstone 6-8mm Pebble - 15-16 Inch
Aquamarine is a transparent to translucent stone ranging from cerulean blue to light blue in higher grades. In lower grades it can be transparent t...
View full detailsBanded Mixed Stone 6-8mm Pebble - 15-16 Inch
The gemstones included in this banded strand are: Amethyst, Aquamarine, Citrine, Peridot, Rose Quartz
Banded Amethyst and Rose Quartz 6-8mm Pebble - 15-16 Inch
Amethyst is a beautiful purple stone, known as a “Gem of Fire” by ancient cultures. It has been greatly sought after throughout history and was at ...
View full detailsBanded Amethyst and Citrine 6-8mm Pebble - 15-16 Inch
Amethyst is a beautiful purple stone, known as a “Gem of Fire” by ancient cultures. It has been greatly sought after throughout history and was at ...
View full detailsBanded Prehnite and Rose Quartz 6-8mm Pebble - 15-16 Inch
Prehnite was the first mineral to be named after a person: its discoverer, Dutch Colonel Hendrik Von Prehn. Von Prehn discovered the stone in South...
View full detailsBanded Blue and Green Apatite 6-8mm Pebble - 15-16 Inch
Blue Apatite ranges in color from light teal to blue to bright blue to dark blue to green. It can be easily confused with other minerals due to its...
View full detailsBanded Citrine and Orange Garnet 6-8mm Pebble - 15-16 Inch
Citrine is a transparent Quartz, ranging in color from pale yellow to golden yellow, honey or brown, giving it a similar appearance to Topaz. It ma...
View full detailsRed Black Super Seven 7x9-8x10mm Pebble A Grade - 15-16 Inch
Super 7, also known as Melody's Stone, is a rare, naturally occurring rock composed of seven specific minerals: amethyst, clear quartz, smoky quart...
View full detailsRed Black Super Seven 4x6-5x7mm Pebble A Grade - 15-16 Inch
Super 7, also known as Melody's Stone, is a rare, naturally occurring rock composed of seven specific minerals: amethyst, clear quartz, smoky quart...
View full detailsTourmaline 7x9-8x10mm Pebble - 15-16-Inch
Tourmaline is classified as a semiprecious stone and occurs in a vast array of colors, everything from colorless to black, from pastel to bright to...
View full detailsSodalite 7x9-8x10mm Pebble A Grade - 15-16-Inch
Sodalite is named for its sodium content and may be classified as a feldspathoid. Blue Sodalite is sometimes referred to as “poor man’s lapis” beca...
View full detailsGreen Rutilated Quartz 7x9-8x10mm Pebble - 15-16-Inch
Rutilated Quartz is a silicon dioxide mineral with unique needle-like inclusions of Rutile. These “needles” usually appear golden, but can also app...
View full detailsRed Rutilated Quartz 7x9-8x10mm Pebble - 15-16-Inch
Rutilated Quartz is a silicon dioxide mineral with unique needle-like inclusions of Rutile. These “needles” usually appear golden, but can also app...
View full detailsRed Garnet 7x9-8x10mm Pebble A Grade - 15-16-Inch
Red Garnet is the most commonly known type of Garnet, which occurs in many colors. Garnet has been used for adornment and spirituality by myriad cu...
View full detailsRussian Amazonite 7x9-8x10mm Pebble A Grade - 15-16-Inch
Russian Amazonite is a translucent blue to green to green or light green stone, occurring with inclusions of white, black or yellow. It is named fo...
View full detailsPeridot 7x9-8x10mm Pebble - 15-16-Inch
Peridot (pair-uh-doe) is one of only two gems, the other being Diamond, that is not formed in the Earth’s crust. Rather, it is born in the molten r...
View full detailsOrange Garnet 7x9-8x10mm Pebble A Grade - 15-16-Inch
Orange or Hessonite Garnet is sometimes called “Cinnamon Stone” for its orange to orange to brown color as well as for its origin in the land of sp...
View full detailsNew Burma Jade 7x9-8x10mm Pebble A Grade - 15-16-Inch
New Burma Jade is the trade name for a semi-translucent serpentine stone available in a variety of green shades including olive, sea green, green, ...
View full detailsGrey Moonstone 7x9-8x10mm Pebble A Grade - 15-16-Inch
Grey Moonstone is named for its grey glow or chatoyancy, as well as a prismatic quality that differentiates it from other varieties of Moonstone. M...
View full detailsMalachite 7x9-8x10mm Pebble - 15-16-Inch
Malachite is a copper carbonate with a bright green color and dark green banding. Usually found near copper deposits, it is formed through the comb...
View full detailsKyanite 7x9-8x10mm Pebble - 15-16-Inch
Kyanite often occurs as long, bladed, striated crystals, transparent or translucent with a pearly luster. An aluminum silicate mineral, it may appe...
View full detailsKunzite 7x9-8x10mm Pebble A Grade - 15-16-Inch
Kunzite was named after a former Tiffany & Co. vice president, famed mineralogist and jeweler George Frederick Kunz, who first catalogued the s...
View full detailsJade 7x9-8x10mm Pebble A Grade - 15-16-Inch
Jade refers to an ornamental mineral, mostly known for its green varieties. Jade has been used for tens of thousands of years, initially as tools b...
View full detailsIolite 7x9-8x10mm Pebble A Grade - 15-16-Inch
Iolite most commonly occurs in shades of blue to gray, violet or indigo. It displays a visual property called “pleochroism,” which means that it ca...
View full detailsDiopside 7x9-8x10mm Pebble - 15-16-Inch
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 detailsFrequently 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.