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 4mm 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 detailsAmethyst 4mm Round Faceted A Grade - 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 detailsAngelite 4mm 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 detailsAquamarine 4mm Cube Table Cut - 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 4mm Faceted Coin 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 4mm Faceted Round 15-16
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 4mm Round Faceted 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 detailsAquamarine Natural 4mm Faceted Round AAA 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 4mm 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 detailsArusha Sunstone 4mm Microfaceted Round - 15-16 Inch
Arusha Sunstone is a combination of Feldspar and Beryl.
Australian Boulder Opal 4mm Faceted Round - 15-16 Inch
Boulder Opal is a golden-brown to dark brown stone, displaying these colors in patterns of parallel bands. It is considered a precious Opal, and fo...
View full detailsAustralian Chrysoprase 4mm Natural Cube Banded, Faceted, A-Grade - 15-16 Inch
Australian Chrysoprase 4mm Cube Faceted, Banded, With Brown - 15-16 Inch
Chrysoprase is a bright apple green, translucent stone, whose color often caused ancient jewelers to confuse it with Emerald. A cryptocrystalline C...
View full detailsAustralian Chrysoprase Banded 4mm Faceted Round A Grade - 15-16 Inch
Azurite 4mm Faceted Round - 15-16 Inch
Azurite is a soft, deep-blue copper mineral produced by weathering of copper ore deposits. It is best known for its characteristic deep blue to vio...
View full detailsBayong 4mm 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 detailsBiotite Black 4mm Round - 15-16 Inch
Black Opal Australian, Faceted 4mm Round - 15-16 Inch
Black Opal is a naturally occurring variety of precious opal mined in Australia. this opal variety is characterized by their dark base tone. It is ...
View full detailsBlack Spinel 4mm Faceted Round - 15-16 Inch
Spinel is a hard vitreous magnesium aluminum oxide, and comes in a range of other colors, but those varieties are transparent. Black Spinel not onl...
View full detailsBlack Spinel 4mm Natural Round - 15-16 Inch
Spinel is a hard vitreous magnesium aluminum oxide, and comes in a range of other colors, but those varieties are transparent. Black Spinel not onl...
View full detailsBlood Quartz 4mm Faceted Round - 15-16 Inch
Blood Quartz is a clear to milky-white silicon dioxide mineral. Its inclusions of red, orange and rust are due to traces of hematite within the sto...
View full detailsBloodstone 4mm 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 Apatite 4mm Faceted Coin 15-16 Inch
Blue Apatite ranges in color from light teal-blue to bright blue to dark blue-green. It can be easily confused with other minerals due to its varie...
View full detailsBlue Apatite 4mm Faceted Round 15-16
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 Apatite 4mm Faceted Bicone - 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 detailsBlue Lace Agate 4mm Faceted Coin 15-16 Inch
Blue Lace Agate is a naturally occurring soft blue agate, laced with bands or swirls of brighter blue, periwinkle, white and occasionally gray or b...
View full detailsBlue Moonstone Faceted 4mm Round - 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 detailsBlue Tourmaline 4mm Round Faceted - 15-16 Inch
Blue Tourmaline ranges in color from green to blue to yellow to green with black, milky white and clear, colorless inclusions. It is an aluminum bo...
View full detailsBotswana Agate 4mm 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 4mm Faceted Round 15-16
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 4mm Lantern Faceted - 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 4mm Faceted Bicone - 15-16 Inch
Our Chakra strands are comprised of Amethyst, Lapis, Blue Apatite, Green Aventurine, Citrine, Carnelian, Red Garnet and Crystal Quartz. Amethyst ...
View full detailsChakra 4mm Faceted Double Heart - 15-16 Inch
Our Chakra strands are comprised of Amethyst, Lapis, Blue Apatite, Green Aventurine, Citrine, Carnelian, Red Garnet and Crystal Quartz. Amethyst i...
View full detailsChakra 4mm Faceted Lantern - 15-16 Inch
Our Chakra strands are comprised of Amethyst, Lapis, Blue Apatite, Green Aventurine, Citrine, Carnelian, Red Garnet and Crystal Quartz. Amethyst i...
View full detailsChrysoprase Faceted 4mm Cube - 15-16 Inch
Chrysoprase is a bright apple green, translucent stone, whose color often caused ancient jewelers to confuse it with Emerald. A cryptocrystalline C...
View full detailsCitrine 4mm Cube Table Cut - 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 4mm 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 4mm 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 4mm 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 detailsEmerald 3x4mm Rondelle Faceted - 15-16 Inch
Emerald is one of the four “precious” gemstones, the others being Diamond, Ruby and Sapphire. It is the green form of Beryl, colored by trace amoun...
View full detailsGolden Sunstone 3x4mm Rondelle Faceted - 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 4mm Round Faceted 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 detailsGolden Sunstone Natural 4mm Table Cut Cube Bead - 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 detailsGreen and Yellow Banded Tourmaline 4mm Faceted Coin - 15-16 Inch
Green Tourmaline ranges in color from pale green to dark emerald to shades of olive and moss green. It is an aluminum borosilicate mixed with iron,...
View full detailsGreen Apatite 4mm Faceted Round Banded - 15-16 Inch
Green Apatite is a transparent to translucent stone that may be green, yellow to green or sea to green in color. Apatite has been labeled the “dece...
View full detailsGreen Garnet 4mm Faceted Round Banded - 15-16 Inch
Green Garnet can be among the most valuable of garnets, which come in a variety of colors. Occurring in sizes ranging from a grain of sand to the s...
View full detailsGreen Kyanite 3x4mm Rondelle Faceted AA Grade - 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 detailsGreen Lodalite Quartz 4mm Lantern - 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 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.