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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.

DZI Eye Agate 10mm Round Brown - 15-16 Inch

Original price $15.00 - Original price $15.00
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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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Blue Chalcedony (Marbled) 10mm Round 15-16 Inch

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Blue Chalcedony is a naturally occurring soft blue translucent stone. It is a member of the Quartz family, a form of silica with a cryptocrystallin...

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Iolite 4mm Microfaceted Round A Grade - 15-16 Inch

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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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Selenite 6mm Round Rainbow (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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Ocean Jasper 6mm Round 15-16 Inch

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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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Iolite Faceted 4mm Round - 15-16 Inch

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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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Aquamarine 4mm Faceted Round 15-16

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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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Multi Tourmaline 3mm Round Faceted AA Grade Banded (Light)- 15-16 Inch

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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...

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Strawberry Quartz 8mm Round AA Grade - 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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GoldStone 8mm 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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Shungite 8mm Faceted Round - 15-16 Inch

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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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Golden Sunstone 6mm Round Faceted A Grade - 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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Blue Moonstone Faceted 4mm Round - 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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Black Spinel 4mm 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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Amazonite 8mm Round A Grade - 15-16 Inch

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Brazilian Amazonite is an opaque blue to green to light green stone, often occurring with inclusions of white, yellow or gray and occasionally tran...

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Green Goldstone 8mm Round - 15-16 Inch

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Green Goldstone is an opaque, almost black glass with flecks of copper suspended within it. These flecks glitter as they catch the light and appear...

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Golden Tiger Eye with Yellow and Blue 6mm Round - 15-16 Inch

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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...

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Azurite 6mm Round AA Grade - 15-16 Inch

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Azurite is a Copper carbonate mineral that forms in masses, stalactites, botryoidal, and short prismatic crystals. Azurite in crystal form is extre...

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Botswana Agate 12mm Round - 15-16 inch

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Botswana Agate displays highly defined parallel banding, usually in white on hues of brown, gray, pink, tan, apricot and purplish red. Botswana Aga...

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Moonstone 10mm Round 15-16 Inch

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Rainbow Moonstone is named for its moon-like glow or chatoyancy, as well as a prismatic quality that differentiates it from other varieties of Moon...

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LIGHT Bahi (Palm) 6mm Round 15-16 Inch

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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...

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Sodalite 10mm Faceted 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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Mookaite 10mm Round - 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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MATTE River Stone 8mm Round 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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Golden Obsidian 4mm Round - 15-16 Inch

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Golden Obsidian is a naturally occurring volcanic glass, shiny black with a golden sheen. Obsidian is produced when lava erupts from a volcano and ...

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Polychrome Jasper 8mm Round - 15-16 Inch

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Polychrome Jasper is considered one of the rarest Jaspers in the world. First discovered in 2006, it is exclusively sourced from a single small dep...

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DZI Three Eye Agate 8mm Round Blue - 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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Queen Conch Shell 4mm Round A-Grade - 15-16 Inch

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Cubic Zirconia (CZ) Green 3mm Round Faceted - 15-16 Inch

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Cubic Zirconia, abbreviated as CZ, is a lab-made form of zirconium dioxide. Made to resemble Diamonds, these stones offer the same beauty and spark...

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Indigo Gabbro 8mm Round - 15-16 Inch

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Indigo gabbro is a color variant of the igneous mineral, gabbro. Typically, this color forms black, but occasionally gabbro comes in oranges and gr...

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Blue White Porcelain Agate 10mm 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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Bronzite 4mm Round - 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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Bronzite 6mm Round - 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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Rainbow Obsidian 8mm Round - 15-16 Inch

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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...

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Red Tiger Eye 4mm Round - 15-16 Inch

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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 ...

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Blue Hackmanite 8mm Round - 15-16 Inch

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Discovered in Greenland in the late 1890's, hackmanite is named for Finnish geologist Victor Hackman. It is a rare occurrence to find gem-grade hac...

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DZI Line Agate 6mm 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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Sunset Dumortierite 10mm Faceted Round - 15-16 Inch

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Sunset Dumortierite has a much brighter palette than regular Dumortierite, from light blue to lapis blue to cobalt, as well as some occurrences of ...

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Morganite Banded 6mm Round - 15-16 Inch

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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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Queen Conch Shell 6mm Round A-Grade - 15-16 Inch

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Australian Chrysoprase Faceted, Banded 2mm Round - 15-16 Inch

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Chrysoprase is a bright apple green, translucent stone, whose color often caused ancient jewelers to confuse it with Emerald. A cryptocrystalline C...

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Brazilian Amazonite Plated 10mm Round Faceted - 15-16 Inch - CLEARANCE

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Brazilian Amazonite is an opaque blue to green to light green stone, often occurring with inclusions of white, yellow or gray and occasionally tran...

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Rainbow Jade (Natural) 4mm 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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Labradorite 3mm Round Faceted AAA Grade - 15-16 Inch

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Labradorite is remarkable for the way its aggregate layers refract light, creating iridescent flashes of blue, gold, pale green or copper red. This...

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Green Goldstone 6mm Round - 15-16 Inch

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Green Goldstone is an opaque, almost black glass with flecks of copper suspended within it. These flecks glitter as they catch the light and appear...

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Ruby Zoisite 3mm Round - 15-16 Inch

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Ruby Zoisite occurs naturally when small Ruby crystals become embedded within Zoisite. The Ruby inclusions in this stone are pink to reddish purple...

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Rose Quartz 8mm Round A Grade - 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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Selenite 8mm Round Green Purple (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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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.