Round Beads
Round beads are the workhorse—and showpiece—of jewelry design. Our All Rounds collection spans more than 100 natural stone types, each offered in graduated sizes from 4 mm to 12 mm so you can build seamless strands, stackable bracelets, or accent rows without hunting for a match.
What sets Dakota rounds apart is the one-batch method: we cut every size you see from the same parcel of rough, then sort by diameter in a single production run. That “Dakota Way” means a 6 mm lapis bead and its 10 mm big brother share identical hue and pattern, giving finished pieces a professional, color-true flow.
Every sphere is diamond-ground to perfect symmetry, hand-polished for a glassy finish, and visually graded to Dakota Stones standards before it ships. Stock up on crowd-pleasers like Amazonite, Kyanite, Jasper, and Quartz—or branch into rarities such as Variscite or Shattuckite—confident that each round will string, drape, and wear with the consistency designers trust.
Black Flower Tourmaline 6mm Round - 15-16 Inch
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$11.00
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Black Tourmaline is a black crystalline aluminum borosilicate mineral with occasional light gray inclusions that appear as flecks or veins. Tourmal...
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$11.00
Black Tourmalinated Quartz 6mm Round 15-16 Inch
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$16.00
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$16.00
Tourmaline naturally occurs in a full color spectrum and is used as both a trade name and as a gemological name for a group of minerals of varying ...
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$16.00
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Shungite 10mm Round - 15-16 Inch
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$38.00
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$38.00
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$38.00
Shungite is a black, lustrous, non-crystalline mineraloid consisting of a high percentage of carbon. It was first found in a deposit near Shunga vi...
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Black Spinel 3mm Faceted Round - 15-16 Inch
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$11.00
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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...
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Black Spinel 4mm Faceted Round - 15-16 Inch
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$15.00
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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...
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Shungite 8mm Round 15-16 Inch
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$29.00
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Shungite is a black, lustrous, non-crystalline mineraloid consisting of a high percentage of carbon. It was first found in a deposit near Shunga vi...
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$29.00
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Lava 10mm Round - 15-16 Inch
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$12.00
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Lava is rock from the molten center of the earth, once spewed through fractures in the planetary crust or from a volcanic eruption. Once cooled, th...
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Shungite 6mm Round - 15-16 Inch
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$25.00
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Shungite is a black, lustrous, non-crystalline mineraloid consisting of a high percentage of carbon. It was first found in a deposit near Shunga vi...
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$25.00
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MATTE Onyx 8mm Round Large Hole 8-Inch
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$14.00
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Onyx is a black and white banded Chalcedony, a cryptocrystalline Quartz. It is often thought of as an all-black stone, and much of the black Onyx o...
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Onyx 10mm Round Large Hole 8-Inch
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$14.00
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$14.00
Onyx is a black and white banded Chalcedony, a cryptocrystalline Quartz. It is often thought of as an all-black stone, and much of the black Onyx o...
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$14.00
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Black Gold Amazonite 8mm Large Hole Round - 8-Inch
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$12.00
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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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MATTE Onyx 10mm Round - 8-Inch
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$9.00
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Onyx is a black and white banded Chalcedony, a cryptocrystalline Quartz. It is often thought of as an all-black stone, and much of the black Onyx o...
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$9.00
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Lava 4mm Round - 15-16 Inch
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$6.00
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Lava is rock from the molten center of the earth, once spewed through fractures in the planetary crust or from a volcanic eruption. Once cooled, th...
View full details
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$6.00
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Black Gold Amazonite 6mm Round - 8-Inch
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$7.00
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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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$7.00
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MATTE Onyx 4mm Round - 8-Inch
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$6.00
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Onyx is a black and white banded Chalcedony, a cryptocrystalline Quartz. It is often thought of as an all-black stone, and much of the black Onyx o...
View full details
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$6.00
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$6.00
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Onyx 6mm Round Faceted 8-Inch
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$9.00
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$9.00
Onyx is a black and white banded Chalcedony, a cryptocrystalline Quartz. It is often thought of as an all-black stone, and much of the black Onyx o...
View full details
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$9.00
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Black Gold Amazonite 8mm Round - 8-Inch
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$8.00
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$8.00
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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$8.00
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MATTE Black Gold Amazonite 10mm Round 8-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...
View full details
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$9.00
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Larvikite Large Hole 8mm Round - 8-inch
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The name originates from the town of Larvik, Norway where this type of igneous rock is found. Legend has it that it came to the world?s attention i...
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Black Tourmaline 10mm Round - 15-16 Inch
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$24.00
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$24.00
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$24.00
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$24.00
Black Tourmaline is a black crystalline aluminum borosilicate mineral with occasional light gray inclusions that appear as flecks or veins. Tourmal...
View full details
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$24.00
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$24.00
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$24.00
Black Gold Amazonite 10mm Round 8-Inch
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$9.00
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$9.00
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$9.00
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$9.00
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...
View full details
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$9.00
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$9.00
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$9.00
MATTE Black Gold Amazonite 6mm Round - 8-Inch
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$7.00
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$7.00
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$7.00
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$7.00
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...
View full details
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$7.00
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$7.00
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$7.00
Onyx 8mm Star Cut Round 15-16 Inch
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$19.00
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$19.00
Onyx is a black and white banded Chalcedony, a cryptocrystalline Quartz. It is often thought of as an all-black stone, and much of the black Onyx o...
View full details
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$19.00
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$19.00
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$19.00
Black Tourmalinated Quartz 8mm Round 15-16 Inch
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$20.00
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$20.00
Tourmaline naturally occurs in a full color spectrum and is used as both a trade name and as a gemological name for a group of minerals of varying ...
View full details
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$20.00
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$20.00
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$20.00
About this cut
Cut name
Round
Drill style
Center-drilled
Typical sizes
8mm6mm4mm10mm3mm2mm12mm5mm
Stones in this cut
AgateJasperQuartzTurquoiseGarnetTourmalineMoonstoneOpalDZI AgateTiger EyeAmazoniteSapphire
Common uses
stretch braceletsmala and prayer-style strandsclassic beaded necklacesmulti-strand layered designsknotted silk or cord necklacesuniform color-block sections in mixed-cut workmen's beaded bracelets in 8mm and 10mm
Related cuts
Faceted Round, Microfaceted Round, Oval
Design notes
Round is the most forgiving cut to design around — predictable diameter, predictable drill, predictable drape. Scale by wrist or neck: 6mm and 8mm cover most adult bracelet work, 4mm reads delicate on a necklace, 10mm+ carries as statement scale. Rounds pair cleanly with faceted rondelles, heishi, or metal spacers when you want textural contrast without breaking the silhouette. For stones with strong pattern, smooth round shows the material better than the faceted-round sibling cut; for uniform-color stones, faceted rounds add sparkle the smooth cut can't.
Frequently asked questions
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What is a smooth round gemstone bead?
A round bead is a sphere cut from gemstone rough and polished smooth — no facets, no flat edges. Standard rounds are center-drilled straight through the bead so the hole runs pole-to-pole. The geometry makes them the most predictable cut to design with: they sit cleanly on flex wire, stack uniformly on stretch cord, and read as a clean color block without the light play of a faceted surface. Rounds are typically calibrated to nominal sizes (4mm, 6mm, 8mm) within standard trade tolerances, though softer or more fractured stones can vary a half-millimeter strand to strand. -
What sizes does Dakota stock in round?
Round is Dakota's deepest cut by volume. Current stock concentrates in 8mm (554 strands), 6mm (477), 4mm (353), and 10mm (342) — the four sizes that cover most beaded jewelry work. Smaller 2mm and 3mm rounds (54 and 140 strands) work for accent spacers and fine-gauge stringing. 12mm (50) and 5mm (28) are stocked in narrower stone selections. Sizes are nominal; actual diameter can run ±0.3mm depending on the stone and lot, so for tight calibration work pull from a single strand where possible. -
What stones come in round cut?
Almost every stone Dakota carries is available as round somewhere in the range. The deepest selections are agate (195 strands across varieties), jasper (149), quartz (134 — clear, smoky, rose, rutilated, and more), and turquoise (107). Garnet (68), tourmaline (64), moonstone (58), opal (55), DZI agate (53), and tiger eye (48) all hold meaningful stock. Less common stones may only appear in one or two sizes — if you need a specific stone-size pairing, filter the collection or check the size tags on individual products before ordering. -
What jewelry work are round beads best for?
Rounds are the default cut for stretch bracelets, mala-style strands, classic beaded necklaces, and anywhere you want the stone's color and pattern to read without faceted sparkle. They sit predictably next to metal spacers, knot cleanly between cord, and don't catch on fabric the way faceted edges can. 6mm and 8mm are the workhorse sizes for adult bracelets; 4mm suits layered necklaces and children's pieces; 10mm and 12mm carry as statement strands or focal sections. For mixed-cut designs, smooth rounds pair well with faceted rondelles or heishi as a textural counterpoint. -
Smooth round vs faceted round — how do I choose?
Smooth rounds emphasize the stone itself — color, pattern, inclusions, chatoyancy. Faceted rounds (a separate cut in the catalog) cut small flat planes across the sphere to add light return, which reads as sparkle but slightly mutes the underlying pattern. For stones with strong figure — ocean jasper, dendritic agate, picture jasper, moss agate — smooth round shows the material better. For uniformly colored stones — garnet, amethyst, smoky quartz — faceted rounds add visible movement. Both drill the same way, so they swap cleanly in a design if you want to test the difference on a sample strand.