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
Blue Apatite 10mm A Grade Round - 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 detailsSodalite 10mm Round AAA 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 detailsAfrican Jade (A) 10mm Round 15-16 Inch
African Jade is a complex Calcium Aluminum Silicate and is a Nephrite Jade. Its bright green coloration is due to traces of chromium. Metaphysicall...
View full detailsAmethyst 10mm Round Faceted - 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 detailsAmethyst 10mm Faceted Energy Prism - 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 detailsAmethyst Plated 10mm Round Faceted - 15-16 Inch - CLEARANCE
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 detailsAngelite 10mm Round - 15-16 Inch
A natural blue form of calcium sulfate, it raises the state of conscious awareness and facilitates contact with your angels. It is mined in Peru. I...
View full detailsAustralian Green Opal 10mm Round Faceted - 15-16 Inch - CLEARANCE
Australian Green Opal is a variety of Common Opal which is a mixture of Opal and nontronite. Common Opal is generally opaque, without the play of c...
View full detailsAquamarine 10mm Faceted Energy Prism - 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 detailsAquamarine Green Yellow Mix Natural 10mm Round - 15-16 Inch - CLEARANCE
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 detailsAquamarine Multi Natural 10mm Round A Grade - 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 detailsArtistic Jasper 10mm Round - 15-16 Inch
Artistic Stone has beautiful, intricate patterns of minute black flecks, bands, and veins within the tan, cream, gray and mauve stone. It is made u...
View full detailsAustralian Butter Jasper 10mm Round - 15-16 Inch
The description, “buttery,” has been often applied to unlikely products, and it might be easy to understand why. “Butter” suggests qualities of smo...
View full detailsAustralian Green Opal Light Green 10mm Round A Grade - 15-16 Inch - CLEARANCE
Australian Green Opal is a variety of Common Opal which is a mixture of Opal and nontronite. Common Opal is generally opaque, without the play of c...
View full detailsBayong 10mm Round 15-16 Inch
Bayong is a hardwood native to the Philippines with a natural red-brown color, and is similar to Mahogany.Like all of Dakota Stones items, our wood...
View full detailsDZI Agate 10mm Round Black Line Pattern - 15-16 Inch
These Dakota Stones "DZI" style agate beads are made to resemble beads first found in India between 1000 and 2000 BCE. These reproductions are desi...
View full detailsBlack Eye Agate 10mm Round 15-16 Inch
Black Eye Agate is a variety of Sardonyx which has a Sard base, typically of brown or black, with bands of white Onyx running through it. Sard is n...
View full detailsBlack Tourmalinated Quartz 10mm Round - 15-16 Inch
Tourmaline naturally occurs in a full color spectrum and is used as both a trade name and as a gemological name for a group of minerals of varying ...
View full detailsBlack Tourmaline 10mm Round - 15-16 Inch
Black Tourmaline is a black crystalline aluminum borosilicate mineral with occasional light gray inclusions that appear as flecks or veins. Tourmal...
View full detailsBloodstone 10mm Round 15-16 Inch
Bloodstone most commonly refers to green Jasper with red inclusions consisting of Hematite. Naturally occurring in hues of blue-green to green with...
View full detailsBlue & Yellow Tiger Eye 10mm Round - 15-16 Inch
Blue Tiger Eye is a naturally occurring dark stone with chatoyant layers that create a flash which seems to emanate from within the stone as they c...
View full detailsBlue Apatite 10mm Round Faceted - 15-16 Inch - CLEARANCE
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 detailsBlue Chalcedony (Marbled) 10mm Round 15-16 Inch
Blue Chalcedony is a naturally occurring soft blue translucent stone. It is a member of the Quartz family, a form of silica with a cryptocrystallin...
View full detailsBlue Moonstone Plated Black Dot 10mm Round Faceted - 15-16 Inch - CLEARANCE
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 detailsBlue Porcelain Agate 10mm Round - 15-16 Inch
Porcelain Agate is a natural agate that is dyed and heated to give it the unique blue color and pattern that resembles porcelain.
Botswana Agate 10mm Round 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 detailsBrazilian Amazonite Plated 10mm Round Faceted - 15-16 Inch - CLEARANCE
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 detailsCacoxenite 10mm Round - 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 detailsChakra 10mm Round Large Hole - 15-16 Inch
Our Chakra strands are comprised of Amethyst, Lapis, Blue Apatite, Green Aventurine, Citrine, Carnelian, Red Garnet and Crystal Quartz.Amethyst is ...
View full detailsCharoite 10mm Round - 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 detailsCitrine 10mm Faceted Round - 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 detailsCrazy Lace Agate 10mm Round - 15-16 Inch
Crazy Lace Agate is named for its swirling and circular patterns. Crazy Lace Agate is often dyed to produce colors that do not naturally occur in t...
View full detailsCrystal Quartz 10mm Round - 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 detailsDalmation Jasper 10mm Round - 15-16 Inch
Dalmation Jasper is the trade name for Dalmation Stone, which is not Jasper but rather a combination of Feldspar and Quartz. It is opaque, creamy w...
View full detailsDendritic Black Opal 10mm Round - 15-16 Inch
This variety of opal is named "dendritic" for the small inclusions within it that resemble moss or ferns. These inclusions consist of iron, mangane...
View full detailsDZI Agate Circle Pattern 10mm Round 15-16 Inch
These Dakota Stones "DZI" style agate beads are made to resemble beads first found in India between 1000 and 2000 BCE. These reproductions are desi...
View full detailsEagle Eye Stone (A) 10mm Round - 15-16 Inch
Similar to Tiger's Eye, this gemstone in its polished state looks like what it would be like to capture smoke in a stone -- bottomless black mixed ...
View full detailsFluorite 10mm Round - 15-16 Inch
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-afte...
View full detailsGolden Sunstone 10mm Round - 15-16 Inch
Sunstone, a variety of Feldspar, is aptly named for its shades of gold, orange, red and brown, as well as its iridescent sparkle. As the stone catc...
View full detailsGolden Sunstone 10mm Round Faceted A Grade - 15-16 Inch - CLEARANCE
Sunstone, a variety of Feldspar, is aptly named for its shades of gold, orange, red and brown, as well as its iridescent sparkle. As the stone catc...
View full detailsGolden Sunstone Natural 10mm Round AA Grade - 15-16 Inch
Sunstone, a variety of Feldspar, is aptly named for its shades of gold, orange, red and brown, as well as its iridescent sparkle. As the stone catc...
View full detailsGraywood 10mm Round Bead - 15-16 Inch
Like all of Dakota Stones items, our wood beads are top quality and sourced from the best ethically produced manufacturers. Natural wood beads have...
View full detailsGray Wood 6mm Rondelle - 15-16 Inch
Like all of Dakota Stones items, our wood beads are top quality and sourced from the best ethically produced manufacturers. Natural wood beads have...
View full detailsGreen Lodalite Quartz 10mm Round - 15-16 Inch
Green Lodolite is Quartz with inclusions of sand. These inclusions range broadly in type and color and produce patterns that can look like gardens....
View full detailsIndigo Gabbro 10mm Round - 15-16 Inch
Indigo gabbro is a color variant of the igneous mineral, gabbro. Typically, this color forms black, but occasionally gabbro comes in oranges and gr...
View full detailsIolite Faceted 10mm Energy Prism - 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 detailsIolite 10mm Faceted Round - 15-16 Inch - CLEARANCE
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 detailsK2 10mm Round - 15-16 Inch
K2 is a stone recently discovered in the foothills of the mountain for which it is named, K2, in the Karakoram mountain range of Pakistan. It is a ...
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.