All High-End Strands
Extraordinary stones deserve their own stage. The High-End collection spotlights strands cut from the best rough—think vivid tourmaline slices, saturated emerald rounds, and near-flawless sapphire rondelles—each artisan-cut to showcase maximum light, clarity, and play of color. Many lots yield only a handful of strands, so what you see here often can’t be reordered once it’s gone.
Expect designer-grade polish, tightly calibrated dimensions, and hand-matched color flow that speeds up layout work at the bench. If your next piece calls for materials that command attention and hold long-term value, this curated lineup delivers the rarest options in the Dakota Stones vault. Act quickly; inventory refreshes with the seasons.
Products: 176
Jet 16mm Round - 15-16 inch
Black Spinel 4x8mm Faceted Rondelle - 15-16 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 detailsChalcedony (Marbled) 16mm Puff Coin - 15-16 Inch
Blue Chalcedony is a naturally occurring soft blue translucent stone. It is a member of the Quartz family, a form of silica with a cryptocrystallin...
View full detailsCitrine 6x11 Smooth Nugget - 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 detailsHubei Sky Blue Turquoise 2x4mm Rondelle AA Grade - 15-16 Inch - Limited Edition
Hubei Turquoise is sourced from Hubei Province in Northern China, one of the most recognized turquoise-producing regions in the world. This materia...
View full detailsPink Mica Quartz 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 detailsLavender Amethyst 8mm Banded Faceted Tyre - 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 detailsCitrine 8mm Banded Faceted Tyre - 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 detailsLarimar 4mm Microfaceted 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 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 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 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 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 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 5-6mm 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 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 detailsSleeping Beauty Turquoise 3mm Heishi - 15-16 Inch
Dakota Stones’ Sleeping Beauty Turquoise is from the Sleeping Beauty mine in Globe, Arizona — famous for the outstanding robin’s egg blue color and...
View full detailsChrysoprase 12x15-15x25mm Smooth Collar Matte- 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 detailsRose Quartz 12x18-17x30mm Jagged Rough Collar - 15-16 Inch
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...
View full detailsLabradorite 12x20-15x30mm Rounded Rough Collar - 15-16 Inch
Labradorite is remarkable for the way its aggregate layers refract light, creating iridescent flashes of blue, gold, pale green or copper red. This...
View full detailsGreen Lodalite Quartz 14x20-14x25mm Jagged Rough Collar - 15-16 Inch
Green Lodolite is Quartz with inclusions of sand. These inclusions range broadly in type and color and produce patterns that can look like gardens....
View full detailsRose Quartz 8x16-10x24mm Jagged Rough Collar - 15-16 Inch
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...
View full detailsGreen Lodalite Quartz 15x18-20x25mm Rounded Rough Collar - 15-16 Inch
Green Lodolite is Quartz with inclusions of sand. These inclusions range broadly in type and color and produce patterns that can look like gardens....
View full detailsCrystal Quartz 12x15-19x20mm Top Drill Tab Rough Collar - 15-16 Inch
Crystal Quartz is a naturally occurring clear and colorless Quartz. It is a crystalline form of Quartz said to have many divine properties includin...
View full detailsAustralian Chrysoprase 14mm Round AA 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 detailsElisa Turquoise 5-13mm Graduated Rounds - 15-16 Inch
This turquoise is mined from the Sonora mines in Mexico. Like all other natural turquoise, its coloring is the result of the chemical reaction that...
View full detailsAmazonite 8x10-10x12mm Freeform Cut - 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 detailsMulti Tourmaline 8x10-10x12mm Freeform Cut - 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 Opal 3-8mm Chip - 15-16 Inch
Dakota Stones Australian Opals are back. We have been working with a father/ son team out of Australia for many years that assist us to bring you s...
View full detailsWhite Moonstone 10mm Round - 15-16 inch
Moonstone occurs in naturally in shades of white, gray, black, and peach, as well as translucent and iridescent. Metaphysically, moonstone is thoug...
View full detailsCitrine 8X10-12X14mm Freeform Hand Cut - 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 detailsLabradorite 8X10-12X14mm Freeform Hand Cut - 15-16 inch
Labradorite is remarkable for the way its aggregate layers refract light, creating iridescent flashes of blue, gold, pale green or copper red. This...
View full detailsSunstone 10mm Rough Heishi - 15-16 inch - CLEARANCE
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 detailsSunstone Natural 8X10mm Freeform Nugget - 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 detailsKunzite 15X20-20X30mm Jagged Rough Collar - 15-16 Inch
Kunzite was named after a former Tiffany & Co. vice president, famed mineralogist and jeweler George Frederick Kunz, who first catalogued the s...
View full detailsK2 12mm Round - 15-16 Inch
K2 is a stone recently discovered in the foothills of the mountain for which it is named, K2, in the Karakoram mountain range of Pakistan. It is a ...
View full detailsBlue Peru Opal 15x20-18x25mm Double Drill Tab Collar
Blue Peruvian Opal naturally occurs with swirling patterns of deep blues, blue-greens and greens swirled with yellow-green, rust, brown and orange....
View full detailsK2 10mm Round - 15-16 Inch
K2 is a stone recently discovered in the foothills of the mountain for which it is named, K2, in the Karakoram mountain range of Pakistan. It is a ...
View full detailsZoisite 13x16-19x27mm Rounded Rough Collar 15-16 Inch
Zoisite, first known as saualpite, after its type locality, is a calcium aluminium hydroxy sorosilicate belonging to the epidote group of minerals....
View full detailsPink Cobalt Calcite 12x16-20x24 Irregular Oval 15-16 Inch - CLEARANCE
Pink Cobalt Calcite 8x10-20x30mm Top Drill Oval 15-16 Inch - CLEARANCE
Scapolite Cat's Eye Red 8mm Round - 15-16 Inch
K2 Rough Tumble 5x7-8x10mm Nugget - 15-16 Inch
K2 is a stone recently discovered in the foothills of the mountain for which it is named, K2, in the Karakoram mountain range of Pakistan. It is a ...
View full detailsDiopside 2mm Faceted Round AAA 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 detailsCat's Eye A-Grade, Banded 6mm 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 detailsRuby Faceted 8mm Round - 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 detailsFrequently asked questions
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What makes a strand belong in this selection?
Strands land here when they show stronger clarity, more saturated or even color, cleaner matrix, tighter calibration, or come from a source that's harder to keep in stock. The selection skews toward material designers reach for when a single strand has to carry a finished piece — faceted Sapphire and Ruby rondelles, natural Turquoise from named mines, Ethiopian and Australian Opal, well-cut Moonstone and Labradorite. The label is descriptive, not a tier label: it groups strands by what's in the bag, not by a price bracket. Specifics on each strand — origin, cut, treatment — should be disclosed; ask before buying if anything you need isn't specified. -
Which stones show up most in this collection?
Turquoise leads by a wide margin, followed by Opal, Sapphire, Quartz, and Ruby, with steady inventory of Moonstone, Labradorite, Tourmaline, Amethyst, and Kyanite. Cut distribution leans toward rondelles, rounds, teardrops, and pebble/nugget shapes, with faceted rondelles common across the corundum and Tourmaline strands and heishi/tyre cuts frequent on Turquoise. Sizes cluster in the 3–8mm range, with 6mm and 8mm the most common. If you're sourcing for a specific palette or cut, the side filters narrow the grid by stone, shape, and size — or pull the dedicated stone collection (for example Turquoise or Sapphire) for the full run. -
Are these strands graded for clarity, calibration, or origin?
Grading varies by material. Faceted corundum (Sapphire, Ruby) and faceted Tourmaline strands typically carry clarity and color notes. Turquoise is generally identified by mine or region when that information is available from the supplier. Calibration tolerance depends on cut: faceted rondelles and rounds run tighter than nuggets, slices, or free-form shapes, which are sold as natural cuts and will vary strand to strand. Bead count, strand length, and drill size should appear on each listing. If a grading detail you need for a design isn't listed, ask before ordering — supplier paperwork doesn't always make it into the listing automatically. -
How is this different from the standard catalog?
The standard catalog covers the full range of Dakota's gemstone strands at working price points for production and repeatable designs. This selection pulls the strands within that catalog where the material itself is doing more of the work — better color, cleaner cut, scarcer origin, or a stone that doesn't run as a steady SKU. Many of the same stones appear in both places at different grades; for example, you'll find Turquoise rounds in the main Turquoise collection and also here when a specific lot warrants it. Use this view when the piece you're building needs the strand to stand on its own. -
How is treatment handled on higher-grade material?
Treatment is material-specific and should be noted. Common cases: most Turquoise on the market is stabilized — natural, untreated Turquoise is called out specifically when applicable. Ruby and Sapphire are commonly heat-treated; lead-glass-filled corundum is a separate category and labeled when present. Opal is generally untreated but can be backed or doublet-cut; that's noted by cut type. Amethyst, Citrine, and some Quartz varieties may be heat-treated or irradiated. If treatment status matters for your client disclosure and isn't on the listing, ask before buying — Dakota will check supplier records before the strand ships.