01What do you have to buy before your first client?
Six things, and only the first is expensive. A welder. Something to protect your eyes. Chain and jump rings. Grounded pliers and cutters. A leather patch to keep the arc off skin. And some training, because the first bracelet you weld on a stranger shouldn't be your tenth ever.
You can buy them one by one, or as a starter kit that prices them together. We compare six kits with a welder inside. On November 13, 2026 they ran from $2,399 (Pepetools Helix Starter Kit, on sale) to $4,999 (Sunstone Legacy). The full list is in our starter kit ranking.
Two outside figures frame that. Sunstone writes on its product pages that "most permanent jewelry artists are investing about USD $4,000" to start. Permanent Jewelry Solutions, a supplier, puts typical start-up costs at "$2,500–$10,000". Our own sums below land inside both.
02How much is the welder, and should you buy a kit?
Bought alone, the welders from brands that publish a joule range and give 3 years of warranty cost $1,249 (Sunstone Zapp) to $1,999 (rechargeable EVERARC R Series), with the touchscreen Orion mPulse at $3,199. A generic bench machine is $299.90, and we explain why that's a false saving in are cheap permanent jewelry welders worth it.
A kit usually wins on a first purchase. Take our No. 1. The Helix alone was $1,499; its folding darkening screen was $449 in black and $499 in white. The kit at $2,399 adds the screen, 25 ft of gold-filled chain, 200 jump rings, 14 connectors and the tools. Buy those separately and you pay more for less.
A welder alone makes sense when you already own supplies or you're replacing a first machine. For that case, see the welders sold on their own.
03What does insurance cost?
This is the line people forget, and a venue may ask for proof of it. Beauty Queen Insurance, which sells policies for this trade, publishes its average: "The average quote for Permanent Jewelry is about $700 before taxes and fees which includes General Liability and Professional Liability". It says pop-ups are covered and that cover for your equipment is an additional premium.
ACT Insurance advertises jewelry business insurance "from $24.25 per month", "or $49 for event coverage" if you only need one date. Those are advertised starting prices, not quotes: yours depends on your state, your sales and what you ask to cover.
We aren't insurance advisers. Get two quotes, ask each insurer whether welding on a client's wrist is covered (not just selling jewelry), and read our guide to permanent jewelry insurance and waivers first.
04Do you have to budget for argon?
Only if you choose to weld with it, and the makers disagree on whether you should. Sunstone recommends it and puts two small Argon Mini tanks and a regulator in its kits. Sold alone, Sunstone's argon tank was $549 on November 13, 2026, regulator extra, and gas is a refill cost after that.
Everlinx and Pepetools say their welders don't need it. If you follow them, this line is zero. We set out both positions, with the test Everlinx cites and what Sunstone answers, in do you need argon for permanent jewelry.
Same logic for optics. Shaded glasses come in most boxes. A lens that darkens for each weld was $312 (eclips) or $510 (Upgraded ADL) at Sunstone that day, a folding screen $449 to $499 at Pepetools, or $200 inside Everlinx's EVERARC + EVERSHIELD bundle.
Video: "How I'd Start a Permanent Jewelry Business in 2026 (Step by Step)", LINKED Permanent Jewelry Training on YouTube. Not made by us; chosen because it shows the welder or the topic clearly.
05What does a realistic start-up budget look like?
Here are two, built only from prices we read on November 13, 2026. Both leave out what we can't source for your town: business license and permit fees (the SBA explains they depend on your activity, state and city), booth or chair rent, sales tax registration, a card reader, a table and a mirror.
| Line | Lean start | Guided start |
|---|---|---|
| Starter kit | $2,399 Helix Starter Kit | $3,199 Sunstone Dream Kit |
| Eye protection | in the kit (screen) | in the kit (glasses) |
| Training | 30-min Zoom | course + mentoring |
| Argon | not used | in the kit (2 tanks) |
| Insurance, average quote (Beauty Queen Insurance) | $700 | $700 |
| Total before local fees | $3,099 | $3,899 |
The lean start assumes someone can teach you; if not, add a course. The guided start costs $800 more and buys a mentor, a welder from the brand's own training system and gas in the box.
06How many bracelets pay for the kit?
You can work it out, as long as you show your assumptions and remember it's arithmetic, not a forecast. Nobody can promise you customers.
Assumptions, with their sources. Selling price: Permanent Jewelry Solutions' FAQ says a bracelet with "$10–$15 in materials can sell for $60–$100 or more"; Jewelers Mutual puts what customers pay at "$50 to $200" a piece. Take the cautious end: $60 a sale, $15 of materials, so $45 left per bracelet before any other cost.
Then the kit price divided by $45: 54 bracelets for the Helix kit, 72 for the Dream kit, 112 for the Legacy. Add the $700 of insurance and the lean start needs about 16 more. Sunstone publishes its own version of the sum: "To breakeven, sell 100 anklets or bracelets at USD $40."
What these sums leave out: booth fees, taxes, card fees, travel, the chain you waste while learning, and your hours. And they assume the buyers show up. Use them to size the risk, not to plan your income.
07Where can you save, and where shouldn't you?
Save on the welder's top end. Half-joule steps and a touchscreen are nice; a 1 to 30 joule welder with a 3-year warranty does the daily job. That's why the Zapp Plus 2 outscores the Orion mPulse here at about half the price.
Save on sale days, carefully. Four of the six kit prices were sale prices on November 13, with crossed-out prices $900 to $1,070 higher. We date every price for that reason.
Don't save on your eyes: if the box has no protection, buy it before the welder arrives. Don't skip insurance because the first event is "just a friend's party". And read the returns page before you pay: Sunstone keeps 10%, Everlinx keeps $750 plus $150 on kits, Pepetools up to 25% in some cases, and LINKED's kit sales are final.
08The products in this guide, side by side
| Product | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| What you get | Starter kit | Starter kit | Starter kit | Starter kit |
| Power range | 1–30 J | 3–10 J | 0.5–20 J | 1–30 J |
| Eye protection in the box | Auto-darkening screen | Shaded glasses | Auto-darkening screen | Shaded glasses |
| Training in the price | 30-min live session | Online course | Online course | Course + mentoring |
| Chain included | 25 ft | 21 ft | 27 ft | 27 ft |
| Welder weight | 2 lb | Not stated | 3 lb | 1.9 lb |
| Warranty | 3-year | 3-year | 3-year | 3-year |
| Where to buy | Check price at Pepetools | Check price at Sunstone | Check price at Everlinx | Check price at Sunstone |
✓ marks the best figure of the row. Prices checked November 13, 2026 on each brand's own US store.
This guide helps you buy equipment and plan a budget; it isn't safety, legal, tax or insurance advice, and it promises no income. Licensing, sales tax and insurance rules change from state to state and city to city: check yours, and read your welder's manual before your first weld.