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
Cubic Zirconia (CZ) 3mm Round Light Blue Pearl (Synthetic) - 14.5-15 Inch
Zircon occurs in a variety of colors including yellow, green, red, reddish brown and blue hues, as well as colorless. Colorless Zircon of the highe...
View full detailsCubic Zirconia (CZ) 3mm Round Light Orange Pearl (Synthetic) - 14.5-15 Inch
Zircon occurs in a variety of colors including yellow, green, red, reddish brown and blue hues, as well as colorless. Colorless Zircon of the highe...
View full detailsCubic Zirconia (CZ) 3mm Round Ruby Faceted (Synthetic) - 15-16 Inch
Zircon occurs in a variety of colors including yellow, green, red, reddish brown and blue hues, as well as colorless. Colorless Zircon of the highe...
View full detailsCubic Zirconia (CZ) 3mm Round Emerald Green Faceted (Synthetic) - 15-16 Inch
Zircon occurs in a variety of colors including yellow, green, red, reddish brown and blue hues, as well as colorless. Colorless Zircon of the highe...
View full detailsCubic Zirconia (CZ) 3mm Round Dark Grey Pearl (Synthetic) - 14.5-15 Inch
Zircon occurs in a variety of colors including yellow, green, red, reddish brown and blue hues, as well as colorless. Colorless Zircon of the highe...
View full detailsCubic Zirconia (CZ) 3mm Round White Sand Pearl (Synthetic) - 14.5-15 Inch
Zircon occurs in a variety of colors including yellow, green, red, reddish brown and blue hues, as well as colorless. Colorless Zircon of the highe...
View full detailsCubic Zirconia (CZ) 3mm Round Light Brown Pearl (Synthetic) - 14.5-15 Inch
Zircon occurs in a variety of colors including yellow, green, red, reddish brown and blue hues, as well as colorless. Colorless Zircon of the highe...
View full detailsCubic Zirconia (CZ) 3mm Round Dark Olive Faceted (Synthetic) - 15-16 Inch
Zircon occurs in a variety of colors including yellow, green, red, reddish brown and blue hues, as well as colorless. Colorless Zircon of the highe...
View full detailsCubic Zirconia (CZ) 3mm Round Light Smoky Rhodonite Faceted (Synthetic) - 15-16 Inch
Cubic Zirconia, abbreviated as CZ, is a lab-made form of zirconium dioxide. Made to resemble Diamonds, these stones offer the same beauty and spark...
View full detailsCubic Zirconia (CZ) 3mm Round Lapis Pearl (Synthetic) - 14.5-15 Inch
Zircon occurs in a variety of colors including yellow, green, red, reddish brown and blue hues, as well as colorless. Colorless Zircon of the highe...
View full detailsCubic Zirconia (CZ) 3mm Round White Pearl (Synthetic) - 14.5-15 Inch
Zircon occurs in a variety of colors including yellow, green, red, reddish brown and blue hues, as well as colorless. Colorless Zircon of the highe...
View full detailsAquamarine 2x4mm Thin Rondelle Faceted AA 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 detailsBlack Opal 4mm Round Faceted - 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 detailsDiopside 2x4mm Thin Rondelle Faceted AA Grade - 15-16 Inch
Diopside is a calcium and magnesium silicate mineral. It is transparent or translucent, and can display a nearly emerald green color due to the pre...
View full detailsEthiopian Opal 2.5mm Cube Light Yellow Faceted - 15-16 Inch
Ethiopian Opal was first discovered in Ethiopia in 1994, with additional major finds in 2008 and 2013. Beautiful specimens of Precious Opal, Fire O...
View full detailsIolite 2x4mm Thin Rondelle Faceted AA Grade - 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 detailsMulti Spinel 3mm Round Banded Faceted - 13 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 detailsGrey Diamond 2-3mm Rough Nugget - 15-16 Inch
Diamond is a rare, naturally occurring mineral composed of pure carbon. Although most people think of diamonds as colorless, they actually occur i...
View full detailsBlue Diamond 2-3mm Rough Nugget - 15-16 Inch
Diamond is a rare, naturally occurring mineral composed of pure carbon. Although most people think of diamonds as colorless, they actually occur i...
View full detailsCitrine 7x15-9x17mm Nugget Center Drill Faceted - 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 detailsHeliodor 10mm Round A Grade - 15-16 Inch
Heliodor is a yellow, greenish yellow, or golden-yellow color of the mineral beryl. The yellowish colors of heliodor are usually caused by small am...
View full detailsRed Garnet 6x8-10x12mm Nugget - 15-16 Inch
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...
View full detailsBlue Moonstone 6x8-10x12mm Freeform Cut - 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 detailsHematoid Quartz 10-18mm Freeform Nugget - 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 detailsKingman Turquoise 3-6mm Heishi Graduated - 15-16 Inch
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...
View full detailsWampum Shell 8mm Heishi - 15-16 Inch
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...
View full detailsWampum Shell 12mm Round - 15-16 Inch
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...
View full detailsWampum Shell 8mm Round - 15-16 Inch
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...
View full detailsShiva Eye Shell 8x10mm Puff Oval - 15-16 Inch
Shiva Eye shells—also known as Pacific Cat’s Eye or Operculum—are the protective "door" of Turban snails, found in Thailand/Indonesia. They symboli...
View full detailsMother of Pearl 10mm Puff Star Black - 15-16 Inch
Mother of Pearl, also known as Nacre, is an iridescent composite of organic and inorganic material most known for being the coating of pearls. It i...
View full detailsWampum Shell 6mm Heishi - 15-16 Inch
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...
View full detailsBrown Lip Shell 5mm Heishi - 15-16 Inch
Sea shells are one of our most ancient decorations. Our prehistoric ancestors used to string them into necklaces or hang them from cords as pendant...
View full detailsBotswana Agate 14-25mm Nugget Top Drill - 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 detailsHammer Shell 5mm Heishi - 15-16 Inch
Sea shells are one of our most ancient decorations. Our prehistoric ancestors used to string them into necklaces or hang them from cords as pendant...
View full detailsTurquoise and Spiny Oyster 8mm Round - 15-16 Inch
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...
View full detailsCoral 6-10mm Rice Golden - 15-16 Inch
Coral is the skeletons of once to living sea coral, composed of hard calcium carbonate, colored by carotenoids. The colors of coral are permanent a...
View full detailsWampum Shell 10mm Heishi - 15-16 Inch
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...
View full detailsEthiopian Opal 4x6-7x10mm Drop Faceted White - 15-16 Inch
Ethiopian Opal was first discovered in Ethiopia in 1994, with additional major finds in 2008 and 2013. Beautiful specimens of Precious Opal, Fire O...
View full detailsEthiopian Opal 3-5mm Rondelle Faceted - 15-16 Inch
Ethiopian Opal was first discovered in Ethiopia in 1994, with additional major finds in 2008 and 2013. Beautiful specimens of Precious Opal, Fire O...
View full detailsEthiopian Opal 3-4mm Rondelle - 15-16 Inch
Ethiopian Opal was first discovered in Ethiopia in 1994, with additional major finds in 2008 and 2013. Beautiful specimens of Precious Opal, Fire O...
View full detailsEthiopian Opal 5-6mm Pebble Black - 15-16 Inch
Ethiopian Opal was first discovered in Ethiopia in 1994, with additional major finds in 2008 and 2013. Beautiful specimens of Precious Opal, Fire O...
View full detailsEthiopian Opal 5-11mm Nugget Green - 15-16 Inch
Ethiopian Opal was first discovered in Ethiopia in 1994, with additional major finds in 2008 and 2013. Beautiful specimens of Precious Opal, Fire O...
View full detailsEthiopian Opal 5-10mm Heart Brown - 15-16 Inch
Ethiopian Opal was first discovered in Ethiopia in 1994, with additional major finds in 2008 and 2013. Beautiful specimens of Precious Opal, Fire O...
View full detailsEthiopian Opal 5-6x6-8mm Pear Brown - 15-16 Inch
Ethiopian Opal was first discovered in Ethiopia in 1994, with additional major finds in 2008 and 2013. Beautiful specimens of Precious Opal, Fire O...
View full detailsEthiopian Opal 4-9mm Heart Black - 15-16 Inch
Ethiopian Opal was first discovered in Ethiopia in 1994, with additional major finds in 2008 and 2013. Beautiful specimens of Precious Opal, Fire O...
View full detailsEthiopian Opal 4x9-12mm Pear Black - 15-16 Inch
Ethiopian Opal was first discovered in Ethiopia in 1994, with additional major finds in 2008 and 2013. Beautiful specimens of Precious Opal, Fire O...
View full detailsAmazonite 10mm Round - 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 detailsGreen Kyanite 6-8x12-25mm Drop - 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 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.