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
Hydrogrossular Garnet 8mm Round - 15-16 Inch
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 detailsRuby 4mm Microfaceted Round A Grade - 15-16 Inch
Ruby is a precious gemstone known for its deep red color. It is a variety of the mineral corundum, the second-hardest mineral next to diamond . The...
View full detailsTanzanite 3mm Banded Microfaceted Round AA Grade - 15-16 Inch
Tanzanite is both extremely rare and extremely attractive, and we offer it when we can.
Red Garnet 8mm Round Faceted - 15-16 Inch
Red Garnet is the most commonly known type of Garnet, which occurs in many colors. Garnet has been used for adornment and spirituality by myriad cu...
View full detailsCharoite 10mm 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 detailsBlue & Yellow Tiger Eye 10mm Round - 15-16 Inch
Blue Tiger Eye is a naturally occurring dark stone with chatoyant layers that create a flash which seems to emanate from within the stone as they c...
View full detailsRed Jasper 6mm Round - 15-16 Inch
Red Jasper is an aggregate of microcrystalline quartz and/or chalcedony and other minerals. The opaque stone’s red color is due to high iron conten...
View full detailsDZI Agate Circle Pattern 10mm Round 15-16 Inch
These Dakota Stones "DZI" style agate beads are made to resemble beads first found in India between 1000 and 2000 BCE. These reproductions are desi...
View full detailsPietersite 10mm Round - 15-16 Inch
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 detailsLabradorite Red Natural 6mm Round - 15-16 Inch
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 detailsRiver Stone 8mm Round - Large Hole Beads
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...
View full detailsBlue Apatite 6mm Round A Grade - Large Hole Beads
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...
View full detailsBlue Chalcedony (Marbled) 8mm Round 15-16 Inch
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...
View full detailsFossil Coral 10mm Round 8-Inch
Fossil Coral is the prehistoric fossilized remains of the invertebrate reef builders that live in tropical oceans. Silica-rich waters create harden...
View full detailsPurple Garnet 4mm Microfaceted Round - 15-16 Inch
Purple Garnet is a magenta to purple variety of the famous stone. Garnet has been used for adornment and spirituality by myriad cultures and civili...
View full detailsDalmation Jasper 6mm Round - 15-16 Inch
Dalmation Jasper is the trade name for Dalmation Stone, which is not Jasper but rather a combination of Feldspar and Quartz. It is opaque, creamy w...
View full detailsDZI Agate 10mm Round Antique Wood - 13-14 Inch - CLEARANCE
These Dakota Stones "DZI" style agate beads are made to resemble beads first found in India between 1000 and 2000 BCE. These reproductions are desi...
View full detailsBumble Bee Jasper 8mm Round - 15-16 Inch
Arusha Sunstone 4mm Microfaceted Round - 15-16 Inch
Arusha Sunstone is a combination of Feldspar and Beryl.
Golden Obsidian 6mm Round - 15-16 Inch
Golden Obsidian is a naturally occurring volcanic glass, shiny black with a golden sheen. Obsidian is produced when lava erupts from a volcano and ...
View full detailsKyanite Multi 6mm Round - 15-16 Inch
Kyanite often occurs as long, bladed, striated crystals, transparent or translucent with a pearly luster. An aluminum silicate mineral, it may appe...
View full detailsMulti Tourmaline 8mm Round - 15-16 Inch
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 detailsSunstone 8mm Round - 15-16 inch
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 detailsSodalite 8mm Faceted Round - 15-16 Inch
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...
View full detailsAquamarine 3mm Round Faceted - 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 detailsTerra Agate 14mm Round - 15-16 Inch
With the possible exception of the horizon meeting the bright blue sky on a perfect summer day, or a sandy beach blending into a tropical bay, ther...
View full detailsPeach Moonstone 4mm Faceted Round - 15-16 Inch
Moonstone naturally occurs in a broad spectrum of colors, but is most commonly associated with white, gray and peach. Its soft chatoyancy is remini...
View full detailsSunstone Faceted 4mm Round - 15-16 Inch
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 detailsAncient Cellar Black Agate 10mm 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.
Larvikite 6mm Faceted Round Large Hole Beads - 8 Inch
The name originates from the town of Larvik, Norway where this type of igneous rock is found. Legend has it that it came to the world?s attention i...
View full detailsThulite 8mm Round 15-16 Inch
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...
View full detailsRainbow Obsidian 8mm Round - Large Hole Beads
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...
View full detailsAquamarine 6mm Faceted Round Large Hole Beads - 8 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 detailsRiver Stone 4mm Round 15-16 Inch
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...
View full detailsAfrican Petrified Wood Agate 6mm Round - 15-16 Inch
Petrified Wood Agate is formed from the petrifaction process of primeval trees over the course of many years. Petrification occurs when the wood is...
View full detailsBlue Black Porcelain Agate 8mm Round - 15-16 inch
Porcelain Agate is a natural agate that is dyed and heated to give it the unique blue/black color and pattern that resembles porcelain.
Blue Black Porcelain Agate 6mm Round - 15-16 inch
Porcelain Agate is a natural agate that is dyed and heated to give it the unique blue/black color and pattern that resembles porcelain.
Silver Crazy Lace Agate 6mm Round - 15-16 Inch
Silver Crazy Lace Agate is a naturally occurring form of Crazy Lace Agate, a banded Chalcedony that is predominantly white with layers of brown, gr...
View full detailsRobles Wood 10mm Round Bead - 15-16 Inch
Robles is a light, strong tropical wood native to the Philippines. Like all of Dakota Stones items, our wood beads are top quality and sourced fr...
View full detailsPeach Moonstone 8mm Star Cut Round 15-16 Inch
Moonstone naturally occurs in a broad spectrum of colors, but is most commonly associated with white, gray and peach. Its soft chatoyancy is remins...
View full detailsPink Tourmaline with Pink Lepidolite 10mm Round - 15-16 Inch
Pink Tourmaline ranges in color from light pink to deep magenta, with inclusions of white to colorless translucent or transparent. Tourmaline occur...
View full detailsBlack Spinel 6mm Round - 15-16 Inch
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...
View full detailsBlue Apatite 8mm Round A Grade - Large Hole Beads
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...
View full detailsWood Rhodonite 6mm Faceted Round Large Hole Beads - 8 Inch
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 detailsBlack Opal Australian, Faceted 4mm Round - 15-16 Inch
Black Opal is a naturally occurring variety of precious opal mined in Australia. this opal variety is characterized by their dark base tone. It is ...
View full detailsVerdite 8mm Round - Large Hole Beads
Verdite is a light to dark-green metamorphic rock, and is a variety of Fuchsite, which is itself a form of Muscovite. It appears green because of t...
View full detailsRainbow Obsidian 6mm Round - Large Hole Beads
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...
View full detailsRuby Zoisite 6mm Round 15-16 Inch
Ruby Zoisite occurs naturally when small Ruby crystals become embedded within Zoisite. The Ruby inclusions in this stone are pink to reddish purple...
View full detailsAbout this cut
Frequently asked questions
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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.