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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.

DZI Line Agate 6mm Round Red Brown - 15-16 Inch

Original price $13.00 - Original price $13.00
Original price $13.00
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Current price $13.00
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“DZI” Agate is made to resemble beads first found in India between 1000 and 2000 BCE. These reproductions are designed in the traditional color, pa...

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DZI Line Agate 6mm Round Brown - 15-16 Inch

Original price $12.00 - Original price $12.00
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Current price $12.00
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“DZI” Agate is made to resemble beads first found in India between 1000 and 2000 BCE. These reproductions are designed in the traditional color, pa...

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Original price $12.00 - Original price $12.00
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DZI Eye Agate 6mm Round Black Brown - 15-16 Inch

Original price $13.00 - Original price $13.00
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Current price $13.00
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“DZI” Agate is made to resemble beads first found in India between 1000 and 2000 BCE. These reproductions are designed in the traditional color, pa...

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DZI Turtle Agate 6mm Round Green - 15-16 Inch

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“DZI” Agate is made to resemble beads first found in India between 1000 and 2000 BCE. These reproductions are designed in the traditional color, pa...

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Hackmanite 6mm Round - 15-16 Inch

Original price $18.00 - Original price $18.00
Original price $18.00
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Current price $18.00
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Discovered in Greenland in the late 1890's, hackmanite is named for Finnish geologist Victor Hackman. It is a rare occurrence to find gem-grade hac...

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Lapis 6mm Energy Prism Faceted A Grade - 15-16 Inch

Original price $28.00 - Original price $28.00
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Current price $28.00
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Lapis is a semi to precious stone and one of the most sought after throughout history. It is highly regarded for its beautiful blue color flecked w...

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Kingman Turquoise 3-6mm Heishi Graduated - 15-16 Inch

Original price $232.00 - Original price $232.00
Original price $232.00
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Current price $232.00
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Turquoise is an ancient gemstone, one of the first known to man. Known to Egyptian and Aztec cultures thousands of years ago, Turquoise is now mine...

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Wampum Shell 6mm Heishi - 15-16 Inch

Original price $44.00 - Original price $44.00
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Current price $44.00
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Wampum is made from one of the hardest and most beautiful shells in the world: the Northern Quahog, a clam found along the New England coast. The w...

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Ethiopian Opal 5-6mm Pebble Black - 15-16 Inch

Original price $168.00 - Original price $168.00
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Current price $168.00
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Ethiopian Opal was first discovered in Ethiopia in 1994, with additional major finds in 2008 and 2013. Beautiful specimens of Precious Opal, Fire O...

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Amethyst 6mm Star Cut Coin A Grade - 15-16 Inch

Original price $25.00 - Original price $25.00
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Current price $25.00
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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 ...

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Prehnite 6mm Round AAA Grade - 15-16 Inch

Original price $24.00 - Original price $24.00
Original price $24.00
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Current price $24.00
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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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Green Lodalite Quartz 6-7mm Table Cut Cube Bead - 15-16 Inch

Original price $35.00 - Original price $35.00
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Current price $35.00
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Green Lodalite is Quartz with inclusions of sand. These inclusions range broadly in type and color and produce patterns that can look like gardens....

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Citrine 6x11 Smooth Nugget - 15-16 Inch

Original price $181.00 - Original price $181.00
Original price $181.00
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Current price $181.00
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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...

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Pink Mica Quartz 6mm Round A Grade - 15-16 Inch

Original price $23.00 - Original price $23.00
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Current price $23.00
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Mica is a mineral name given to a group of minerals that are physically and chemically similar. They are all silicate minerals, known as sheet sil...

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Tourmaline 6mm Round Banded - 15-16 Inch

Original price $45.00 - Original price $45.00
Original price $45.00
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Current price $45.00
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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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Aquamarine 6mm Faceted Round AAA Grade - 15-16 Inch

Original price $44.00 - Original price $44.00
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Current price $44.00
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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...

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Peach Moonstone 5-6mm Irregular Cube - 15-16 Inch

Original price $12.00 - Original price $12.00
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Current price $12.00
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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...

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Chrysoprase 6-7mm Irregular Cube - 15-16 Inch

Original price $28.00 - Original price $28.00
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Current price $28.00
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Chrysoprase is a bright apple green, translucent stone, whose color often caused ancient jewelers to confuse it with Emerald. A cryptocrystalline C...

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Sapphire 5-6mm Irregular Cube - 15-16 Inch

Original price $32.00 - Original price $32.00
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Current price $32.00
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Sapphires are precious gemstones, but unlike rubies, they come in a rainbow of colors besides red! They are all varieties of the mineral corundum,...

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Peruvian Turquoise (Chrysocolla) 5-6mm Irregular Cube - 15-16 Inch

Original price $16.00 - Original price $16.00
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Peruvian Turquoise is also known as Turquoise Chrysocolla. It’s attractive blue-green provides a unique color to the mineral world. Peruvian Turquo...

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Black Moonstone 6-8mm Irregular Cube - 15-16 Inch

Original price $20.00 - Original price $20.00
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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...

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Black Moonstone 5-6mm Irregular Cube - 15-16 Inch

Original price $12.00 - Original price $12.00
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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...

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Selenite 6mm Round Pastel Rainbow (Dyed) - 15-16 Inch

Original price $20.00 - Original price $20.00
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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...

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Lapis 6mm Star Cut Coin A Grade - 15-16 Inch

Original price $28.00 - Original price $28.00
Original price $28.00
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Current price $28.00
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Lapis is a semi to precious stone and one of the most sought after throughout history. It is highly regarded for its beautiful blue color flecked w...

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Brazillian Amazonite 6mm Star Cut Coin A Grade - 15-16 Inch

Original price $25.00 - Original price $25.00
Original price $25.00
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Current price $25.00
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Brazilian Amazonite is an opaque blue to green to light green stone, often occurring with inclusions of white, yellow or gray and occasionally tran...

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Blue Apatite 6mm Star Cut Coin A Grade - 15-16 Inch

Original price $28.00 - Original price $28.00
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Current price $28.00
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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...

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Champagne Garnet 3-6mm Graduated Faceted Rondelle - 17-18 Inch

Original price $580.00 - Original price $580.00
Original price $580.00
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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...

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Original price $580.00 - Original price $580.00
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Chocolate Selenite 6mm Round - 15-16 Inch

Original price $20.00 - Original price $20.00
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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...

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Green Imperial Jasper 6mm Round - 15-16 Inch

Original price $14.00 - Original price $14.00
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Current price $14.00
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Imperial Jasper occurs naturally in a beautiful range of colors including pinks, mossy greens, burgundy and milky white, with striking patterns of ...

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Eudialyte 6mm Round - 15-16 Inch

Original price $10.00 - Original price $10.00
Original price $10.00
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Current price $10.00
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Eudialyte is a complex silicate mineral that most commonly forms in granular patterns. It is usually found within coarse grained rocks and contains...

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Golden Topaz 6mm Faceted Round - 15-16 Inch

Original price $22.00 - Original price $22.00
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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...

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Blue Topaz 6mm Faceted Round A Grade - 15-16 Inch

Original price $41.00 - Original price $41.00
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Current price $41.00
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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...

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Original price $41.00 - Original price $41.00
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Golden Sunstone 6mm Faceted Round - 15-16 Inch

Original price $24.00 - Original price $24.00
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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...

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Black Sunstone 6mm Faceted Round - 15-16 Inch

Original price $22.00 - Original price $22.00
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Current price $22.00
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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...

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Original price $22.00 - Original price $22.00
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Sodalite 6mm Faceted Round - 15-16 Inch

Original price $14.00 - Original price $14.00
Original price $14.00
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Current price $14.00
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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...

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Pietersite 6mm Faceted Round - 15-16 Inch

Original price $22.00 - Original price $22.00
Original price $22.00
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Current price $22.00
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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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Yellow Opal 6mm Faceted Round - 15-16 Inch

Original price $26.00 - Original price $26.00
Original price $26.00
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Current price $26.00
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Yellow Opal is transparent to opaque, milky white to pale yellow in color. It sometimes features dark brown to black dendritic inclusions that bran...

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Red Hematoid Quartz 6mm Faceted Round - 15-16 Inch

Original price $22.00 - Original price $22.00
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Hematoid Quartz is Quartz with inclusions of hematite. The hematite inclusions are responsible for the stone’s color, which can be yellow, orange, ...

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Mixed Lodalite Quartz 6mm Faceted Round - 15-16 Inch

Original price $22.00 - Original price $22.00
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Mixed Lodolite is Quartz with inclusions of sand. These inclusions range broadly in type and color and produce patterns that can look like gardens....

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Mixed Moonstone 6mm Faceted Round Banded - 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. It's soft chatoyancy is remin...

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Black Gold Amazonite 6mm Faceted Round Banded - 15-16 Inch

Original price $18.00 - Original price $18.00
Original price $18.00
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Black Gold Amazonite is a member of the Feldspar family and varies in hue from robin’s egg blue to blue-green to black, occasionally mingled with r...

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Orange Garnet 6mm Faceted Round - 15-16 Inch

Original price $22.00 - Original price $22.00
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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...

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Wood Rhodonite 6mm Round - 15-16 Inch

Original price $12.00 - Original price $12.00
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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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White Howlite 6mm Round - 15-16 Inch

Original price $9.00 - Original price $9.00
Original price $9.00
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White Howlite is named for Canadian mineralogist Henry How, who first discovered the stone in Southern California in 1868. It is typically white or...

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Smoky Quartz 6mm Round - 15-16 Inch

Original price $18.00 - Original price $18.00
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Smoky Quartz is a translucent smoky brown or gray variety of Quartz. It ranges from almost completely transparent to an almost opaque brownish to g...

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Sunset Dumortierite 6mm Round - 15-16 Inch

Original price $12.00 - Original price $12.00
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Sunset Dumortierite has a much brighter palette than regular Dumortierite, from light blue to lapis blue to cobalt, as well as some occurrences of ...

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Olive Jade 6mm Round - 15-16 Inch

Original price $10.00 - Original price $10.00
Original price $10.00
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Jade is the industry name for this beautiful deep green stone. Ours is actually a Serpentine, but takes a trained eye and a microscope to discern t...

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Golden Tiger Eye 6mm Round - 15-16 Inch

Original price $14.00 - Original price $14.00
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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...

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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.