Skip to content

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.

Amethyst 6mm Round 15-16 Inch

Original price $22.00 - Original price $22.00
Original price $22.00
$22.00 - $22.00
Current price $22.00
Login for wholesale

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 details
Original price $22.00 - Original price $22.00
Original price $22.00
$22.00 - $22.00
Current price $22.00
Login for wholesale

Blue Black Porcelain Agate 12mm Round - 15-16 inch

Original price $16.00 - Original price $16.00
Original price $16.00
$16.00 - $16.00
Current price $16.00
Login for wholesale

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

Original price $16.00 - Original price $16.00
Original price $16.00
$16.00 - $16.00
Current price $16.00
Login for wholesale

Kabamby Ocean Jasper 10mm Round - Large Hole Beads

Original price $15.00 - Original price $15.00
Original price $15.00
$15.00 - $15.00
Current price $15.00
Login for wholesale

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 details
Original price $15.00 - Original price $15.00
Original price $15.00
$15.00 - $15.00
Current price $15.00
Login for wholesale

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

Original price $61.00 - Original price $61.00
Original price $61.00
$61.00 - $61.00
Current price $61.00
Login for wholesale

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 details
Original price $61.00 - Original price $61.00
Original price $61.00
$61.00 - $61.00
Current price $61.00
Login for wholesale

Hematoid Quartz Copper 10mm Round - 15-16 Inch

Original price $20.00 - Original price $20.00
Original price $20.00
$20.00 - $20.00
Current price $20.00
Login for wholesale

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 details
Original price $20.00 - Original price $20.00
Original price $20.00
$20.00 - $20.00
Current price $20.00
Login for wholesale

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

Original price $64.00 - Original price $64.00
Original price $64.00
$64.00 - $64.00
Current price $64.00
Login for wholesale

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 details
Original price $64.00 - Original price $64.00
Original price $64.00
$64.00 - $64.00
Current price $64.00
Login for wholesale

Lavender Amethyst 10mm Round AAA Grade - 15-16 Inch

Regular Price $48.00
Original price $48.00 - Original price $48.00
Original price $48.00
Sale Price $33.00
Login for wholesale
$33.00 - $33.00
Current price $33.00
Login for wholesale

Lavender Amethyst is a transparent lavender variety of Amethyst, which forms in geodes and is generally found in clusters of crystal points. The pr...

View full details
Regular Price $48.00
Original price $48.00 - Original price $48.00
Original price $48.00
Sale Price $33.00
Login for wholesale
$33.00 - $33.00
Current price $33.00
Login for wholesale
Sale Sale

Tourmaline 4mm Faceted Round AAA Grade - 15-16 Inch

Original price $72.00 - Original price $72.00
Original price $72.00
$72.00 - $72.00
Current price $72.00
Login for wholesale

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 details
Original price $72.00 - Original price $72.00
Original price $72.00
$72.00 - $72.00
Current price $72.00
Login for wholesale

DZI Turtle Agate 10mm Faceted Round Brown White - 15-16 Inch

Original price $16.00 - Original price $16.00
Original price $16.00
$16.00 - $16.00
Current price $16.00
Login for wholesale

“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 details
Original price $16.00 - Original price $16.00
Original price $16.00
$16.00 - $16.00
Current price $16.00
Login for wholesale

Hackmanite 6mm Round - 15-16 Inch

Original price $18.00 - Original price $18.00
Original price $18.00
$18.00 - $18.00
Current price $18.00
Login for wholesale

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 details
Original price $18.00 - Original price $18.00
Original price $18.00
$18.00 - $18.00
Current price $18.00
Login for wholesale

Black Obsidian 10mm Round - 15-16 Inch

Original price $14.00 - Original price $14.00
Original price $14.00
$14.00 - $14.00
Current price $14.00
Login for wholesale

Original price $14.00 - Original price $14.00
Original price $14.00
$14.00 - $14.00
Current price $14.00
Login for wholesale

Variscite 6mm Round A Grade - 15-16 Inch

Original price $27.00 - Original price $27.00
Original price $27.00
$27.00 - $27.00
Current price $27.00
Login for wholesale

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

View full details
Original price $27.00 - Original price $27.00
Original price $27.00
$27.00 - $27.00
Current price $27.00
Login for wholesale

K2 12mm Round - 15-16 Inch

Original price $296.00 - Original price $296.00
Original price $296.00
$296.00 - $296.00
Current price $296.00
Login for wholesale

K2 is a stone recently discovered in the foothills of the mountain for which it is named, K2, in the Karakoram mountain range of Pakistan. It is a ...

View full details
Original price $296.00 - Original price $296.00
Original price $296.00
$296.00 - $296.00
Current price $296.00
Login for wholesale

Opalite Yellow (Synthetic) 4mm Round - 15-16 inch - CLEARANCE

Original price $15.00 - Original price $15.00
Original price $15.00
$15.00 - $15.00
Current price $15.00
Login for wholesale

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...

View full details
Original price $15.00 - Original price $15.00
Original price $15.00
$15.00 - $15.00
Current price $15.00
Login for wholesale

Hydrogrossular Garnet 10mm Round - 15-16 Inch

Original price $36.00 - Original price $36.00
Original price $36.00
$36.00 - $36.00
Current price $36.00
Login for wholesale

Hydrogrossular garnet is an especially rare gemstone. It's defined by a bright green color, and most commonly found with black inclusions. These in...

View full details
Original price $36.00 - Original price $36.00
Original price $36.00
$36.00 - $36.00
Current price $36.00
Login for wholesale

Mixed Lodalite Quartz 10mm Round - Large Hole Beads

Original price $20.00 - Original price $20.00
Original price $20.00
$20.00 - $20.00
Current price $20.00
Login for wholesale

Mixed Lodolite is Quartz with inclusions of sand. These inclusions range broadly in type and color and produce patterns that can look like gardens....

View full details
Original price $20.00 - Original price $20.00
Original price $20.00
$20.00 - $20.00
Current price $20.00
Login for wholesale

Brazilian Amazonite 8mm Round Faceted - Large Hole Beads

Original price $23.00 - Original price $23.00
Original price $23.00
$23.00 - $23.00
Current price $23.00
Login for wholesale

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 details
Original price $23.00 - Original price $23.00
Original price $23.00
$23.00 - $23.00
Current price $23.00
Login for wholesale

Pink Opal 6mm Round Faceted - Large Hole Beads

Original price $23.00 - Original price $23.00
Original price $23.00
$23.00 - $23.00
Current price $23.00
Login for wholesale

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...

View full details
Original price $23.00 - Original price $23.00
Original price $23.00
$23.00 - $23.00
Current price $23.00
Login for wholesale

Selenite 10mm Round Green Purple (Dyed) - 15-16 Inch

Original price $27.00 - Original price $27.00
Original price $27.00
$27.00 - $27.00
Current price $27.00
Login for wholesale

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 details
Original price $27.00 - Original price $27.00
Original price $27.00
$27.00 - $27.00
Current price $27.00
Login for wholesale

Plum Tourmaline 8mm Round - 15-16 Inch

Original price $28.00 - Original price $28.00
Original price $28.00
$28.00 - $28.00
Current price $28.00
Login for wholesale

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 details
Original price $28.00 - Original price $28.00
Original price $28.00
$28.00 - $28.00
Current price $28.00
Login for wholesale

Black Mica 8mm Round A Grade - 15-16 Inch

Original price $24.00 - Original price $24.00
Original price $24.00
$24.00 - $24.00
Current price $24.00
Login for wholesale

Mica is a mineral name given to a group of minerals that are physically and chemically similar. They are all silicate minerals, known as sheet sil...

View full details
Original price $24.00 - Original price $24.00
Original price $24.00
$24.00 - $24.00
Current price $24.00
Login for wholesale

Pink Green Yellow Banded Tourmaline 2mm Faceted Round - 15-16 Inch

Original price $24.00 - Original price $24.00
Original price $24.00
$24.00 - $24.00
Current price $24.00
Login for wholesale

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 details
Original price $24.00 - Original price $24.00
Original price $24.00
$24.00 - $24.00
Current price $24.00
Login for wholesale

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

Original price $16.00 - Original price $16.00
Original price $16.00
$16.00 - $16.00
Current price $16.00
Login for wholesale

“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 details
Original price $16.00 - Original price $16.00
Original price $16.00
$16.00 - $16.00
Current price $16.00
Login for wholesale

Crystal Quartz 8mm Round Faceted - Large Hole Beads

Original price $21.00 - Original price $21.00
Original price $21.00
$21.00 - $21.00
Current price $21.00
Login for wholesale

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 details
Original price $21.00 - Original price $21.00
Original price $21.00
$21.00 - $21.00
Current price $21.00
Login for wholesale

Iolite 6mm Round Faceted - Large Hole Beads

Original price $24.00 - Original price $24.00
Original price $24.00
$24.00 - $24.00
Current price $24.00
Login for wholesale

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...

View full details
Original price $24.00 - Original price $24.00
Original price $24.00
$24.00 - $24.00
Current price $24.00
Login for wholesale

Selenite 6mm Round Pastel Rainbow (Dyed) - 15-16 Inch

Original price $20.00 - Original price $20.00
Original price $20.00
$20.00 - $20.00
Current price $20.00
Login for wholesale

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 details
Original price $20.00 - Original price $20.00
Original price $20.00
$20.00 - $20.00
Current price $20.00
Login for wholesale

Opal (Dyed) 4-7x10-11mm Sky Blue Graduated Irregular Round - 15-16 Inch

Original price $12.00 - Original price $12.00
Original price $12.00
$12.00 - $12.00
Current price $12.00
Login for wholesale

0

Original price $12.00 - Original price $12.00
Original price $12.00
$12.00 - $12.00
Current price $12.00
Login for wholesale

Wood Rhodonite 8mm Round - 15-16 Inch

Original price $14.00 - Original price $14.00
Original price $14.00
$14.00 - $14.00
Current price $14.00
Login for wholesale

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 details
Original price $14.00 - Original price $14.00
Original price $14.00
$14.00 - $14.00
Current price $14.00
Login for wholesale

Pink Tourmaline with Leopidolite 6mm Round A Grade - 15-16 Inch

Original price $18.00 - Original price $18.00
Original price $18.00
$18.00 - $18.00
Current price $18.00
Login for wholesale

Pink Tourmaline ranges in color from light pink to deep magenta, with inclusions of white to colorless translucent or transparent. Tourmaline occur...

View full details
Original price $18.00 - Original price $18.00
Original price $18.00
$18.00 - $18.00
Current price $18.00
Login for wholesale

Elephant Skin Jasper 6mm Round - 15-16 Inch

Original price $14.00 - Original price $14.00
Original price $14.00
$14.00 - $14.00
Current price $14.00
Login for wholesale

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 details
Original price $14.00 - Original price $14.00
Original price $14.00
$14.00 - $14.00
Current price $14.00
Login for wholesale

Golden Grey Moonstone 6mm Round - 15-16 Inch

Original price $14.00 - Original price $14.00
Original price $14.00
$14.00 - $14.00
Current price $14.00
Login for wholesale

Grey Moonstone is named for its grey glow or chatoyancy, as well as a prismatic quality that differentiates it from other varieties of Moonstone. M...

View full details
Original price $14.00 - Original price $14.00
Original price $14.00
$14.00 - $14.00
Current price $14.00
Login for wholesale

Orange Garnet 6mm Faceted Round - 8-Inch

Original price $11.00 - Original price $11.00
Original price $11.00
$11.00 - $11.00
Current price $11.00
Login for wholesale

Orange or Hessonite Garnet is sometimes called “Cinnamon Stone” for its orange to orange to brown color as well as for its origin in the land of sp...

View full details
Original price $11.00 - Original price $11.00
Original price $11.00
$11.00 - $11.00
Current price $11.00
Login for wholesale

Magnesite (Dyed) Lime Green 8mm Round - 15-16 Inch

Original price $14.00 - Original price $14.00
Original price $14.00
$14.00 - $14.00
Current price $14.00
Login for wholesale

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...

View full details
Original price $14.00 - Original price $14.00
Original price $14.00
$14.00 - $14.00
Current price $14.00
Login for wholesale

Kunzite 10mm Round A-Grade - 15-16 Inch

Original price $84.00 - Original price $84.00
Original price $84.00
$84.00 - $84.00
Current price $84.00
Login for wholesale

Kunzite was named after a former Tiffany & Co. vice president, famed mineralogist and jeweler George Frederick Kunz, who first catalogued the s...

View full details
Original price $84.00 - Original price $84.00
Original price $84.00
$84.00 - $84.00
Current price $84.00
Login for wholesale

Golden Blood Quartz 10mm Round Grade A - 15-16 inch

Original price $23.00 - Original price $23.00
Original price $23.00
$23.00 - $23.00
Current price $23.00
Login for wholesale

Everything you loved about Blood Quartz is magnified in the A-Grade version of the material. The quality and transparency of the Quartz almost make...

View full details
Original price $23.00 - Original price $23.00
Original price $23.00
$23.00 - $23.00
Current price $23.00
Login for wholesale

Cacoxenite Natural 6mm Round A Grade - 15-16 Inch

Original price $26.00 - Original price $26.00
Original price $26.00
$26.00 - $26.00
Current price $26.00
Login for wholesale

Cacoxenite is the trade name for this naturally occurring blend of seven stone types. It was originally named for the visible inclusions of the min...

View full details
Original price $26.00 - Original price $26.00
Original price $26.00
$26.00 - $26.00
Current price $26.00
Login for wholesale

Blue White Porcelain Agate 12mm Matte Round - 15-16 inch

Original price $16.00 - Original price $16.00
Original price $16.00
$16.00 - $16.00
Current price $16.00
Login for wholesale

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

Original price $16.00 - Original price $16.00
Original price $16.00
$16.00 - $16.00
Current price $16.00
Login for wholesale

Red Porcelain Jasper 8mm Round - 15-16 Inch

Original price $14.00 - Original price $14.00
Original price $14.00
$14.00 - $14.00
Current price $14.00
Login for wholesale

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 details
Original price $14.00 - Original price $14.00
Original price $14.00
$14.00 - $14.00
Current price $14.00
Login for wholesale

African Turquoise 10mm Round AAA Grade - 15-16 Inch

Original price $44.00 - Original price $44.00
Original price $44.00
$44.00 - $44.00
Current price $44.00
Login for wholesale

African Turquoise is not actually Turquoise, but rather a speckled teal Jasper found in Africa and often treated to simulate the beautiful blue to ...

View full details
Original price $44.00 - Original price $44.00
Original price $44.00
$44.00 - $44.00
Current price $44.00
Login for wholesale

Green and White Jade 10mm Round - 15-16 Inch

Original price $14.00 - Original price $14.00
Original price $14.00
$14.00 - $14.00
Current price $14.00
Login for wholesale

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...

View full details
Original price $14.00 - Original price $14.00
Original price $14.00
$14.00 - $14.00
Current price $14.00
Login for wholesale

Bicolor Sunstone 8mm Round - 15-16 Inch

Original price $39.00 - Original price $39.00
Original price $39.00
$39.00 - $39.00
Current price $39.00
Login for wholesale

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 details
Original price $39.00 - Original price $39.00
Original price $39.00
$39.00 - $39.00
Current price $39.00
Login for wholesale

Violet Aqua Terra Impression Jasper 8mm Round - 15-16 Inch

Original price $24.00 - Original price $24.00
Original price $24.00
$24.00 - $24.00
Current price $24.00
Login for wholesale

Aqua Impression Jasper has been dyed to an aqua or turquoise blue color. It contains inclusions of tan and crimson, which dramatically complement t...

View full details
Original price $24.00 - Original price $24.00
Original price $24.00
$24.00 - $24.00
Current price $24.00
Login for wholesale

Rhodochrosite 4mm Round Faceted - 15-16 Inch

Original price $24.00 - Original price $24.00
Original price $24.00
$24.00 - $24.00
Current price $24.00
Login for wholesale

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

View full details
Original price $24.00 - Original price $24.00
Original price $24.00
$24.00 - $24.00
Current price $24.00
Login for wholesale

Wood Rhodonite 6mm Round - 15-16 Inch

Original price $12.00 - Original price $12.00
Original price $12.00
$12.00 - $12.00
Current price $12.00
Login for wholesale

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 details
Original price $12.00 - Original price $12.00
Original price $12.00
$12.00 - $12.00
Current price $12.00
Login for wholesale

Chocolate Selenite 8mm Round - 15-16 Inch

Original price $21.00 - Original price $21.00
Original price $21.00
$21.00 - $21.00
Current price $21.00
Login for wholesale

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 details
Original price $21.00 - Original price $21.00
Original price $21.00
$21.00 - $21.00
Current price $21.00
Login for wholesale

Sunset Dumortierite 10mm Round - 15-16 Inch

Original price $18.00 - Original price $18.00
Original price $18.00
$18.00 - $18.00
Current price $18.00
Login for wholesale

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 details
Original price $18.00 - Original price $18.00
Original price $18.00
$18.00 - $18.00
Current price $18.00
Login for wholesale

White Howlite 6mm Round - 15-16 Inch

Original price $9.00 - Original price $9.00
Original price $9.00
$9.00 - $9.00
Current price $9.00
Login for wholesale

White Howlite is named for Canadian mineralogist Henry How, who first discovered the stone in Southern California in 1868. It is typically white or...

View full details
Original price $9.00 - Original price $9.00
Original price $9.00
$9.00 - $9.00
Current price $9.00
Login for wholesale

Carnelian 4mm Round - 15-16 Inch

Original price $10.00 - Original price $10.00
Original price $10.00
$10.00 - $10.00
Current price $10.00
Login for wholesale

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 details
Original price $10.00 - Original price $10.00
Original price $10.00
$10.00 - $10.00
Current price $10.00
Login for wholesale

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.