Precious Opal Beads

Illuminate your designs with the vibrant color play only precious opal can offer. Dakota Stones sources the world’s most brilliant opal beads from Ethiopia, Australia, and Mexico, including Welo hydrophane opal, Australian crystal opal, and select Mexican fire opal strands.

Each piece is artisan-cut to reveal clean body tone and intense flashes of red, green, and violet—the hallmark of high-grade opal. We release limited batches from small mining parcels, so every collection drop is unique.

Precious opal’s iridescence comes from its ordered silica structure, which diffracts light into every color of the spectrum. Common opal lacks this structure, making precious opal rarer and more valuable for fine jewelry.

Shop our current selection of opal rondelles, chips, and graduated rounds—all chosen for stability, precision, and natural brilliance. New strands are added regularly as mining pockets emerge, so check back often to find your next one-of-a-kind piece.