Gemstone Focals
A single focal can define an entire piece of jewelry, and our collection is built for that moment. Browse statement pendants with top-drilled bails, perfectly domed cabochons ready for bezels, classic center-drilled donuts, and designer collar sets—all cut to showcase dramatic true color, intricate matrix, or mirror-bright translucence.
Shapes range from ovals and coins to free-form marquise; materials span crowd-pleasers like labradorite and turquoise to rarities such as larimar or pietersite. While patterns and dimensions vary slightly—proof each stone is natural—every focal passes Dakota Stones standards for polish, stability, and visual impact.
Choose a centerpiece, frame it with complementary rounds or keep it minimal on leather, and let the stone do the talking. Whatever your design style, this focal lineup supplies the show-stopping element that turns good jewelry into unforgettable art.
Focal Beads for Jewelry Making – Highlight Your Designs
Products: 261
Seraphinite 15mm A Grade Coin Cabochon
Seraphinite's chatoyancy (optical reflectance) gives it a feathery appearance associated with angels (also known as seraphim.) Seraphinite is most ...
View full detailsFluorite 15-19x22-27mm AAA Grade Small Free Form Cabochon
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 detailsKunzite 10mm Coin AAA Grade Cabochon
Kunzite was named after a former Tiffany & Co. vice president, famed mineralogist and jeweler George Frederick Kunz, who first catalogued the s...
View full detailsPietersite 15-27x30-41mm A Grade Medium Free Form Cabochon
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...
View full detailsPietersite 12mm A Grade Coin Cabochon
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...
View full detailsBotswana Agate 12mm A Grade Coin Cabochon
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 detailsOcean Jasper 16-23x28-39mm A Grade Small Free Form Cabochon
Ocean Jasper is a commercial name for Orbicular Jasper, a variety of Jasper containing variably colored spherical patterns. It forms when Quartz an...
View full detailsMalachite 12-17x22-33mm A Grade Medium Free Form Cabochon
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 detailsMalachite 12-17x16-21mm A Grade Small Free Form Cabochon
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 detailsAquamarine 10mm A Grade Coin Cabochon
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 detailsAquamarine 13x18mm A Grade Oval Cabochon
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 detailsSeraphinite 23-27x22-28mm A Grade Medium Free Form Cabochon
Seraphinite's chatoyancy (optical reflectance) gives it a feathery appearance associated with angels (also known as seraphim.) Seraphinite is most ...
View full detailsFluorite 15mm AAA Grade Coin Cabochon
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 detailsBotswana Agate 18mm A Grade Coin Cabochon
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 detailsRoyal Imperial Jasper 20-24x23-32mm AAA Grade Medium Free Form Cabochon
Imperial Jasper occurs naturally in a beautiful range of colors including pinks, mossy greens, burgundy and milky white, with striking patterns of ...
View full detailsOcean Jasper 17-28x32-48mm A Grade Medium Free Form Cabochon
Ocean Jasper is a commercial name for Orbicular Jasper, a variety of Jasper containing variably colored spherical patterns. It forms when Quartz an...
View full detailsMalachite 15-22x23-33mm AAA Grade Medium Free Form Cabochon
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 detailsSeraphinite 12mm A Grade Coin Cabochon
Seraphinite's chatoyancy (optical reflectance) gives it a feathery appearance associated with angels (also known as seraphim.) Seraphinite is most ...
View full detailsTiger Eye 16-19x19-29mm AAA Grade Medium Free Form Cabochon
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...
View full detailsLabradorite 12mm A Grade Coin Cabochon
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 detailsKunzite 12mm Coin AAA Grade Cabochon
Kunzite was named after a former Tiffany & Co. vice president, famed mineralogist and jeweler George Frederick Kunz, who first catalogued the s...
View full detailsKunzite 15mm AAA Grade Coin Cabochon
Kunzite was named after a former Tiffany & Co. vice president, famed mineralogist and jeweler George Frederick Kunz, who first catalogued the s...
View full detailsMontana Moss Agate 15-21x24-27mm AAA Grade Small Free Form Cabochon
Montana Moss Agate is an unusual Moss Agate in that it exhibits some banding, along with the dendritic inclusions of manganese and iron typical of ...
View full detailsBotswana Agate 18-25x30-44mm AAA Grade Medium Free Form Cabochon
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 detailsBotswana Agate 13-20x20-29mm AAA Grade Small Free Form Cabochon
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 detailsMohave Purple Turquoise 13x24mm Free Form Cabochon Pair
Mojave (or Mohave) Turquoise is a vibrant, stabilized, and processed gemstone created by fusing natural turquoise fragments with bronze or copper m...
View full detailsAquamarine 12-18x20-30mm A Grade Small Free Form Cabochon
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 detailsAquamarine 15mm A Grade Coin Cabochon
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 detailsLabradorite 20x35mm AAAAA Grade Pear Cabochon
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 detailsMontana Moss Agate 27-37x41-55mm A Grade Large Free Form Cabochon
Montana Moss Agate is an unusual Moss Agate in that it exhibits some banding, along with the dendritic inclusions of manganese and iron typical of ...
View full detailsPietersite 15mm AAA Grade Coin Cabochons
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...
View full detailsBotswana Agate 23-33x35-53mm AAA Grade Large Free Form Cabochon
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 detailsFrequently asked questions
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What is a focal bead and how do designers use it?
A focal is a larger single bead or pendant — typically 12–40mm — meant to anchor a design rather than repeat down a strand. Designers center one focal on a necklace, hang it as a pendant from a chain or beaded strand, or use it as the visual stop between sections of smaller beads. Because the focal carries the eye, pattern, color zoning, and matrix in the stone matter more than they would on a 6mm round. Most focals in this category ship as individual pieces or small lots rather than full strands, so check the listing for quantity per listing. -
What focal shapes does Dakota carry?
The category covers donuts, ovals, slices, teardrops, squares, free-form shapes, marquise, and guru beads used at the head of a mala. Donuts are the most common (often 38–40mm) and work well on cord or with bail wraps. Slices show interior banding and matrix from the cut face and are usually free-form in outline. Teardrops and ovals drill top-down as pendants; squares and rounds typically drill through the center. Each cut style routes to a sub-collection so you can browse by shape rather than scrolling the full focals hub. -
How large do focal beads typically run?
Most focals fall between 12mm and 40mm. Common sizes include 12mm rounds and squares, 13x18mm and 12x25mm ovals and teardrops, 9x32mm marquise and elongated drops, 15mm donuts, and 38–40mm donuts and slices for statement pendants. Slices and free-forms vary piece to piece because they follow the natural shape of the cut, so the listed dimension is nominal — expect ±1–2mm variation. Exact measurements should be disclosed; ask before buying if a specific size is critical to your finished design. -
What's the difference between top-drilled and center-drilled focals?
Top-drilled focals have the hole running side-to-side near the top of the bead, so the piece hangs as a pendant — common on teardrops, ovals, and slices. Center-drilled focals have the hole running through the long axis like a regular bead, so they sit in-line on a strand or wire. Donuts use a large central hole and are usually strung on cord, leather, or with a bail. Drill direction changes how you finish the piece, so confirm the drill style before ordering findings or stringing material. -
Which stones work best as focals?
Pattern-rich material reads strongest at focal size. Jasper is the largest group here — picture jasper, ocean jasper, and landscape varieties all show scenic banding that benefits from a larger cut surface. Agate and botswana agate carry visible banding; labradorite and tiger eye carry chatoyancy and flash that need surface area to show. Lapis, amazonite, turquoise, rose quartz, and quartz round out the offering for solid-color or translucent focals. Treatment varies by stone — stabilization on turquoise, dye on some agates — and should be disclosed; ask before buying if it isn't specified.