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: 1637
Light Purple Lepidolite 6mm Round 15-16
Ancient Cellar Black Agate 12mm Matte Round - 15-16 Inch
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.
Arusha Sunstone 3mm Round Faceted - 15-16 Inch
Arusha Sunstone is a combination of Feldspar and Beryl.
Elephant Skin Jasper 10mm Round - Large Hole Beads
Elephant Skin Jasper, also known as Calligraphy Stone or Miriam Stone, features intricate light brown patterns on dark brown stones. Each stone is ...
View full detailsHematoid Quartz Copper 8mm Round - 15-16 Inch
Hematoid Quartz is Quartz with inclusions of hematite. The hematite inclusions are responsible for the stone’s color, which can be yellow, orange, ...
View full detailsDZI Line Agate 8mm Round Red Brown- 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 detailsEudialyte 8mm Round - 15-16 Inch
Eudialyte is a complex silicate mineral that most commonly forms in granular patterns. It is usually found within coarse grained rocks and contains...
View full detailsBlack Obsidian 8mm Round - 15-16 Inch
Charoite 8mm Round - 15-16 Inch
Charoite is a stone that naturally occurs in intense purple hues, as well as grays, browns, greenish yellows, white and black. These colors swirl t...
View full detailsRuby Banded 2mm Round - 15-16 Inch
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...
View full detailsRed Botswana Agate 10mm Round - 15-16 Inch
Red Botswana Agate displays highly defined parallel banding, usually in white on hues of brown, gray, pink, tan, apricot and purplish red. Botswana...
View full detailsAncient Cellar Red Agate 12mm 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.
Australian Chrysoprase 3mm Round Faceted - 15-16 Inch
Chrysoprase is a bright apple green, translucent stone, whose color often caused ancient jewelers to confuse it with Emerald. A cryptocrystalline C...
View full detailsRed Hematoid Quartz 8mm Round AA Grade - 15-16 Inch
Hematoid Quartz is Quartz with inclusions of hematite. The hematite inclusions are responsible for the stone’s color, which can be yellow, orange, ...
View full detailsHubei Turquoise Banded Brown/Yellow/Blue 2mm Round Faceted - 15-16 Inch
Hubei Turquoise is sourced from Hubei Province in Northern China, one of the most recognized turquoise-producing regions in the world. This materia...
View full detailsLabradorite Plated 10mm Round Faceted - 15-16 Inch - CLEARANCE
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 detailsChrysocolla 6mm Round A Grade 15-16
Introducing a brand NEW Chrysocolla from Congo. Dakota Stones is offering this small batch of first run beads from a brand-new material. The Congo ...
View full detailsTopaz 4mm Round A-Grade - 15-16 Inch
Topaz obtains much of its popularity from its beautiful colors and its status as a birthstone. Natural topaz colors include rare and valuable yello...
View full detailsWhite Porcelain Agate 12mm Round- 15-16 inch
Porcelain Agate is a natural agate that is dyed and heated to give it a pattern that resembles porcelain.
Blue Hackmanite 10mm Round - 15-16 Inch
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...
View full detailsRed Porcelain Jasper 4mm Round - 15-16 Inch
Porcelain Jasper is a brecciated (broken) Jasper originally found on a gold claim high in the Sierra Madre mountains of Mexico, where it continues ...
View full detailsBrazilian Amazonite Clear 4mm Microfaceted Round - 15-16 Inch
Brazilian Amazonite is an opaque blue to green to light green stone, often occurring with inclusions of white, yellow or gray and occasionally tran...
View full detailsAmazonite 10mm Round - 15-16 Inch
Brazilian Amazonite is an opaque blue to green to light green stone, often occurring with inclusions of white, yellow or gray and occasionally tran...
View full detailsSmoky Quartz 6mm Round - 15-16 Inch
Smoky Quartz is a translucent smoky brown or gray variety of Quartz. It ranges from almost completely transparent to an almost opaque brownish to g...
View full detailsPurple Dendritic Opal 8mm Round - 15-16 Inch
This variety of opal is named "dendritic" for the small inclusions within it that resemble moss or ferns. These inclusions consist of iron, mangane...
View full detailsAquamarine 4mm Round A Grade - 15-16 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 detailsHypersthene 14mm Round - 15-16 inch
Orthoceras Fossil (Natural) 10mm Round - 15-16 inch
Orthoceras was an ancient mollusk that lived over 370 million years ago! Fossils are believed to reduce stress, balance emotions and promote confi...
View full detailsBlack Eye Agate 4mm 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 detailsPorcelain Jasper 8mm Round - 15-16 Inch
Porcelain Jasper is a brecciated (broken) Jasper originally found on a gold claim high in the Sierra Madre mountains of Mexico, where it continues ...
View full detailsLemurian Aquatine Calcite 6mm Round - Large Hole Beads
Calcite is the one of the most common minerals. It occurs in a great variety of shapes and colors, and it constitutes a major portion of many of th...
View full detailsAmethyst 6mm Round Faceted - Large Hole Beads
Amethyst is a beautiful purple stone, known as a “Gem of Fire” by ancient cultures. It has been greatly sought after throughout history and was at ...
View full detailsAmethyst 8mm Round Faceted Large Hole Beads - 8 Inch
Amethyst is a beautiful purple stone, known as a “Gem of Fire” by ancient cultures. It has been greatly sought after throughout history and was at ...
View full detailsMookaite 8mm Round Faceted - Large Hole Beads
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...
View full detailsBlue Lace Agate 6mm Round A Grade - 15-16 Inch
Blue Lace Agate is a naturally occurring soft blue agate, laced with bands or swirls of brighter blue, periwinkle, white and occasionally gray or b...
View full detailsCrystal Quartz 12mm Round Carved - 15-16 Inch
Crystal Quartz is a naturally occurring clear and colorless Quartz. It is a crystalline form of Quartz said to have many divine properties includin...
View full detailsBotswana Agate 6mm Round Faceted - Large Hole Beads
Botswana Agate displays highly defined parallel banding, usually in white on hues of brown, gray, pink, tan, apricot and purplish red. Botswana Aga...
View full detailsPietersite 10mm Round - Large Hole Beads
Pietersite has been called the Tempest Stone for its colors of deep blue and gray with metallic gold and flashes of brilliant chatoyancy as it catc...
View full detailsFlower Obsidian 8mm Round - 15-16 Inch
Essentially a volcanic glass, Obsidian ranges in color from opaque black, to green, brown, mahogany, black with rainbow colors, black with snowflak...
View full detailsHubei Turquoise 6mm Blue Round A Grade - 15-16 Inch
Hubei Turquoise is sourced from Hubei Province in Northern China, one of the most recognized turquoise-producing regions in the world. This materia...
View full detailsDiopside 4.5mm Round Faceted - 15-16 Inch
Diopside is a calcium and magnesium silicate mineral. It is transparent or translucent, and can display a nearly emerald green color due to the pre...
View full detailsFreshwater Pearl 9mm White Potato Beads with 2mm Large Hole - 8 Inch
Unlike most gemstones found within the Earth, pearls are organic. Simply, they grow inside the shells of certain species of oysters and clams. Some...
View full detailsBronzite 10mm 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 detailsMahogany Obsidian 4mm Round - 15-16 Inch
Essentially a volcanic glass, Obsidian ranges in color from opaque black, to green, brown, mahogany, black with rainbow colors, black with snowflak...
View full detailsOrange Calcite 6mm Round AAA Grade - 15-16 Inch
Calcite is a rock-forming mineral that is extremely common and found throughout the world in sedimentary, metamorphic, and igneous rocks. Calcite i...
View full detailsDZI Three Eye Agate 10mm Round Black - 12-14 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 detailsChocolate Selenite 6mm Round - 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 detailsSunset Dumortierite 6mm Round - 15-16 Inch
Sunset Dumortierite has a much brighter palette than regular Dumortierite, from light blue to lapis blue to cobalt, as well as some occurrences of ...
View full detailsAbout this cut
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.