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: 2265
Poppy Jasper 6mm Round - 15-16 Inch
Jasper has a long and illustrious history, having been worn by shamans, priests and kings and believed to be a powerful protection stone. Ancient E...
View full detailsRed Porcelain Jasper 4mm 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 detailsAfrican Jade with Quartz 6mm Round - 15-16 Inch
West African Jade is a complex Calcium Aluminum Silicate and is a Nephrite Jade. Its bright green coloration is due to traces of chromium. Metaphys...
View full detailsRed Porcelain Jasper 8mm 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 detailsAstrophyllite 8mm Round - 15-16 Inch
Astrophyllite is a very rare, brown to golden-yellow hydrous potassium iron titanium silicate mineral. Astrophyllite gets its name from the Greek w...
View full detailsAstrophyllite 6mm Round - 15-16 Inch
Astrophyllite is a very rare, brown to golden-yellow hydrous potassium iron titanium silicate mineral. Astrophyllite gets its name from the Greek w...
View full detailsWhite African Opal 6mm Round w/ Red Matrix - 15-16 Inch
White African Opal is a white to cream to light tan stone with veining of black or gray. Like all Opals, it is a form of hydrated amorphous silica,...
View full detailsRed Porcelain 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 detailsAfrican Jade with Quartz 10mm Round - 15-16 Inch
West African Jade is a complex Calcium Aluminum Silicate and is a Nephrite Jade. Its bright green coloration is due to traces of chromium. Metaphys...
View full detailsAfrican Turquoise 10mm Round AAA Grade - 15-16 Inch
African Turquoise is not actually Turquoise, but rather a speckled teal Jasper found in Africa and often treated to simulate the beautiful blue to ...
View full detailsOrange Calcite 6mm Round AAA Grade - 15-16 Inch
Calcite is a rock-forming mineral that is extremely common and found throughout the world in sedimentary, metamorphic, and igneous rocks. Calcite i...
View full detailsBlue Lace Agate 6mm Round A Grade - 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 detailsPlum Tourmaline 10mm Round - 15-16 Inch
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...
View full detailsBicolor Sunstone 4mm 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 detailsBicolor 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 detailsAustralian Chrysoprase 4mm Round - 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 detailsPeruvian Chrysocolla 10mm Round A Grade - 15-16 Inch
Chrysocolla, a hydrous copper silicate, is often mistaken for turquoise due to its rich blues and blue to greens. It often also occurs with colors ...
View full detailsSodalite 6mm Round - 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 detailsBicolor Sunstone 6mm 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 detailsGreen and White Jade 10mm Round - 15-16 Inch
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...
View full detailsBlack Mica 10mm Round A Grade - 15-16 Inch
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...
View full detailsJadeite 6mm Round - 15-16 Inch
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...
View full detailsBlue Lace Agate 8mm Round A Grade - 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 detailsPeruvian Chrysocolla 6mm Round A Grade - 15-16 Inch
Chrysocolla, a hydrous copper silicate, is often mistaken for turquoise due to its rich blues and blue to greens. It often also occurs with colors ...
View full detailsRed Hematoid Quartz 6mm Round AA Grade - 15-16 Inch
Hematoid Quartz is Quartz with inclusions of hematite. The hematite inclusions are responsible for the stone’s color, which can be yellow, orange, ...
View full detailsLavender Amethyst 10mm Round AAA Grade - 15-16 Inch
Lavender Amethyst is a transparent lavender variety of Amethyst, which forms in geodes and is generally found in clusters of crystal points. The pr...
View full detailsOrange Calcite 10mm Round AAA Grade - 15-16 Inch
Calcite is a rock-forming mineral that is extremely common and found throughout the world in sedimentary, metamorphic, and igneous rocks. Calcite i...
View full detailsFluorite 10mm 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 detailsLarimar 8mm Round A Grade - 15-16 Inch
Larimar is a translucent blue, turquoise and white stone that can have streaks and patterns of white, as well as red or brown either from oxidation...
View full detailsPlum Tourmaline 8mm Round - 15-16 Inch
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...
View full detailsRed Hematoid Quartz 8mm Round AA Grade - 15-16 Inch
Hematoid Quartz is Quartz with inclusions of hematite. The hematite inclusions are responsible for the stone’s color, which can be yellow, orange, ...
View full detailsPlum Tourmaline 6mm Round - 15-16 Inch
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...
View full detailsRussian Amazonite 10mm Round - 15-16 Inch
Russian Amazonite is a translucent blue to green to green or light green stone, occurring with inclusions of white, black or yellow. It is named fo...
View full detailsJadeite 10mm Round - 15-16 Inch
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...
View full detailsGreen Angelite Cat's Eye 12mm Round - 15-16 Inch
Cat’s Eye is a quartz stone that appears in a range of colors including white, gray, green, yellow and brown. The fibrous asbestos inclusions in th...
View full detailsBlue Lace Agate 4mm Round A Grade - 15-16 Inch
Blue Lace Agate is a naturally occuring soft blue agate, laced with bands or swirls of brighter blue, periwinkle, white and occasionally gray or br...
View full detailsBlue Lace Agate 10mm Round A Grade - 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 detailsBlack Mica 8mm Round A Grade - 15-16 Inch
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...
View full detailsBicolor Sunstone 8mm 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 detailsAustralian Chrysoprase 6mm Round - 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 AA 10mm Round - 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 detailsPink Green Yellow Banded Tourmaline 2mm Faceted Round - 15-16 Inch
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...
View full detailsTourmaline 4mm Faceted Round AAA Grade - 15-16 Inch
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...
View full detailsYellow Green Banded Tourmaline 3mm Faceted Round - 15-16 Inch
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...
View full detailsAustralian Chrysoprase 4mm Faceted Round AAA Grade - 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 detailsAquamarine 4mm Faceted Round Banded 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 detailsAustralian Chrysoprase 2x3mm Faceted Rondelle AAA Grade - 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 detailsHematoid Quartz 8x12mm Top Drill Faceted Tear Drop - 15-16 Inch
Hematoid Quartz is Quartz with inclusions of hematite. The hematite inclusions are responsible for the stone’s color, which can be yellow, orange, ...
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.