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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.

Products: 1502

Golden Sunstone 10mm Round Faceted A Grade - 15-16 Inch - CLEARANCE

Original price $63.00 - Original price $63.00
Original price $63.00
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Current price $63.00

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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Original price $63.00 - Original price $63.00
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Current price $63.00

Lapis 8mm Round Faceted - 15-16 Inch

Original price $33.00 - Original price $33.00
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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...

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Original price $33.00 - Original price $33.00
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Large Hole

Iolite 8mm Round - Large Hole Beads

Original price $28.00 - Original price $28.00
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Current price $28.00

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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Original price $28.00 - Original price $28.00
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Large Hole

Brazilian Amazonite 10mm Round - Large Hole Beads

Original price $23.00 - Original price $23.00
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Current price $23.00

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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Original price $23.00 - Original price $23.00
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Green Apatite 4mm Faceted Round Banded - 15-16 Inch

Original price $18.00 - Original price $18.00
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Green Apatite is a transparent to translucent stone that may be green, yellow to green or sea to green in color. Apatite has been labeled the “dece...

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Rhodochrosite with Matrix Natural 10mm Round - 15-16 Inch

Original price $67.00 - Original price $67.00
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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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Original price $67.00 - Original price $67.00
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Red Tiger Eye 10mm Round - 15-16 Inch

Original price $19.00 - Original price $19.00
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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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DZI Line Agate 10mm Faceted Round Brown White - 15-16 Inch

Original price $16.00 - Original price $16.00
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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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Sunset Dumortierite 8mm 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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Yellow Calcite 4mm Round A Grade - 15-16 Inch

Original price $10.00 - Original price $10.00
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Calcite is a rock-forming mineral that is extremely common and found throughout the world in sedimentary, metamorphic, and igneous rocks. Calcite i...

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Carnelian 10mm Round - 15-16 Inch

Original price $18.00 - Original price $18.00
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Carnelian is a glassy, translucent stone that can appear with such bright orange hues that the ancient Egyptians called it “the setting sun.” Most ...

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Dumortierite 8mm Round AAA Grade - 15-16 Inch

Original price $32.00 - Original price $32.00
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Dumortierite is an aluminum borosilicate mineral that varies in color from blue, green and brown to the more rare violet and pink. First described ...

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Golden Tiger Eye 4mm Round - 15-16 Inch

Original price $13.00 - Original price $13.00
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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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Original price $13.00 - Original price $13.00
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Iolite 6mm Round A Grade - 15-16 Inch

Original price $22.00 - Original price $22.00
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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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Original price $22.00 - Original price $22.00
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Black Tourmaline 6mm Round A Grade - 15-16 Inch

Original price $14.00 - Original price $14.00
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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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Blue Ice Glaciertite 8mm Round A Grade - 15-16 Inch

Original price $45.00 - Original price $45.00
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Glacierite, also known as Blue Ice Glacierite or Blue Ice Nakaurite, is a rare, newly discovered mineral from Indonesia that is an accidental bypro...

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Silver Obsidian 4mm Microfaceted Round - 15-16 Inch

Original price $14.00 - Original price $14.00
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Essentially a volcanic glass, Obsidian ranges in color from opaque black, to green, brown, mahogany, black with rainbow colors, black with snowflak...

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Rhodochrosite 3mm Microfaceted Round A Grade - 15-16 Inch

Original price $21.00 - Original price $21.00
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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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Original price $21.00 - Original price $21.00
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Mexican Laguna Lace Agate 10mm Round - 15-16 inch

Original price $26.00 - Original price $26.00
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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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Aquamarine (multi) 6mm Star Cut Round 15-16 Inch

Original price $22.00 - Original price $22.00
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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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Biotite Black 4mm Round - 15-16 Inch

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Topaz 8mm Round A Grade - 15-16 Inch

Original price $56.00 - Original price $56.00
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Topaz is a rare silicate mineral and obtains much of its popularity from its beautiful colors and its status as a birthstone. Topaz occurs in a wi...

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Original price $56.00 - Original price $56.00
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Tourmalated Quartz Green 8mm Round - 15-16 Inch

Original price $39.00 - Original price $39.00
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Tourmalated Quartz is clear Quartz that has formed with Black Tourmaline. These needle to like black inclusions of Tourmaline are quite striking wi...

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Citrine 10mm Round (Natural) A Grade - 15-16 inch

Original price $42.00 - Original price $42.00
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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...

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Pink Opal 10mm Round A Grade - 15-16 Inch

Original price $42.00 - Original price $42.00
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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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Original price $42.00 - Original price $42.00
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Blue Moonstone 10mm Round AA Grade - 15-16 Inch

Original price $84.00 - Original price $84.00
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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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Original price $84.00 - Original price $84.00
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Russian Amazonite 10mm Round - 15-16 Inch

Original price $72.00 - Original price $72.00
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Russian Amazonite is a translucent blue to green to green or light green stone, occurring with inclusions of white, black or yellow. It is named fo...

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Original price $72.00 - Original price $72.00
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Aquamarine Multi Natural 10mm Round A Grade - 15-16 Inch

Original price $40.00 - Original price $40.00
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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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Original price $40.00 - Original price $40.00
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Ice Obsidian 10mm Round - 8-Inch

Original price $8.00 - Original price $8.00
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Ice Obsidian is a light brown to green to gray volcanic stone. Obsidian is formed when felsic lava cools without crystal growth. It is sometimes us...

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Original price $8.00 - Original price $8.00
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Picture Jasper 8mm Round - 15-16 Inch

Original price $11.00 - Original price $11.00
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Picture Jasper is a form of brown Jasper characterized by its unique banding and flow patterns created by petrified or silicate mud and occasional ...

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Original price $11.00 - Original price $11.00
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African Blood Stone 8mm Round - 15-16 Inch

Regular Price $11.00
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Bloodstone most commonly refers to green Jasper with red inclusions consisting of Hematite. Naturally occuring in hues of blue to green to green wi...

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Sale Sale

Green Chalcedony 4mm Round - 15-16 Inch

Original price $13.00 - Original price $13.00
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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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Large Hole

Black Rutilated Quartz 8mm Large Hole Round - 8 Inch

Original price $15.00 - Original price $15.00
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Rutilated Quartz is a silicon dioxide mineral with unique needle-like inclusions of Rutile. These “needles” usually appear golden, but can also app...

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Peruvian Turquoise (Chrysocolla) 4mm Microfaceted Round - 15-16 Inch

Original price $22.00 - Original price $22.00
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Peruvian Turquoise is also known as Turquoise Chrysocolla. It’s attractive blue-green provides a unique color to the mineral world. Peruvian Turquo...

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Original price $22.00 - Original price $22.00
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Magnesite (Dyed) Orange 4mm Round - 15-16 Inch

Original price $10.00 - Original price $10.00
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Magnesite is a soft mineral best known for being dyed to imitate other gemstones. Natural magnesite stones are usually white with a dark web-like p...

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Magnesite (Dyed) Purple 8mm Round - 15-16 Inch

Original price $14.00 - Original price $14.00
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Magnesite is a soft mineral best known for being dyed to imitate other gemstones. Natural magnesite stones are usually white with a dark web-like p...

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Original price $14.00 - Original price $14.00
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Blue Black Porcelain Agate 12mm Round - 15-16 inch

Original price $16.00 - Original price $16.00
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Porcelain Agate is a natural agate that is dyed and heated to give it the unique blue/black color and pattern that resembles porcelain.

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Large Hole

Kabamby Ocean Jasper 10mm Round - Large Hole Beads

Original price $15.00 - Original price $15.00
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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...

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Peruvian Turquoise (Chrysocolla) 10mm Round A Grade - 15-16 Inch

Original price $61.00 - Original price $61.00
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Peruvian Turquoise is also known as Turquoise Chrysocolla. It’s attractive blue-green provides a unique color to the mineral world. Peruvian Turquo...

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Original price $61.00 - Original price $61.00
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Hematoid Quartz Copper 10mm Round - 15-16 Inch

Original price $20.00 - Original price $20.00
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Hematoid Quartz is Quartz with inclusions of hematite. The hematite inclusions are responsible for the stone’s color, which can be yellow, orange, ...

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Blue Lace Agate 8mm Round A Grade - 15-16 Inch

Original price $64.00 - Original price $64.00
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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...

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Original price $64.00 - Original price $64.00
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Multi Tourmaline 4mm Faceted Round AAA Grade Beads - 15-16 Inch

Original price $72.00 - Original price $72.00
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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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Original price $72.00 - Original price $72.00
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DZI Turtle Agate 10mm Faceted Round Brown White - 15-16 Inch

Original price $16.00 - Original price $16.00
Original price $16.00
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Current price $16.00

“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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Original price $16.00 - Original price $16.00
Original price $16.00
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Current price $16.00

Hackmanite 6mm Round - 15-16 Inch

Original price $19.00 - Original price $19.00
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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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Original price $19.00 - Original price $19.00
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Peruvian Turquoise (Chrysocolla) 4mm Round Faceted A Grade - 15-16 Inch

Original price $23.00 - Original price $23.00
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Current price $23.00

Peruvian Turquoise is also known as Turquoise Chrysocolla. It’s attractive blue-green provides a unique color to the mineral world. Peruvian Turquo...

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Original price $23.00 - Original price $23.00
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Black Obsidian 10mm Round - 15-16 Inch

Original price $14.00 - Original price $14.00
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Black Obsidian 6mm Round - 15-16 Inch

Original price $10.00 - Original price $10.00
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Variscite 6mm Round A Grade - 15-16 Inch

Original price $27.00 - Original price $27.00
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Current price $27.00

Variscite is a hydrated aluminum phosphate is formed when phosphate-rich water reacts with aluminum-rich rocks near the surface. In its purest form...

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Original price $27.00 - Original price $27.00
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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.