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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.

Strawberry Quartz 10mm Round AA Grade - 15-16 Inch

Original price $36.00 - Original price $36.00
Original price $36.00
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Current price $36.00
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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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Ocean Jasper 12mm Round - 15-16 Inch

Original price $37.00 - Original price $37.00
Original price $37.00
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Current price $37.00
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Ocean Jasper is a commercial name for Orbicular Jasper, a variety of Jasper containing variably colored spherical patterns. It forms when Quartz an...

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Cubic Zirconia (CZ) 3mm Round Dark Grey Pearl (Synthetic) - 14.5-15 Inch

Original price $11.00 - Original price $11.00
Original price $11.00
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Current price $11.00
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Zircon occurs in a variety of colors including yellow, green, red, reddish brown and blue hues, as well as colorless. Colorless Zircon of the highe...

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Shungite Faceted 6mm Round - 15-16 Inch

Original price $28.00 - Original price $28.00
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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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Sodalite 10mm Round 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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Australian Boulder Opal Faceted 3mm Round - 15-16 Inch

Original price $32.00 - Original price $32.00
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Boulder Opal is a golden-brown to dark brown stone, displaying these colors in patterns of parallel bands. It is considered a precious Opal, and fo...

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Blue White Porcelain Agate 8mm Matte Round - 15-16 inch

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Porcelain Agate is a natural agate that is dyed and heated to give it the unique blue/white color and pattern that resembles porcelain.

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Prehnite with Rutilate 6mm Round - 15-16 Inch

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Prehnite was the first mineral to be named after a person: its discoverer, Dutch Colonel Hendrik Von Prehn. Von Prehn discovered the stone in South...

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Kyanite Multi 10mm Round - 15-16 Inch

Original price $67.00 - Original price $67.00
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Current price $67.00
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Kyanite often occurs as long, bladed, striated crystals, transparent or translucent with a pearly luster. An aluminum silicate mineral, it may appe...

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GoldStone 10mm Round - 15-16 Inch

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Goldstone is a manmade material, consisting of opaque rust-red glass with tiny flecks of glittering copper suspended within it. Goldstone was first...

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Hemimorphite 8mm Round - 15-16 Inch

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Most hemimorphite is found in the rocks above and surrounding zinc deposits. Hemimorphite is a favorite collector gem because it occurs in a range...

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DZI Eye Agate 10mm Round Dark Green - 15-16 Inch

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“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...

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Iolite 10mm Faceted Round - 15-16 Inch - CLEARANCE

Original price $30.00 - Original price $30.00
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Iolite most commonly occurs in shades of blue to gray, violet or indigo. It displays a visual property called “pleochroism,” which means that it ca...

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Australian Boulder Opal Faceted 5mm Round - 15-16 inch

Original price $52.00 - Original price $52.00
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Boulder Opal is a golden-brown to dark brown stone, displaying these colors in patterns of parallel bands. It is considered a precious Opal, and fo...

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Opalite Pink (Synthetic) 8mm Faceted Round - 15-16 inch - CLEARANCE

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Opalite is the trade name for man to made glass treated to exhibit the internal flashes of true Opals in translucent samples, and opalescence or lu...

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Morganite 4mm Round Faceted AA Grade Banded - 15-16 inch

Original price $37.00 - Original price $37.00
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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...

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Seraphinite 3mm Round Faceted A Grade - 15-16 Inch

Original price $24.00 - Original price $24.00
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Seraphinite's chatoyancy (optical reflectance) gives it a feathery appearance associated with angels (also known as seraphim.) Seraphinite is most ...

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Mexican Red Snowflake Jasper 6mm Round - 15-16 Inch

Original price $17.00 - Original price $17.00
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Mexican Red Snowflake Jasper is a naturally occurring Jasper with deep red, bright red, pink and golden mottling and spots within the primarily bla...

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Pink Opal 4mm Round A Grade - 15-16 Inch

Original price $24.00 - Original price $24.00
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Pink Opal is a variety of non to precious opal, meaning that it has lustre and some translucency without the fire or color play associated with pre...

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Thulite 8mm Round AA Grade - 15-16 Inch

Original price $36.00 - Original price $36.00
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Current price $36.00
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Thulite is the naturally occurring pink variety of the mineral Zoisite. It can range in color from pale pink to deep rose or even rusty red tones d...

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Peruvian Rhodochrosite 16mm Round - 15-16 Inch

Original price $35.00 - Original price $35.00
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Rhodochrosite is a bubblegum pink to rose red stone, with occasional inclusions of creamy white and dark grey. A manganese carbonate material of th...

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Purple Fluorite 8mm Round A Grade- 15-16 Inch

Original price $34.00 - Original price $34.00
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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...

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Madagascar Green Dendritic Opal 6mm Round - 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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Hubei Turquoise Banded Brown/Blue/Black/Olive 3mm Round Faceted - 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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Alashan Agate 4mm Microfaceted Round - 15-16 Inch

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Cubic Zirconia (CZ) 3mm Round Light Yellow Pearl (Synthetic) - 14.5-15 Inch

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Zircon occurs in a variety of colors including yellow, green, red, reddish brown and blue hues, as well as colorless. Colorless Zircon of the highe...

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Black Silver Leaf Jasper 6mm Round 15-16

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Black Silverleaf Jasper is a rare form of Jasper, characterized by its color range of black, gray and white and its swirling, leafy patterns. It is...

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Ruby and Sapphire Natural 9-10mm Round - 15-16 Inch

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Ruby has long been considered one of the most beautiful and valuable gemstones on the planet. It is also one of the hardest, second only to Diamond...

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Ancient Cellar Black Agate 12mm Round - 15-16 Inch

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Ancient Cellar Black Agate is a natural agate that is dyed and heated to give it the unique color and pattern we call Ancient Cellar.

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Silver Grey Moonstone 8mm Round A Grade - 15-16 Inch

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Moonstone naturally occurs in a broad spectrum of colors, but is most commonly associated with white, gray and peach. It's soft chatoyancy is remin...

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Selenite 6mm Round Lime Pink (Dyed) - 15-16 Inch

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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...

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Aquamarine Natural 3mm Faceted Round AAA Grade - 15-16 Inch

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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...

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Mexican Laguna Lace Agate 8mm Round - 15-16 inch

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Mexican Laguna Lace Agate is one of the most prized agates in the world. It is a variety of banded Chalcedony with layers that may contain scarlet,...

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Onyx 10mm Round Step Cut - 15-16 Inch

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Onyx is a black and white banded Chalcedony, a cryptocrystalline Quartz. It is often thought of as an all to black stone, and much of the black Ony...

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Blue Apatite 10mm Round Faceted - 15-16 Inch - CLEARANCE

Original price $47.00 - Original price $47.00
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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...

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Hubei Turquoise 2mm Blue/Matrix/Green/Brown Round Faceted Banded - 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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Blue Moonstone 8mm Round AA Grade - 15-16 Inch

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Moonstone naturally occurs in a broad spectrum of colors, but is most commonly associated with white, gray and peach. It's soft chatoyancy is remin...

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Cubic Zirconia (CZ) 3mm Round Light Orange Pearl (Synthetic) - 14.5-15 Inch

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Zircon occurs in a variety of colors including yellow, green, red, reddish brown and blue hues, as well as colorless. Colorless Zircon of the highe...

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Hubei Turquoise 4mm Blue Green Round AA Grade - 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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Black Spinel 10mm Natural Round - 15-16 Inch

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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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Blue Goldstone 10mm Round - 15-16 Inch

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Blue Goldstone is an opaque, midnight blue glass with flecks of copper suspended within it. These flecks glitter as they catch the light and may ap...

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Silver Grey Moonstone 6mm Round A Grade - 15-16 Inch

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Moonstone naturally occurs in a broad spectrum of colors, but is most commonly associated with white, gray and peach. It's soft chatoyancy is remin...

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Bicolor Sunstone 6mm Round - 15-16 Inch

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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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Jadeite 6mm Round - 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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DZI Eye Agate 10mm Round Black Brown - 15-16 Inch

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“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...

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DZI Line Agate 10mm Round Green - 15-16 Inch

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“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...

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Rainbow Sapphire 4mm Round Faceted - 15-16 Inch

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Sapphires are precious gemstones, but unlike rubies, they come in a rainbow of colors besides red!  They are all varieties of the mineral corundum,...

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Wampum Shell 12mm Round - 15-16 Inch

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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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About this cut

Round bead shape diagram
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

  • 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.