Gemstone Chip Beads
Chips are made from premium off-cuts when cutting cabochons and other shapes. It is a great way to incorporate high quality stones with minimal investment. They are simply tumbled, minimally processed, and left with their organic shapes.
Products: 93
Green Kyanite 5-10x22-30mm Teeth - 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 detailsMexican Fire Opal Dark 2-10mm Chip - 15-16 Inch
[Use Fire Opal description? This Fire Opal contains both Opal and the rhyolitic host material in which it is formed, which provides sufficient hard...
View full detailsLabradorite 4x10-13mm Chip - 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 detailsHypersthene 5x10-20mm Top Drill Teeth - 15-16 Inch
Hypersthene is often categorized as enstatite or ferrosilite, but its identity is complicated. Pure enstatite contains no iron, and pure ferrosilit...
View full detailsCanadian Jade 5x10-20mm Top Drill Teeth - 15-16 Inch
Canadian Jade is the trade name for this stone that ranges in color from light to dark green, with small, dark specks or veins. This material is ac...
View full detailsCharoite 5x10-20mm Top Drill Teeth - 15-16 Inch
Charoite is a stone that naturally occurs in intense purple hues, as well as grays, browns, greenish yellows, white and black. These colors swirl t...
View full detailsGreen Kyanite 5x10-20mm Top Drill Teeth - 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 detailsRhodochrosite 5x10-20mm Top Drill Teeth - 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 detailsAmetrine 5x10-20mm Top Drill Teeth - 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 detailsAquamarine 5x10-20mm Top Drill Teeth - 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 detailsPink Opal 5x10-20mm Top Drill Teeth - 15-16 Inch
Pink Opal is a variety of non to precious opal, meaning that it has lustre and some translucency without the fire or color play associated with pre...
View full detailsAustralian Chrysoprase 5x10-20mm Top Drill Teeth - 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 detailsSeraphinite 5x10-20mm Top Drill Teeth - 15-16 Inch
Seraphinite's chatoyancy (optical reflectance) gives it a feathery appearance associated with angels (also known as seraphim.) Seraphinite is most ...
View full detailsKunzite 5x10-20mm Top Drill Teeth - 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 detailsBlue Lace Agate 5x10-20mm Top Drill Teeth - 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 Kyanite 5x10-20mm Top Drill Teeth - 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 detailsTourmaline 5x10-20mm Top Drill Teeth - 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 detailsMalachite 5x10-20mm Top Drill Teeth - 15-16 Inch
Malachite is a copper carbonate with a bright green color and dark green banding. Usually found near copper deposits, it is formed through the comb...
View full detailsCanadian Jade 5x8mm Chip - 15-16 Inch
Canadian Jade is the trade name for this stone that ranges in color from light to dark green, with small, dark specks or veins. This material is ac...
View full detailsRhodochrosite 5x8mm Chip - 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 detailsBlack Rutilated Quartz 5x8mm Chip - 15-16 Inch
Rutilated Quartz is a silicon dioxide mineral with unique needle-like inclusions of Rutile. These “needles” usually appear golden, but can also app...
View full detailsBlue Moonstone 5x8mm Chip - 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 detailsLarimar 5x8mm Chip - 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 detailsGolden Sunstone 5x8mm Chip - 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 detailsSunstone 6mm Chip - 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 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 detailsAmber 4X6-6X10mm Chip Faceted Golden/Yellow - 15-16 Inch
Amber is a yellow, brown or orange organic gem, neither a crystal nor a mineral. It is a product of nature, the fossilized resin of prehistoric pin...
View full detailsHematite Coated 6-12mm Chips - 15-16 Inch
Hematite is an iron oxide and one of the few gemstones with a metallic luster. When tumbled it can have the look of polished steel. Hematite is bla...
View full details3X10-20mm Rhodochrosite Natural Chips TD AA Grade - 15-16 Inch - CLEARANCE
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 detailsDiamond 2-4mm Chip Black- 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 detailsAmber 4-22mm Dark Chip - 15-16 Inch
Amber is a yellow, brown or orange organic gem, neither a crystal nor a mineral. It is a product of nature, the fossilized resin of prehistoric pin...
View full detailsNew Burma Jade 5x8mm Chip - 15-16 Inch
New Burma Jade is the trade name for a semi-translucent serpentine stone available in a variety of green shades including olive, sea green, green, ...
View full detailsAquamarine 5x8mm Chip - 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 4x10mm Chip - 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 detailsMexican Fire Opal 2x6-5x10mm Rough Chips 15-16 Inch - CLEARANCE
Fire Opal is a transparent or translucent stone named for the vivid red, orange and yellow colors in which it occurs. The most precious Fire Opal h...
View full detailsRed Garnet 5x8mm Chips - 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 detailsLabradorite 5x8mm Chips - 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 detailsAbout this cut
Frequently asked questions
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What is a chip bead?
A chip bead is an irregular, freeform gemstone bead — drilled rough or tumble-polished fragments rather than calibrated geometry. Each bead varies in size, profile, and surface, so a strand reads as a natural, organic texture rather than a uniform shape. Most chips are tumble-polished to a smooth, rounded finish, though edges and proportions still differ bead to bead. Drilling is typically through the longest axis, but hole placement varies. Because chips are cut from offcut material and small rough, they're an efficient way to work a stone into a design without paying for calibrated bead yield. -
What sizes does Dakota stock in chips?
Chip sizing is approximate by nature — the tag describes a working range rather than a calibrated measurement. Dakota's chip strands cluster around 8mm (the deepest size pool), with strong stock at 5mm, 6mm, 7mm, and 9mm. Larger irregular ranges like 5x10–20mm and 6–9mm are stocked for designs that want more variation between beads. Bead-to-bead variance within a single strand is expected and is part of how chip strands look. Exact size range, drill, and approximate bead count should be disclosed — ask before buying if it isn't specified. -
What stones come in chip form?
Dakota carries chips in roughly 185 active SKUs. Turquoise is by far the deepest pool at 42 strands, followed by opal (13), quartz (10), mixed-gemstone strands (10), tourmaline (7), Australian opal (6), amazonite (6), kyanite (6), jasper (5), and amethyst (5). Chips are common in stones where calibrated bead yield is low or where the rough is too included or too small for round work — which is why tourmaline, kyanite, and opal show up here. Treatment varies by stone and should be disclosed. -
What jewelry uses chip beads best?
Chips are a workhorse for stretch bracelets, multi-strand necklaces, fringe, tassels, and memory-wire pieces where organic texture matters more than precise repetition. They layer well under or between calibrated rounds and rondelles, adding visual movement without dominating a design. Mixed-gemstone chip strands work for color-story pieces and beach/boho lines. Chips also weave well into bead embroidery and kumihimo, and because beads vary in size, you can hand-pick larger or smaller pieces from a strand for focal placement. -
How are chip strands drilled and strung?
Drill orientation on chip beads is not uniform — holes are typically placed through the longest stable axis of each fragment, but the angle varies bead to bead. That means chips do not sit predictably on a stringing wire the way calibrated beads do, which is part of their visual character. Hole size also varies within a strand. For stretch cord.7mm or 1mm elastic is usually safe; for beading wire.014–.019 covers most strands. If a project needs consistent hole size, ask before buying.