Your own jewelry brand starts with a single weld.
Permanent jewelry is welded, clasp-free chain: real welding you can learn in an afternoon, with a real margin behind it. We read the specs and run the numbers on welders, kits, and startup costs, so you open your books knowing exactly what you keep.
$60–90
kept per welded bracelet, as working operators report
$40–100
what customers typically pay, by metal and market
2–4
events to earn a welder back, as operators report
0
paid placements. Every pick from published specs and operator reports
The path
From first spark to first market, in four known numbers.
The margin, live
See what you’d keep.
Straight math on your numbers, no income promises. Slide to match your market, or open the full permanent jewelry profit calculator to see what you can earn per bracelet with the payback breakdown.
Welder, chain, connectors, tools: everything before your first sale.
Most customers pay $40–100, by metal and market.
Often just a few dollars in gold-filled; more in solid gold.
What a market booth or table costs you per event.
Profit per bracelet
$69
Operators commonly report $60–90 after chain and clasp.
Break even in
22
bracelets
That’s about
≈2
events at 15 each, after the $50 fee
Straight math on your numbers, no income promises. The real constraint is customer volume, not per-bracelet margin. Book the events before you buy the upgrade.
Equipment, already researched
The welder decision, made calm.
The anxious four-figure choice, reduced to three ranked answers: one right pick at each budget.
- 1–30 J with 0.5 J fine steps
- Touchscreen
- Built for high-volume events
- Full 1–30 J range on a lock-in dial
- 1.9 lbs, the portable one
- 3–10 J
- Simplest learning curve
- 3-year warranty, US phone support
Specs from manufacturer pages, support from operator reports. Never commissions. Budget Amazon machines covered too. Read the full ranking →
The machine is the biggest line item. The margin is the reason you buy it.
Most permanent jewelry coverage is written for the customer getting a bracelet, or by a studio selling you a course. Almost nobody covers the equipment and the economics the way the artist behind the table needs it.
So that’s what we do. Every recommendation is built from published manufacturer specs and reports from working operators. No paid placements, no invented lab tests. Some links earn us a commission; it never changes a ranking or what you pay.
The guides
Updated August 2026Everything on Weldworthy
Every guide in one placeWelders & reviews
- Best Permanent Jewelry WeldersEvery pulse-arc machine we cover, ranked by the metals it welds and how fast it pays back.
- Sunstone Permanent Jewelry WeldersThe Sunstone range side by side, and which model fits the work you plan to sell.
- Sunstone Zapp ReviewThe $1,249 entry machine: what its 3 to 10 joule range covers, and where it runs out.
- Orion mPulse ReviewThe $3,199 flagship, and the volume and metal mix you need before it earns its price.
- Helix Permanent Jewelry Welder ReviewThe Pepetools dial machine, judged on specs, support, and what the lower price leaves out.
- Best Permanent Jewelry Starter KitsWhat a complete kit includes, and when buying the pieces separately comes out ahead.
Comparisons
- Zapp vs Orion mPulseEntry dial against studio touchscreen. Your metal menu and your volume decide this one.
- Zapp vs Zapp Plus 2One question settles the roughly $450 gap between the two cheapest Sunstone machines.
- Helix vs Zapp Plus 2What the roughly $200 saving on the Helix costs you in joule range and in support.
- Sunstone vs Budget WeldersWhat a $200 Amazon welder gives up against a name-brand machine with a real warranty.
Starting a business
- What Is Permanent Jewelry?Welded, clasp-free chain fitted in minutes. How the weld works and why it sells.
- How to Start a Permanent Jewelry BusinessStartup costs, training, licensing, and first bookings, from first buy to first customer.
- Permanent Jewelry SuppliesThe operator checklist: chain, findings, tools, and the table kit you need on day one.
- Permanent Jewelry TrainingCourses compared on price and format, and what you can already learn without paying.
- Permanent Jewelry Insurance & LicensingThe coverage and paperwork a market or a salon will ask for before you set up a table.
- Permanent Jewelry PricingHow to build a menu that pays, by metal, by length, and by the market you work.
- What Permanent Jewelry CostsWhat customers pay by metal and market, and what that leaves behind the table.
- Permanent Jewelry Profit CalculatorPut in your chain cost, your price, and your event rate; get a break-even in bracelets.
Your turn
The next table at the Saturday market could be yours.
Start with the guide, price with the calculator, and buy the welder once the math says yes.
Start your business →