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Heishi and Tyre Shape Beads

Today, Heishi is more known as small tube-like beads and can be made from any material like wood or gemstones, but its history stems from shell beads found in the Gulf of California. They were traded by the Santo Domingo Native Americans in exchange for shells or goods.

Products: 93

White Howlite 3x6mm Heishi - 15-16 Inch

Original price $16.00 - Original price $16.00
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White Howlite is named for Canadian mineralogist Henry How, who first discovered the stone in Southern California in 1868. It is typically white or...

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Unakite 3x6mm Heishi - 15-16 Inch

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Unakite is a granite composed of pink Feldspar and Epidote, creating a beautiful blend of pink and green in mottled patterns. The colors in this st...

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Pink Moss Agate 3x6mm Heishi - 15-16 Inch

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Moss Agate is a variety of Chalcedony, clear to milky white to dark green, with inclusions that appear in patterns similar to moss or lichen. The i...

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Strawberry Quartz 3x6mm Heishi - 15-16 Inch

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Strawberry Quartz is a translucent, milky to pink silicon dioxide mineral. Its needle to like inclusions of hematite are iridescent red. Quartz has...

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Red Creek Jasper 3x6mm Heishi - 15-16 Inch

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Red Creek Jasper is named for the Red River in china where the stone was recently discovered. Its colors include burnt red, mustard yellow, olive g...

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Green Aventurine 3x6mm Heishi - 15-16 Inch

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Green Aventurine is a green translucent quartz with glimmering metallic inclusions. Green is the most common color for Aventurine, but it can also ...

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Dendritic Opal 3x6mm Heishi - 15-16 Inch

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This variety of opal is named "dendritic" for the small inclusions within it that resemble moss or ferns. These inclusions consist of iron, mangane...

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Picture Jasper 3x6mm Heishi - 15-16 Inch

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Picture Jasper is a form of brown Jasper characterized by its unique banding and flow patterns created by petrified or silicate mud and occasional ...

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Lapis 3x6mm Heishi - 15-16 Inch

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Lapis is a semi to precious stone and one of the most sought after throughout history. It is highly regarded for its beautiful blue color flecked w...

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Black Gold Amazonite 3x6mm Heishi - 15-16 Inch

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Black Gold Amazonite is a member of the Feldspar family and varies in hue from robin’s egg blue to blue-green to black, occasionally mingled with r...

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Amethyst 3x6mm Heishi - 15-16 Inch

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Amethyst is a beautiful purple stone, known as a “Gem of Fire” by ancient cultures. It has been greatly sought after throughout history and was at ...

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Roman Glass 5-6mm Irregular Heishi - 14-15 Inch

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Roman glass that has been turned into contemporary beads refers to ancient Roman glass artifacts (often shards or fragments) that are carefully sal...

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Bumble Bee 7mm Banded Irregular Square Heishi - 15-16 Inch

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Note – Due to the unique hand-made manufacturing process of these beads, the strand length, bead measurements, colors, and beads per strand counts ...

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Spiny Oyster 3mm Heishi - 15-16 Inch

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Spiny Oyster 3mm Red Heishi - 15-16 Inch

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Hubei Turquoise 6mm Blue Irregular Heishi - 15-16 Inch

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Hubei Turquoise is sourced from Hubei Province in Northern China, one of the most recognized turquoise-producing regions in the world. This materia...

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Unakite 2x4mm Heishi - 15-16 Inch

Original price $14.00 - Original price $14.00
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Unakite is a granite composed of pink Feldspar and Epidote, creating a beautiful blend of pink and green in mottled patterns. The colors in this st...

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Original price $14.00 - Original price $14.00
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White Howlite 2x4mm Heishi - 15-16 Inch

Original price $14.00 - Original price $14.00
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White Howlite is named for Canadian mineralogist Henry How, who first discovered the stone in Southern California in 1868. It is typically white or...

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Original price $14.00 - Original price $14.00
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Sodalite 2x4mm Heishi - 15-16 Inch

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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...

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Rose Quartz 2x4mm Heishi - 15-16 Inch

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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...

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River Stone 2x4mm Heishi - 15-16 Inch

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River Stone is a form of limestone composed of quartz, calcium carbonate and other materials. Naturally beautiful, it offers a way to work a neutra...

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Rhodonite with Matrix 2x4mm Heishi - 15-16 Inch

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Rhodonite, whose name is derived from the Greek word for Rose, “rhodon,” is known for its pink, red and magenta hues. A Manganese inosilicate (or c...

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Picture Jasper 2x4mm Heishi - 15-16 Inch

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Picture Jasper is a form of brown Jasper characterized by its unique banding and flow patterns created by petrified or silicate mud and occasional ...

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Red Jasper 2x4mm Heishi - 15-16 Inch

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Red Jasper is an aggregate of microcrystalline quartz and/or chalcedony and other minerals. The opaque stone’s red color is due to high iron conten...

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Mookaite 2x4mm Heishi - 15-16 Inch

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Mookaite is a variety of Jasper in colors of red, burgundy, pink, mauve, purple, yellow and white. It takes its name from Mooka Creek, near the Ken...

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Purple Lepidolite 2x4mm Heishi - 15-16 Inch

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A particularly soft stone, Lepidolite has a glassy or lustrous sheen. It is the most abundant lithium-bearing mineral as well as a significant sour...

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Lemon Jade 2x4mm Heishi - 15-16 Inch

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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...

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White Jade 2x4mm Heishi - 15-16 Inch

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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...

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Original price $14.00 - Original price $14.00
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Green Aventurine 2x4mm Heishi - 15-16 Inch

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Green Aventurine is a green translucent quartz with glimmering metallic inclusions. Green is the most common color for Aventurine, but it can also ...

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Dog Teeth Amethyst 2x4mm Heishi - 15-16 Inch

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Dog Teeth Amethyst has a purple and white striped appearance due to its combination of Amethyst and White Quartz. The name derives from the recurri...

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Fancy Jasper 2x4mm Heishi - 15-16 Inch

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Bronzite 2x4mm Heishi - 15-16 Inch

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Bronzite is a brown stone with a bronze to colored metallic luster due to iron deposits within the stone. An orthoproxene mineral, it is believed t...

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Black Gold Amazonite 2x4mm Heishi - 15-16 Inch

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Black Gold Amazonite is a member of the Feldspar family and varies in hue from robin’s egg blue to blue-green to black, occasionally mingled with r...

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African Turquoise 2x4mm Heishi - 15-16 Inch

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African Turquoise is not actually Turquoise, but rather a speckled teal Jasper found in Africa and often treated to simulate the beautiful blue to ...

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Larimar 4mm Heishi with Matrix - 15-16 Inch

Original price $45.00 - Original price $45.00
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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...

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Hubei Light Blue Turquoise 1-2x6mm Heishi A Grade - 15-16 Inch

Original price $105.00 - Original price $105.00
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Hubei Turquoise is sourced from Hubei Province in Northern China, one of the most recognized turquoise-producing regions in the world. This materia...

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Original price $105.00 - Original price $105.00
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Hubei Light Blue Turquoise 2x4mm Heishi A Grade - 15-16 Inch

Original price $61.00 - Original price $61.00
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Hubei Turquoise is sourced from Hubei Province in Northern China, one of the most recognized turquoise-producing regions in the world. This materia...

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Original price $61.00 - Original price $61.00
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Lavender Amethyst 8mm Banded Faceted Tyre - 15-16 Inch

Original price $168.00 - Original price $168.00
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Lavender Amethyst is a transparent lavender variety of Amethyst, which forms in geodes and is generally found in clusters of crystal points. The pr...

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Citrine 8mm Banded Faceted Tyre - 15-16 Inch

Original price $161.00 - Original price $161.00
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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...

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Wampum Shell 10mm Heishi - 15-16 Inch

Original price $59.00 - Original price $59.00
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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...

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Brown Lip Shell 5mm Heishi - 15-16 Inch

Original price $6.00 - Original price $6.00
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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...

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Wampum Shell 8mm Heishi - 15-16 Inch

Original price $49.00 - Original price $49.00
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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...

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Original price $49.00 - Original price $49.00
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Elisa Turquoise 5mm Heishi - 15-16 Inch

Original price $144.00 - Original price $144.00
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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...

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Sunstone 8mm Rough Heishi - Limited Editions - 15-16 inch - CLEARANCE

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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...

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Sunstone 10mm Rough Heishi - 15-16 inch - CLEARANCE

Original price $81.00 - Original price $81.00
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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...

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Original price $81.00 - Original price $81.00
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About this cut

Heishi & Tyre bead shape diagram
Cut name
Heishi & Tyre
Drill style
End-drilled (axis perpendicular to face)
Typical sizes
2x4mm6mm3x6mm8mm4mm5mm2mm7mm
Stones in this cut
TurquoiseAmethystNatural ShellJasperMixed GemstoneSpiny OysterLarimarQuartzAmazoniteRubyGarnetCitrine
Common uses
single-strand turquoise and shell necklaceslayered stacking necklaces and chokerswrap bracelets with continuous drapespacers between larger focal beadsSouthwest and coastal-style strandsminimalist tube-of-stone designs
Related cuts
Rondelle, Rice
Design notes
Heishi's defining trait is the flat face and through-disc drill, which lets beads stack flush so the strand reads as a continuous cylinder of stone — pick this cut when you want drape and visual continuity rather than bead-by-bead definition. Thin 2x4mm and 3x6mm discs are the fluid, classic Santo Domingo proportion; 6mm and 8mm tyres give a chunkier, more sculptural line. Heishi pairs cleanly as a spacer between rounds or rondelles because the flat face seats without rocking, and mixed-stone heishi strands (turquoise with spiny oyster and shell, for example) lean on that same flush stacking to keep color transitions tight.

Frequently asked questions

  • What is a heishi bead and how is a tyre different?
    Heishi (pronounced hee-shee) is a short disc or wafer-shaped bead drilled through the flat face, so beads stack edge-to-edge on the cord and read as a continuous tube of stone. The term comes from Santo Domingo Pueblo shell work. A tyre bead is a slightly taller version — a short cylinder rather than a thin wafer — but drilled the same way through the flat face. Both sit flush against each other on the strand, which is what separates them from rondelles (which are wider than they are tall and have rounded edges). Dakota lists both shapes under this cut because the drill orientation and stacking behavior are the same.
  • What sizes of heishi and tyre does Dakota stock?
    Current stock runs from about 2mm thin discs up through 8mm short tyres. The most stocked sizes are 2x4mm (a 2mm-thick by 4mm-wide disc, 23 products), 3x6mm (13 products), and 6mm, 8mm, 4mm, 5mm, 2mm and 7mm rounds and discs. The two-number sizes (2x4mm, 3x6mm) describe thickness x diameter — useful when you're matching scale across a multi-strand design.
  • What stones come in heishi or tyre cut at Dakota?
    Turquoise is by far the deepest stock (26 products) — the heishi cut has strong roots in Southwest turquoise and shell work, and that's reflected in the catalog. Natural shell (7) and spiny oyster (7) carry that same tradition. Beyond that, Dakota stocks heishi in amethyst, jasper, mixed gemstone strands, larimar, quartz, amazonite, citrine and a long tail of other materials.
  • What jewelry does heishi work best for?
    Heishi is the go-to cut for continuous, flexible strands that drape like a tube of solid stone — single-strand chokers and necklaces, layered stacking necklaces, and wrap bracelets all rely on heishi's flush stacking. Thin 2x4mm and 3x6mm discs give you a soft, fluid drape; taller tyres (6mm, 8mm) read more structural and sculptural. Heishi also works well as a spacer between larger focal beads, where the flat face sits cleanly against a round or rondelle without rocking. It's a strong cut for Southwest, coastal, and minimalist designs.
  • How does heishi differ from a rondelle or a disc bead?
    All three are wider than they are tall, but the proportions and drill behavior differ. A rondelle has rounded edges and is usually wider than the heishi-style disc, so adjacent beads don't sit perfectly flush — there's a small gap at the cord. Heishi is cut with sharper edges and a flatter face specifically so beads stack tight against each other. A tyre is essentially a taller heishi — a short cylinder. If a design needs the strand to read as one continuous surface, heishi or tyre is the cut; if you want defined separation between beads, a rondelle reads better.