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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.

Madre de Cacao Wood 6mm Round Bead - 15-16 Inch

Original price $9.00 - Original price $9.00
Original price $9.00
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Current price $9.00
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Madre de Cacao is a very hard tropical wood with a visible grain. This species is formally identified as Gliricidia sepium and can be found by diff...

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MATTE River Stone 6mm Round - 15-16 Inch

Original price $12.00 - Original price $12.00
Original price $12.00
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Current price $12.00
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River Stone is a form of limestone composed of quartz, calcium carbonate and other materials. Naturally beautiful, it offers a way to work a neutra...

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Mexican Laguna Lace Agate 6mm Round - 15-16 inch

Original price $17.00 - Original price $17.00
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Original price $17.00 - Original price $17.00
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Mixed Stone 6mm Round 15-16 Inch

Original price $7.00 - Original price $7.00
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Original price $7.00 - Original price $7.00
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Mookaite 6mm Energy Prism - 15-16 Inch

Original price $18.00 - Original price $18.00
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Current price $18.00
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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...

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Mookaite 6mm Round -15-16 Inch

Original price $9.00 - Original price $9.00
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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...

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Moonstone 6mm Round 15-16 Inch

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Rainbow Moonstone is named for its moon-like glow or chatoyancy, as well as a prismatic quality that differentiates it from other varieties of Moon...

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Moonstone Banded 6mm Round - 15-16 Inch

Original price $20.00 - Original price $20.00
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Rainbow Moonstone is named for its moon-like glow or chatoyancy, as well as a prismatic quality that differentiates it from other varieties of Moon...

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Morganite 6mm Faceted Coin 15-16 Inch

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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...

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Morganite Banded 6mm Round - 15-16 Inch

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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...

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Moss Agate 6mm Round 15-16 Inch

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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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Multi Tourmaline 6mm Double Heart Faceted - 15-16 Inch

Original price $27.00 - Original price $27.00
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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...

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Multi Tourmaline 6mm Faceted Coin - 15-16 Inch

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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...

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Multi Tourmaline 6mm Round - 15-16 Inch

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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...

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Multi Tourmaline 6mm Round Faceted- 15-16 Inch

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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...

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Multi Tourmaline 6mm Star Cut Round 15-16 Inch

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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...

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Nangka Wood 6mm Round Bead - 15-16 Inch

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Nangka is the name commonly used in the Philippines for the Jackfruit Tree, which can be found throughout South and Southeast Asia. Its proper name...

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Noreena Jasper 6mm Round - 15-16 inch

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Noreena Jasper is a silicified pelite or mudstone mined in the Pilbara region of Western Australia. It is known for its abstract designs in rusty r...

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Obicular Jasper 6mm Round - 15-16 inch

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Ocean Jasper 6mm Round 15-16 Inch

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Ocean Jasper is a commercial name for Orbicular Jasper, a variety of Jasper containing variably colored spherical patterns. It forms when Quartz an...

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Peach Moonstone 6mm Double Heart Faceted A Grade - 15-16 Inch

Original price $27.00 - Original price $27.00
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Moonstone naturally occurs in a broad spectrum of colors, but is most commonly associated with white, gray and peach. Its soft chatoyancy is remins...

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Peach Moonstone 4x6mm Rondelle Faceted A Grade - 15-16 Inch

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Moonstone naturally occurs in a broad spectrum of colors, but is most commonly associated with white, gray and peach. Its soft chatoyancy is remins...

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Peach Moonstone 6mm Round - 15-16 Inch

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Moonstone naturally occurs in a broad spectrum of colors, but is most commonly associated with white, gray and peach. Its soft chatoyancy is remini...

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Pietersite 6mm Round 15-16 Inch

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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...

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Pink Opal 6mm Natural Energy Prism Faceted - 15-16 Inch

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Original price $26.00 - Original price $26.00
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Pink Tourmaline with Pink Lepidolite 6mm Round - 15-16 Inch

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Pink Tourmaline ranges in color from light pink to deep magenta, with inclusions of white to colorless translucent or transparent. Tourmaline occur...

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Prehnite 6mm Coin Faceted A Grade - 15-16 Inch

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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...

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Prehnite 6mm Double Heart Faceted A Grade - 15-16 Inch

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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...

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Prehnite 6mm Round Faceted A Grade - 15-16 Inch

Original price $21.00 - Original price $21.00
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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...

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Prehnite Natural 6-7mm Table Cut Cube A Grade - 15-16 Inch

Original price $35.00 - Original price $35.00
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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...

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Queen Conch Shell 6mm Round A-Grade - 15-16 Inch

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Original price $58.00 - Original price $58.00
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Rainbow Jade (Natural) 6mm Round - 15-16 Inch

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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...

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Rainbow Moonstone 6mm Coin Faceted A Grade - 15-16 Inch

Original price $23.00 - Original price $23.00
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Rainbow Moonstone is named for its moon-like glow or chatoyancy, as well as a prismatic quality that differentiates it from other varieties of Moon...

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Rainbow Obsidian 6mm Round - 15-16 inch

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Rainbow Obsidian earned its name from the chatoyant, rainbow effect of light refracting off of the air bubbles inside of the stone. Like all obsidi...

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Red Botswana Agate 6mm Round - 15-16 Inch

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Red Botswana Agate displays highly defined parallel banding, usually in white on hues of brown, gray, pink, tan, apricot and purplish red. Botswana...

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Red Creek Jasper 6mm Round - 15-16 inch

Original price $9.00 - Original price $9.00
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Red Creek Jasper is named for the Red River in china where the stone was recently discovered. Its colors include burnt red, mustard yellow, olive g...

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Red Garnet 6mm Double Heart Faceted - 15-16 Inch

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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...

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Red Garnet 6mm Energy Prism - 15-16 Inch

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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...

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Red Garnet 6mm Round Faceted 15-16 Inch

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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...

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Red Garnet Natural 6-7mm Table Cut Cube Bead - 15-16 Inch

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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...

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Rhodochrosite 6mm Coin Faceted - 15-16 Inch

Original price $32.00 - Original price $32.00
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Rhodochrosite is a bubblegum pink to rose red stone, with occasional inclusions of creamy white and dark grey. A manganese carbonate material of th...

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Rhodochrosite 4x6mm Rondelle Faceted - 15-16 Inch

Original price $55.00 - Original price $55.00
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Rhodochrosite is a bubblegum pink to rose red stone, with occasional inclusions of creamy white and dark grey. A manganese carbonate material of th...

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Rhodonite 6-7mm Table Cut Cube A Grade - 15-16 Inch

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Rhodonite, whose name is derived from the Greek word for Rose, “rhodon,” is known for its pink, red and magenta hues. A Manganese inosilicate (or c...

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River Stone 6mm Round 15-16 Inch

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River Stone is a form of limestone composed of quartz, calcium carbonate and other materials. Naturally beautiful, it offers a way to work a neutra...

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Robles Wood 6mm Round Bead - 15-16 Inch

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Robles is a light, strong tropical wood native to the Philippines.  Like all of Dakota Stones items, our wood beads are top quality and sourced fr...

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Rocky Butte 6mm Faceted Round - 15-16 Inch

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Rocky Butte Jasper is mined in Oregon and may have either dendritic or landscape qualities. It may also be called Rocky Butte Picture Jasper. The c...

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Rose Quartz Dyed 6mm Tear Drop Faceted - 15-16 Inch

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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...

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Rosewood 6mm Round Bead - 15-16 Inch

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Rosewood is a hardwood found in the Phillipines. The soft, blush color is deceptive, this wood variety is so hard that it is often used in heavy co...

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Frequently asked questions

  • 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.