What is permanent jewelry?

As the name suggests, permanent jewelry is permanent. You can’t take it off like traditional jewelry. Instead of clasps at the end, it has ends welded permanently. The most common permanent piece of jewelry is a bracelet. You can also find necklaces and rings offered as permanent jewelry.

This trend has just started in the middle of 2022, and you can capitalize upon it easily to generate a loyal customer base for your business.

It is getting popular from social media and is backed by major jewelry brands and jewelry tools & supplies manufacturers. Its popularity is skyrocketing now. You can see the following charts from Google to show the trends of the search keyword “permanent jewelry” over time.

Why permanent jewelry?

You may get puzzled why permanent jewelry is trending, why someone would want to permanently weld jewelry to their body; isn’t that so?

Actually, permanent jewelry is not something new. The trend started in ancient Egypt to have jewelry affixed on the body. Jewelry has always been one meaningful way to make a statement, express yourself, and use it as a physical manifestation of emotions.

Many people are getting permanent jewelry for themselves to make a statement or mark a significant event in their life. People also want to make a statement with someone who means a lot to them. They want to be bonded. What is better than permanently bonding a piece of jewelry to their body to make such a statement? Permanent also depicts FOREVER. That’s why you see friends and couples getting permanent jewelry together.

Recently, we had a minimalist trend in fashion, design, and lifestyle. To have a minimalist lifestyle, we want everything simple to its finest - No waste of resources; good for the environment. To adapt this trend in the upcoming years, permanent jewelry can play a significant role. To avoid constantly losing or changing jewelry, why not weld a piece of permanent jewelry that is simple, dainty, and elegant?

How to start a permanent jewelry business?

Initiating your own permanent jewelry business is not as complex as many of you might think.

Meet your customer and help them to choose the permanent jewelry chain, charms, and style of the permanent jewelry. Give a few options to let your customer choose from. It’s not recommended to offer too many options that could overwhelm your customer and end up taking lots of your time. Once the jewelry is decided, and the chain is selected, measure & cut the chain and add any connector or other components.

At last, the fun part, welder the end permanently. Make it like a ceremony. Remember how Build-A-Bear lets you make a wish, say a poem, kiss the heart before sewing it into your teddy bear? You may borrow that idea in your permanent jewelry welding ceremony.

Things you need to start a permanent jewelry business:

The basic permanent jewelry supplies you need are:

• Footage bulk chains - Choose thin chains for safety reasons.
• Welding machine. Pulse-arc welder is recommended. A decent welder is in the US$2000 to US$3000 price range. You can also find second-hand or cheaper welders from jewelry tools suppliers. This machine can also be used in your other daily jewelry-making tasks. Practice well before serving your first customer.
• Charms, connectors, and jump rings. Choose dainty charms and connectors since their chains are thin too. Choose the right size of jump rings that fits the chain and charms. Choose charms and connectors that can be personalized, for example, a birthstone charm collection or an initial letter collection. You may also consider welding the jump rings after adding the connectors and charms.

Chains, charms, and connectors are typical supplies you may already have. The biggest investment here is the welding machine if you don’t have one in your shop yet.

How can physical stores adapt to the permanent jewelry trend?

Since the past decade, the jewelry industry has transitioned from traditional in-store sales to online sales. The pandemic caused a vast sales spike for online sales and really made a dent in physical sales. Permanent jewelry can only be done in person, giving a huge advantage to physical businesses. It’s time to use this trend and bring back more sales and customers.

Consider offering permanent jewelry services in your existing store. It won’t take up a big space, maybe a small corner you don’t use much right now. Set up a table and put your welder and supplies on; pull up a couple of chairs and we are good to go.

If you are a jeweler or designer, set up your table, design, and make a few samples, and you are ready to start your permanent jewelry services. If you or your existing staff cannot provide these services, consider working with someone who can offer these services. Connect with jewelry designers in town and share the space and profit. It will drive more sales to your regular business too.

Once you have your permanent jewelry space set up, you can advertise it at your local. Put up a sign on your window or outside your store. Run a marketing campaign on Google or Facebook, targeting your local customers only.

The permanent jewelry trend may not last forever. By offering permanent jewelry when the trend has just started, your business will be recognized as a business on top of hot trends. Whatever the next trend will be, your customers will always check with you for the next hot thing, be it jewelry, clothing, or accessories. As long as you stay with the new trends, you will have a steady and happy customer base required from permanent jewelry.

How e-commerce jewelry stores/designers can adapt to the permanent jewelry trend?

The permanent jewelry is a fightback to gain the physical sales segment. Online-only jewelry sellers may notice a sales impact if this permanent jewelry trend becomes more and more significant. How can an e-commerce jewelry business be part of this trend and not be hurt by it? Isn’t that what you have been wondering, considering this new permanent jewelry trend?

You don’t want to be left out of this hot jewelry trend. First, you can think about if you want to invest in a welder and provide this permanent jewelry service to your local customers. You don’t have a physical store, but you can consider meeting your local customers at your home studio, renting a temporary space from your local store, attending a local event, or hosting a permanent Jewelry party at home. We have covered it in even more detail; read further.

To open permanent jewelry appointment at home studio. Set up a cozy space in your home studio, and advertise locally to let everyone know you are offering permanent jewelry services. You can add permanent jewelry appointment listing on your physical and online stores. Take a deposit and schedule a time.

You can also rent a temporary space in your local shopping mall or your local event. Some event booths are not expensive. You can bring your regular jewelry line and the permanent jewelry setup to such events. It can help you test the water, attract potential customers and sell your regular jewelry line. People may not get the permanent jewelry done right away at the event.

You can book appointments and take a small deposit. Also, the shopping mall will be a high-traffic place when we are heading into the holiday season. The rent for a small space in a shopping mall won’t be cheap. However, you can ask the management if you can rent just a table space for a few days or weeks just to test it out. It could be a small space in the hallway, by the escalator, or even an empty small store waiting to be leased.

You can also work with local spas, salons, and retail stores. Think about where your potential customer will go. Could it be a spa? Could it be a clothing shop that fits your jewelry style and has high traffic? Could it be a gallery? How about renting a table size small space within their store and offering permanent jewelry? Approach the store owners, and talk to them. It could be a win-win situation for both of you. You could pay a reasonable fee for using their space for your permanent jewelry appointments. You can even negotiate a commission-based rent to reduce your upfront cost and share part of your sales with the store.

Maybe you are not ready to invest and provide permanent jewelry services in person. You want to stay in your sweet online-only business model. You can still be part of it. How about designing some permanent jewelry kits and selling them online? A bracelet with a dainty chain with beautiful birthstone connectors already attached in between, with an open end and no clasp – wonderful, isn’t it? This ready-to-weld permanent jewelry kit can be sold in a collection to retailers and designers who offer permanent jewelry services. How about selling dainty charms and connectors that can be used to personalize and decorate permanent jewelry? Add the “permanent jewelry” keyword in your listing online to attract your online traffic.

Good luck with riding this new trending tide.