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.
Products: 1631
Red Jasper 6mm Round - 15-16 Inch
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...
View full detailsLabradorite Red Natural 6mm Round - 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 detailsBlue Apatite 6mm Round A Grade - Large Hole Beads
Blue Apatite ranges in color from light teal to blue to bright blue to dark blue to green. It can be easily confused with other minerals due to its...
View full detailsDalmation Jasper 6mm Round - 15-16 Inch
Dalmation Jasper is the trade name for Dalmation Stone, which is not Jasper but rather a combination of Feldspar and Quartz. It is opaque, creamy w...
View full detailsGolden Obsidian 6mm Round - 15-16 Inch
Golden Obsidian is a naturally occurring volcanic glass, shiny black with a golden sheen. Obsidian is produced when lava erupts from a volcano and ...
View full detailsKyanite Multi 6mm Round - 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 detailsLarvikite 6mm Faceted Round Large Hole Beads - 8 Inch
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...
View full detailsAquamarine 6mm Faceted Round Large Hole Beads - 8 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 detailsAfrican Petrified Wood Agate 6mm Round - 15-16 Inch
Petrified Wood Agate is formed from the petrifaction process of primeval trees over the course of many years. Petrification occurs when the wood is...
View full detailsSilver Crazy Lace Agate 6mm Round - 15-16 Inch
Silver Crazy Lace Agate is a naturally occurring form of Crazy Lace Agate, a banded Chalcedony that is predominantly white with layers of brown, gr...
View full detailsBlack Spinel 6mm Round - 15-16 Inch
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...
View full detailsWood Rhodonite 6mm Faceted Round Large Hole Beads - 8 Inch
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...
View full detailsRainbow Obsidian 6mm Round - Large Hole Beads
Rainbow Obsidian earned its name from the chatoyant, rainbow effect of light refracting off of the air buddles inside of the stone. Like all obsidi...
View full detailsRuby Zoisite 6mm Round 15-16 Inch
Ruby Zoisite occurs naturally when small Ruby crystals become embedded within Zoisite. The Ruby inclusions in this stone are pink to reddish purple...
View full detailsNangka Wood 6mm Round Bead - 15-16 Inch
Nangka is the name commonly used in the Philippines for the Jackfruit Tree, which can be found throughout South and Southeast Asia. Its proper name...
View full detailsRed Tiger Eye 6mm Round - 15-16 Inch
Red Tiger Eye is actually Brown Tiger Eye which has been heat treated to bring out the red color. This macrocrystalline Quartz stone has chatoyant ...
View full detailsLapis 6mm Round Faceted Large Hole Beads - 8 Inch
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...
View full detailsPeruvian Turquoise (Chrysocolla) 6mm Round A Grade - 15-16 Inch
Peruvian Turquoise is also known as Turquoise Chrysocolla. It’s attractive blue-green provides a unique color to the mineral world. Peruvian Turquo...
View full detailsLarimar 6mm Round with Matrix - 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 detailsSky Blue Marbled Quartz 6mm Round - Large Hole Beads
Marbeled or Mosaic Quartz is a composite stone made with a combination of dyed quartz and bronzite stone remnants from the cutting process mixed wi...
View full detailsLabradorite 6mm Faceted Round Large Hole Beads - 8 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 detailsKunzite 6mm Round A-Grade - 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 detailsBlack Eye Agate 6mm Round 15-16 Inch
Black Eye Agate is a variety of Sardonyx which has a Sard base, typically of brown or black, with bands of white Onyx running through it. Sard is n...
View full detailsLabradorite 6mm Round Dark, A-Grade - 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 detailsCitrine 6mm Round 15-16 Inch
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...
View full detailsWhite Porcelain Agate 6mm Round - 15-16 inch
Porcelain Agate is a natural agate that is dyed and heated to give it a pattern that resembles porcelain.
Rainbow Obsidian 6mm Round - 15-16 inch
Rainbow Obsidian earned its name from the chatoyant, rainbow effect of light refracting off of the air bubbles inside of the stone. Like all obsidi...
View full detailsGoldstone 6mm Round - 15-16 Inch
Goldstone is a manmade material, consisting of opaque rust to red glass with tiny flecks of glittering copper suspended within it. Goldstone was fi...
View full detailsStrawberry Quartz Cherry 6mm Round A Grade - 15-16 Inch
Strawberry Quartz is a translucent, milky to pink silicon dioxide mineral. Its needle to like inclusions of hematite are iridescent red. Quartz has...
View full detailsMulti Tourmaline 6mm Star Cut Round 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 detailsRiver Stone 6mm Round - Large Hole Beads
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...
View full detailsBloodstone 6mm Round 15-16 Inch
Bloodstone most commonly refers to green Jasper with red inclusions consisting of Hematite. Naturally occuring in hues of blue-green to green with ...
View full detailsGraphic Feldspar 6mm Round - 15-16 Inch
Feldspars are a group of rock-forming aluminum tectosilicate minerals, containing sodium, calcium, potassium or barium. The most common members of ...
View full detailsAncient Cellar Red Agate 6mm Matte Round - 15-16 Inch
Ancient Cellar Red Agate is a natural agate that is dyed and heated to give it the unique color and pattern we call Ancient Cellar.
Selenite 6mm Round Rainbow (Dyed) - 15-16 Inch
Selenite is a crystal formed from the mineral gypsum, which comes in many forms and color variations, but has been used historically to describe th...
View full detailsOcean Jasper 6mm Round 15-16 Inch
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 detailsGolden Sunstone 6mm Round Faceted A Grade - 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 detailsKabamby Ocean Jasper 6mm Round - Large Hole Beads
Named for the village near where it is found in Madagascar, Kabamby Ocean Jasper was first mined in 2002. It is known for its colors to to dark gre...
View full detailsGolden Tiger Eye with Yellow and Blue 6mm Round - 15-16 Inch
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 detailsAzurite 6mm Round AA Grade - 15-16 Inch
Azurite is a Copper carbonate mineral that forms in masses, stalactites, botryoidal, and short prismatic crystals. Azurite in crystal form is extre...
View full detailsLIGHT Bahi (Palm) 6mm Round 15-16 Inch
Bahi Wood comes from Palm trees. The light color indicates that it was harvested from a young tree. Young trees cannot be legally harvested, and th...
View full detailsRuby Zoisite 6mm Round - Large Hole Beads
Ruby Zoisite occurs naturally when small Ruby crystals become embedded within Zoisite. The Ruby inclusions in this stone are pink to reddish purple...
View full detailsCarnelian 6mm Faceted Round - Large Hole Beads
Carnelian is a glassy, translucent stone that can appear with such bright orange hues that the ancient Egyptians called it “the setting sun.” Most ...
View full detailsCarnelian 6mm Round - Large Hole Beads
Carnelian is a glassy, translucent stone that can appear with such bright orange hues that the ancient Egyptians called it “the setting sun.” Most ...
View full detailsBronzite 6mm Round - 15-16 Inch
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...
View full detailsDZI Line Agate 6mm Round Green - 15-16 Inch
“DZI” Agate is made to resemble beads first found in India between 1000 and 2000 BCE. These reproductions are designed in the traditional color, pa...
View full detailsMorganite Banded 6mm Round - 15-16 Inch
Morganite gets its pink hue from the presence of manganese or cesium in the stone. It's actually a pink variety of Beryl -- the family of gemstones...
View full detailsQueen Conch Shell 6mm Round A-Grade - 15-16 Inch
About this cut
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.