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
Ruby 6mm Rondelle Faceted - 15-16 Inch
Ruby is a precious gemstone known for its deep red color. It is a variety of the mineral corundum, the second-hardest mineral next to diamond . The...
View full detailsRuby Pink Purple Natural 6mm Faceted Round Banded - 15-16 Inch
Ruby is a precious gemstone known for its deep red color. It is a variety of the mineral corundum, the second-hardest mineral next to diamond . The...
View full detailsRuby Zoisite 6mm Round 15-16 Inch
Ruby Zoisite occurs naturally when small Ruby crystals become embedded within Zoisite. The Ruby inclusions in this stone are pink to reddish purple...
View full detailsRed Lightning Agate 6mm Round - 15-16 inch
Red Lightning Agate is predominantly red with swirls and mottling of green, gray and white. Agate is one of many varieties of banded Chalcedony, pr...
View full detailsSapphire 6mm Faceted Round 15-16 Inch
Sapphires are precious gemstones, but unlike rubies, they come in a rainbow of colors besides red! They are all varieties of the mineral corundum,...
View full detailsSelenite 6mm Round A Grade 15-16 Inch
Selenite is a crystal formed from the mineral gypsum, which comes in many forms and color variations, but has been used historically to describe th...
View full detailsShattuckite 6mm Round - 15-16 Inch
Shattuckite is a rare copper silicate hydroxide mineral. It occurs in bright turquoise blues and darker blues as well as rust reds, commonly with i...
View full detailsShungite 6mm Rondelle - 15-16 Inch
Shungite is a black, lustrous, non-crystalline mineraloid consisting of a high percentage of carbon. It was first found in a deposit near Shunga vi...
View full detailsShungite 6mm Round - 15-16 Inch
Shungite is a black, lustrous, non-crystalline mineraloid consisting of a high percentage of carbon. It was first found in a deposit near Shunga vi...
View full detailsSodalite 6-7mm Table Cut Cube Bead - 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 detailsStrawberry Quartz Natural 6-7mm Table Cut Cube - 15-16 Inch
Strawberry Quartz is a translucent, milky to pink silicon dioxide mineral. Its needle to like inclusions of hematite are iridescent red. Quartz has...
View full detailsTerahertz 4x6mm Rice Faceted - 15-16 Inch
Terahertz is a spectacular man made ore. It shines and sparkles like a diamond making it an exceptional addition to any jewelry piece. It has treme...
View full detailsTerahertz 4x6mm Rondelle Faceted - 15-16 Inch - CLEARANCE
Terahertz is a spectacular man made ore. It shines and sparkles like a diamond making it an exceptional addition to any jewelry piece. It has treme...
View full detailsTerahertz 6mm Lantern Faceted - 15-16 Inch
Terahertz is a spectacular man made ore. It shines and sparkles like a diamond making it an exceptional addition to any jewelry piece. It has treme...
View full detailsTerra Agate Red 6mm Round - 15-16 Inch
A form of chalcedony made of quartz, Terra Agate contains the best of nature in a variety of small shapes. Our Red Terra Agate is dyed to give a un...
View full detailsTiger Eye 6mm Round - 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 detailsTopaz 6mm Round A Grade - 15-16 Inch
Topaz is a rare silicate mineral and obtains much of its popularity from its beautiful colors and its status as a birthstone. Topaz occurs in a wi...
View full detailsTourmalated Quartz Green 6mm Round - 15-16 Inch
Tourmalated Quartz is clear Quartz that has formed with Black Tourmaline. These needle to like black inclusions of Tourmaline are quite striking wi...
View full detailsTsavorite Green Garnet 6mm Round - 15-16 Inch
Green Garnet can be among the most valuable of garnets, especially Tsavorite Garnet. Occurring in sizes ranging from a grain of sand to the size of...
View full detailsDZI Agate 6mm Round White 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 detailsDZI Agate 6mm Round Watermelon Black/White - 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 detailsAmazonite 6mm Round A Grade - 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 detailsRed Aventurine 6mm Round - 15-16 Inch
Red Aventurine is a peach to orange colored translucent Quartz with inclusions of Mica or other minerals. These inclusions give it a glistening eff...
View full detailsBronzite 6mm Round - 15-16 Inch
Bronzite is a brown stone with a bronze to colored metallic luster due to iron deposits within the stone. An orthoproxene mineral, it is believed t...
View full detailsBlue Goldstone 6mm Round - 15-16 Inch
Blue Goldstone is an opaque, midnight blue glass with flecks of copper suspended within it. These flecks glitter as they catch the light and may ap...
View full detailsMexican Red Snowflake Jasper 6mm Round - 15-16 Inch
Mexican Red Snowflake Jasper is a naturally occurring Jasper with deep red, bright red, pink and golden mottling and spots within the primarily bla...
View full detailsMahogany Obsidian 6mm Round - 15-16 Inch
Essentially a volcanic glass, Obsidian ranges in color from opaque black, to green, brown, mahogany, black with rainbow colors, black with snowflak...
View full detailsGreen Goldstone 6mm Round - 15-16 Inch
Green Goldstone is an opaque, almost black glass with flecks of copper suspended within it. These flecks glitter as they catch the light and appear...
View full detailsGolden Obsidian 6mm Round - 15-16 Inch
Golden Obsidian is a naturally occurring volcanic glass, shiny black with a golden sheen. Obsidian is produced when lava erupts from a volcano and ...
View full detailsPrehnite with Rutilate 6mm Round - 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 detailsPorcelain Jasper 6mm Round - 15-16 Inch
Porcelain Jasper is a brecciated (broken) Jasper originally found on a gold claim high in the Sierra Madre mountains of Mexico, where it continues ...
View full detailsRed Jasper 6mm Round - 15-16 Inch
Red Jasper is an aggregate of microcrystalline quartz and/or chalcedony and other minerals. The opaque stone’s red color is due to high iron conten...
View full detailsFlower Jade 6mm Round - 15-16 Inch
Flower Jade is a form of Jadeite, a sodium aluminum silicate and one of the two minerals that are commonly known as “Jade,” the other being Nephrit...
View full detailsGolden Tiger Eye with Yellow and Blue 6mm Round - 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 detailsRed Tiger Eye 6mm Round - 15-16 Inch
Red Tiger Eye is actually Brown Tiger Eye which has been heat treated to bring out the red color. This macrocrystalline Quartz stone has chatoyant ...
View full detailsRed Tiger Iron 6mm Round - 15-16 Inch
Composed mostly of tiger's eye, red jasper and black hematite, Tiger Iron has long been popular with jewelry-makers. The gold, silver, brown and re...
View full detailsPolychrome Jasper 6mm Round - 15-16 Inch
Polychrome Jasper is considered one of the rarest Jaspers in the world. First discovered in 2006, it is exclusively sourced from a single small dep...
View full detailsSilver Crazy Lace Agate 6mm Round - 15-16 Inch
Silver Crazy Lace Agate is a naturally occurring form of Crazy Lace Agate, a banded Chalcedony that is predominantly white with layers of brown, gr...
View full detailsGreen Tsavorite Garnet 5.5mm Round A Grade - 15-16 Inch
Garnets are a group of silicate minerals that have been used since the Bronze Age as gemstones and abrasives. All species of garnets possess simila...
View full detailsIolite with Flash 6mm Round - 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 detailsAmetrine 6mm Round A Grade - 15-16 Inch
Ametrine is quartz that occurs in bands of purple and yellow. As the name suggests, it is a combination of Amethyst and Citrine. The different colo...
View full detailsKyanite Multi 6mm Round - 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 detailsPink Rhodochrosite With Matrix 6mm Round - 15-16 Inch
Rhodochrosite is a bubblegum pink to rose red stone, with occasional inclusions of creamy white and dark grey. A manganese carbonate material of th...
View full detailsStrawberry Quartz Cherry 6mm Round A Grade - 15-16 Inch
Strawberry Quartz is a translucent, milky to pink silicon dioxide mineral. Its needle to like inclusions of hematite are iridescent red. Quartz has...
View full detailsFluorite 6mm Round A Grade - 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 to a...
View full detailsGraphic Feldspar 6mm Round - 15-16 Inch
Feldspars are a group of rock-forming aluminum tectosilicate minerals, containing sodium, calcium, potassium or barium. The most common members of ...
View full detailsGoldstone 6mm Round - 15-16 Inch
Goldstone is a manmade material, consisting of opaque rust to red glass with tiny flecks of glittering copper suspended within it. Goldstone was fi...
View full detailsStrawberry Quartz 6mm Round AA Grade - 15-16 Inch
Strawberry Quartz is a translucent, milky to pink silicon dioxide mineral. Its needle to like inclusions of hematite are iridescent red. Quartz has...
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.