This is a wholesaler in Albuquerque, New Mexico: www.thomasonstonesupply.com/ that sold in Tucson. THey also own a small retail bead store that has better cut stones. THey list very little online and you will have to contact them. Ed has a big collection of high quality genuine turquoise that he sells when he feels like. You can be certain they're genuine.

yes! Being able to weld charm bracelets on the spot would be so helpful for sales.

That's my favourite, too!!

The most popular are natural birthstones (except instead of diamond, we have natural Herkimer Diamond Quartz mined in Herkimer NY). Also popular are rose quartz, tanzanite and opal - they're not birthstones. You can see the cost of all of these once you register an account: stonesandfindings.com/my-account there are too many stones and metals to choose from for me to list prices. If you need any assistance, please feel free to email my colleagues: [email protected]

Hi Maxine, I used 24 ga 50mm head pins that are 925 silver. Here it is: stonesandfindings.com/product/fi0ks-50mm-24ga-ball-pins-sterling-silver-925/ If you are interested, you can see wholesale prices once you register an account - you don't need a business license because we ship all over the world, but there is a $15 handling fee for any orders that are below the $150 minimum purchase; it will disappear from the cart once you reach the minimum.

Agreed, that is true of any business, in any industry. It just so happens that the upside potential for this is much bigger than mature industries such as traditional jewelry or beauty industry - at this point in time. This, too, will eventually mature, as have Pandora style bracelets. Each person should perform a SWOT analysis, focusing on the opportunities and competition, that is particular to their market. THey should also really consider how much time and effort they can commit to this , or any new venture. I believe that is why so many small businesses fail - many don't understand the obsession for success that one must have to reach explosive success. There's luck and timing, but also a huge amount of commitment.

@@stonesandfindings I think your reply is more in-line with reality vs what came across in the video, and is very valuable advice. And again I appreciate the message of inspiration, Pj margins are great. But so is coffee, makeup and shoelaces. I understand your motives and really I respect the business you’ve built. social media has blurred the lines between “friend” and someone trying to sell you something.. so I guess sometimes I feel the need to make sure newbies popping around Facebook and KZfaq have a sense of the big picture.

I appreciate your thoughtful responses. It is completely true - there are many things that have great margins and people can make money doing all sorts of things. It is often difficult to encapsulate that in one video. I wanted to make a video in response to a number of questions I had been receiving "Is permanent jewelry a profitable business?" And it really is. Perhaps it is a combination of high margins + it is on trend, which may change or become saturated soon. I would like to think that it would morph into mainstream as tattoos have, and the bigger market, would be customized jewelry (made to measure) for all jewelry retailers. I am a data collector and that's actual data from customers of ours, who tend to higher quality and are perhaps more marketing savvy. Mind you, I am certain there are customers who don't respond to my questions because they have not been doing well, hence, skewing my results. That's a distinct possibility. There are so many variables and it's so hard to put that into a short video. I had posted a video last year, where I just rambled about whether PJ is right for you. In it I talk about all that it takes and there are so many other ways of making money; unless you love being in front of people, working closely with them, committed to really hard work and sacrificing your free time, it's not for you. Interestingly enough, I have seen a great deal of resistance from traditional jewelry retailers. Perhaps there is an elitist view that it is not real jewelry - rather it is kitsch. I have not been able to break through to them. The ones who have embraced wholeheartedly, have done well, and I mean really well. On the other hand, I have seen a couple of stores where, they've purchased a welder (either from me or from someone else, but we sell them the chains), but the long-time employees have just put it to the back instead of creating a marketing campaign to launch it and shout out to everyone that they have it. It confounds me. I feel that you have to be in it 100% - everyone must be on board. It's not just getting the machine or high quality chains. You have to work at it. Yes, coffee has perhaps even bigger margins. We see so many fold, we see Starbucks going strong, we see boutique roasters doing extremely well. There is variance as with any business. It is a given that one must work and put effort into it. The thing that makes PJ different is that it is still in the naissance of the trend for most places. This is your opportunity to get in and work hard and then cross the chasm into wealth and empire building.

@@stonesandfindings Thank you for the reply. the question of "is PJ a profitable business?" is kind of a funny one. I could ask, is a restaurant a profitable business ? There are so many factors to that answer but the same thing rings true, for every profitable one, there 10 that make little to nothing. I applaud your efforts to try and break down your answer with data collection and there is no doubt people are making a lot of money (myself included) --for now :). Are you running a retail PJ operation or just doing wholesale supplies? Experienced retailers know these trends phase in and out. That is partly why you are getting resistance. Training and Liability issues is another. The duration of the PJ trend for sure has gone beyond my expectations, but I do not agree it's in its early stages in the US. Globally I"m sure, but in every major city here, there are dozens of folks doing it. You yourself are populating a list of PJ vendors (brilliant marketing btw!) by area. So I'm sure you know exactly how saturated it has become. In my case, we are profitable bc we were profitable before PJ. PJ just added massive fuel. But to those without an existing business model and loads of competition entering the market, the answer to "is PJ a profitable business?" is more than likely: no. But that never stopped the dream, and for people like you say, who are committed a 100%. That person will not fail. They will not fail no matter what they do.

I am happy to read that PJ is making you a lot of money. As for the question "is PJ a profitable business?", I can and have said this without hesitation because the high rate of success is what qualifies it to be labelled as such. I definitely would not tell anyone that a restaurant is a profitable business despite some of them being highly profitable. Money making restaurants are the anomaly, not the norm. I can say the same for coffee shops and clothing boutiques - in fact, most brick and mortar (non-service) retail businesses in this current environment. I strongly feel the reason why PJ is such a successful and desirable business is because: 1. it is a service that has no online competitor 2. unlike other services, it (still) has high margins and fast turnaround time 3. taps into the trend of permanence and self-expression in the age of disposable/transience 4. low start up cost (low barrier to entry) As for saturation - yes, it is getting there for many major American cities. It is interesting that I see the same thing for tattoo parlours and I don't really know where that is going. Tattoos were not mainstream when I was growing up - they were always situated in some sketchy basement or above a fast food restaurant. Now, they have taken prime retail locations and there are many of them. I would have thought this would have died down. How many tattoos can one get? How can they afford such high rent? There are so many competing parlours. However, I think tattoos have become mainstream and the good ones are here to stay. I am hoping that permanent jewelry will go the way of these tattoo parlours. I am not running a retail PJ location, but I work closely with many who do, as in I help out and have personal conversations with them on a weekly basis. I ran a jewelry and accessory retail store for about 3 years and wholesaled jewelry to retail boutiques for about 25. I have many loyal customers and long time friends who own jewelry retail boutiques. They are all resistant, and I was only able to convince a few of them to try PJ, by leveraging my friendship and reputation as a long time supplier. They absolutely do not regret it, but still grumble as they are making loads of money. I feel many of my finished jewelry boutique customers have (had) been highly successful before the pandemic and feel things should go back to the way it was. However, there's far more competition from online retailers and people who used to support local brick and mortar have been forced to buy from the likes of Amazon and now will not go back 100%. Who suffers from this? The traditional small boutiques - and it breaks my heart. I think retail and consumer behaviour has changed permanently and one must evolve. I feel the next thing will be to offer customizable length for necklaces and bracelets - on the spot. No waiting for the jeweller to send it out; no trying to measure yourself and order from Amazon on Etsy the approximate length, if they even offer this. It is done on the spot and no extension chains. Every chain length is bespoke. So, I feel my boutique owning friends should all invest in a welder. It's not even about selling to them and definitely not what's in it for me. I can make money doing a lot of things and I don't need this. I just see the evolution so clearly and I'm a business analyst at heart.

THanks for watching and sharing your thoughts. You're right and that's why this machine is not CSA certified for consumer safety. Furthermore, if you're in Canada or in one of the EU countries, you would not be covered for liability insurance should there be an injury caused by equipment that is not CSA certified. A lot of people don't know this and because the insurance underwriter did not ask pointed questions, such as whether you are using non CSA certified safe equipment, they mistakenly believe that it doesn't matter. You need to read the fine print of your policy. Insurance laws and policies vary from country to country, company to company and we need to be aware.

You're welcome - thanks for watching

Here's one of the forums: facebook.com/groups/2175129299356549/ Original Permanent Jewelry COmmunity. You have to ask to join and there are a number of threads.

@@stonesandfindings will take a look at it thank you…. in my case i’m using this for art sculptures. I create stuff using recycled and up-cycled old computer electronics

You're not using it near a client's skin and don't need to worry about burning through the leather protector. I would read more reviews for your uses. Maybe the permanent jewelry forums aren't the best. I'd look into the art welding threads on other forums.

Agreed - they should exchange it. However, the manufacturer would not refund. You can see on some reviews that are public (like Amazon) the reviews there.

@cjadams7434 it could be that or user error or even the grounding tools. So many variables

When the machine is switched off, it should not emit an electrical charge. It has nothing to do with the grounding tool the person used.

@@stonesandfindings well that sucks yeah I was seeing the same one initially until I learned about your channel that I should look for something a little better - ended up, ordering a zapp plus Microscope arm kit

@stonesandfindings what was it plugged into. Could be a faulty power pack or power strip. My husband and BIL are electrical contractors and both of them asked that ??? They said that there are missing pieces to this video to make a true determination of cause

Thank you for sharing. Yes, this person contacted the training course provider, who said she was lying. Hence, she filmed this. Then the factory finally admitted that this does happen. I don't know if there are many makers of this exact machine. This could very well be. It could also be a stand alone machine. That's why I want people to share and also go through Amazon reviews. I cannot trust any reviews on Alibaba. There are also many sellers on Amazon, and that's why I looked through a number of them. I would advise anyone watching this to check more reviews and go on PJ forums to read up on it.

Thank you for creating this video! So much needed info about the welders we use (and don’t:) thank you for sharing about CSA too! I’m so glad My welder falls in this safe category 😊

@@stonesandfindings I think this is amazing information to be shared! Whether or not you are associated with this machine I think its very important to have this shared NO MATTER WHAT! Can you imagine leaving for the day and by chance your stylus slips and sparks on an item and creates a fire while you are out of your studio.. SCARY! So glad I have a welder with 20 years of experience behind it!! Definitely do your research on your welders! I highly suggest investing in a welder that is safe vs buying something cheap and having this happen.

You’ve seen people hurt with all machines? Can you share more on that?

@daniellevmt yes people not following best practices, malfunctions, etc. Seen them posted in several groups. That is why I said without having the machine...no one should make blanket fear statements. A neutral 3rd party would need to look at it. In fact a distributor for a company blocked me for posting photos of burns, shock marks etc from machines she distributes.

Yes, it pains me to see wires sticking out and it will likely pain people wearing it - literally. Wasting also pains me, I don't know why we are talking about pain, LOL. I should rephrase - I find it very satisfying when I know I don't waste any wire, and I love seeing things done perfectly!!

you're welcome! Thanks for watching.

Some people use very low power like 3w, but that's not always secure because your hand might shake a bit. I find 24ga silver is best at 6w, 5w if you're using argon gas. It is secure and thorough. Welders sometimes varies a bit, and if you find your jump ring "flat topping" because of over-melting, then reduce the power slightly.

Yes, exactly. You don't need to wear darkening glasses if you look through a smart phone/tablet screen. The trick is that you lose depth perception with a screen. Look at the electrode and secure placement just a little bit away from where you want to weld - before you weld. THen look behind the screen and move in to weld. Yes, it is an eye saver. ALso, if your eyesight isn't very good, you can set your screen on magnification. You should also ask your clients if they want to film the process. 2 birds with one stone! THey get to post and tag you on the platform and they don't have to wear protective darkening glasses (less to disinfect!).

@@stonesandfindings kudos to your teachings!

I've never tried it with fabric, but it works on leather. Maybe I should plan on another video of trying all sorts of combinations of materials to bond using 2 part epoxy. Thanks for this video idea.

Thank you for this note. It's a mine field. I think reviews are important and also, if you have a trusted supplier, ask them to bring some things in for you. Unless you're buying MASSIVE amounts, paying an extra couple of dollars is far better than spending lots of time making (or worse, selling) pieces only to realize part of it is fake.

Any one of the welders on our site until July 31st. You can email: [email protected] for any specific questions. Also, since you're in Canada and USA, shipping is always completely covered for the welder and any components you wish to ship with that order.

It is available for all welders. Please feel free to email us: [email protected]. I would suggest either Zapp Plus or mPulse (these offer the best value in terms of capability for cost), in my opinion. Since you are in Canada (and this goes for USA as well), we offer free shipping - the prices online is the cost to your door.

Wow! Thank you for this comment! You've made my day. I get very few likes for my boring info share videos; perhaps they're not sexy enough and I'm not screaming into the camera. It is a wonderful idea to list out the brands and I completely forgot to do this - thank you for reminding me. I'm going to update my captions in a moment. Meanwhile, the 2 part expoxy is Adhaer. I got it at a local hardware store and now the dollar store carries the exact thing - only the packaging has $3.50 printed on it. I've used the dollar store epoxy and it works perfectly. I hope this helps.

@@stonesandfindings Good information is ALWAYS sexy! Especially when it's exactly the information one needs and is searching feverishly for. Thank you for the info!

Thank you! I've actually used hypo cement years ago for my jewelry making. I recall it was not as strong and took a lot longer to dry - certainly compared to 2 part epoxy. At some point I will try again, especially as they come out with new brands.

Glad it helped! Thank you for this note.

Thanks for watching and for this comment of encouragement! I'm balling them at 5 watts (joules) for this thickness. Very high power will blow the molten metal off. You may also wish to try touching the metal to the side of the electrode, not the tip, if you find that it is too powerful and you're not forming much of a ball.

Hello! My apologies, I have never used the Jinhu welder and I don't know how many watts those 1-3 settings produce. I would suggest that you start off with larger diameter (but same thickness/gauge) jump rings and find the best setting. Then reduce to smaller diameter jump rings. WIth tiny ones, you have to have more precision in holding them steady and they're hard to see. As long as they're the same thickness, the same setting will work. As far as setting is concerned, find the setting that doesn't blow out, but might overmelt. If you can consistently weld securely, then reduce the power to the next lower. Practice and make sure you are able to consistently weld, before moving yet lower power. Rinse and repeat. Finally, you will find the ideal setting where anything lower you will not get a secure weld, and anything higher, you'll flat top (over melt). I hope this helps. Dana

@@stonesandfindings Thank you!

LOL - I am committed to the experiments for sure. I keep the camera rolling as I think things through out loud (and I can only do this when no one is in the room) cuz it is sometimes really stupid. Then I decide whether or not I should edit out the bloopers. More often than not, I just leave it in to "keep it authentic". Authentic - yes; high level and empirical - rarely.

I was amazed, too. I look forward to your order.

I don't think you bought any from me, if you did and anything of our break, we will replace them. Sometime people wire wrap them too tightly and the pressure causes fractures in the stone and then they're compromised. It does take a light touch to make sure the wraps have no slack, but no pressure on the stone. Stones do break when they're dropped, but that happens a lot with pendants.

LOL - it's better than trying to do parkour at my age to get views!

We've only had ours for 2 months and when we received them, we put them on right away to test. It took us a long time to research and find the best factory we are most comfortable with. On my own hand, I now have about 20 pj chains, the oldest being over 2 years. It's important that we test how the metal behaves with pool water, ocean water, bath salts, lotions and you name it. Everyone at our office also them because pH levels differ with people. In the video, I asked our manager Lori to test white (we affectionately call her the acidic b*tch cuz she turns sterling black almost overnight and gold filled dark during the summers and solid gold as well). People keep asking about it so we decided to make this video. Some people online are selling uv resin as enamel, but resin does not do well under heat and they're prone to color changes. Resin is not the same as enamel! re: plating finish Almost all have to have plating finish to seal weld marks. You don't want chains that are not weld or soldered shut. As for the differences in plating - depends on region and choice. Most popular is Hamilton for gf in North America - you would see this in 80% of the online sales of finished gold filled jewelry. It's a bit more orangey. Most of our chains we prefer "SPCL" plating - literally, the American chain factories we use created this code for me because I want it as close to the solid 14K gold I see in fine jewelry stores. Italians and Asians tend to like higher karat looking gold - more yellowy. I hope this helps. Dana

the two part epoxy works and fabric glue supposed to work. I think it would be good to purchase and try it out. There are factors such as the density of the fabric weave. Other than the Gorilla glue, the others are inexpensive and you can find them at your craft store. I'd love to know how it works out if you finally get a change to try it.

Thank you for your compliment and advice - since the making of my earlier videos, I've toned down the music. I first started without music, but people told me that the silence is deafening at times. In the current world of stimuli overload, sometimes people feel uncomfortable without background noise. I get agitated by noise, but didn't feel confident enough to not heed all the advice I was getting. Now I make ones with almost no discernible background noise. Thank you Dana

@@stonesandfindings Thank you. You are talented and also humble and kind.

You are so welcome! Argh - I hate gate keepers. I think the best way for us to advance as a community is to share our knowledge. Thank you for this message.

Glad it was helpful. Good luck!!

I am happy to read that you're ok with that. I like keeping it authentic, so you will see a many fails, LOL. THen I create videos of fails and how I overcome/avoid those. Thanks for watching and this comment.

@@stonesandfindings 🆒 no one cares

I don't think there is anyone dealing or shipping directly to India. Perhaps you can contact Sunstone directly.

@@stonesandfindings Thank You

This is true - the other tell that made me determine I was duped was those beads had divots on the ends. THey would not cut that into the stone. However, that happens when you do glass forming or blowing.

Hello Newport News! I've never been to Virgina - yet! thanks for this hello.

LOL - I love your jewel protection!!!! This comment made me smile. They are highly intelligent, but I've never seen them in pack formation. I can only imagine - wolves are super smart in packs.

This should be the case. You don't need argon gas to weld. Do you have a jump ring to test with? Have both ends touching. Then try it on higher than the power needed, which can compensate for shaky hands. Here is the power setting chart to go with: stonesandfindings.com/free-resources-page-pj-jewelry-making-information/optimal-power-setting-for-micro-welding/ If you bought the welder through us, I want you to email me and we can set up video or some way to communicate and I see what you're doing. Otherwise, try the above suggestion. If it doesn't work, simply contact your dealer. They should figure out what you're doing wrong. I am certain there is a very simple fix. Good luck Dana

@@stonesandfindings I figured it out I wasn’t holding it up long enough but I got it now! Thanks for your response!

Glad it was helpful! Yes, a lot did go into this - I'm a bit of a nerd and I film things the way I would learn and also anticipate what questions I would ask. THanks for watching and for the comment

No, sorry I don't. I have heard that it is complicated and not very reliable. There are paid courses online that you can purchase and the instructors might be able to help you. One of them is Linked Local New Jersey. I hope this helps.

Glad it was helpful! Thank you for letting me know.

Hi Kelli! Thank you for this note - I am happy to read you like my videos!! Blue Zapp - do you mean the original one in my video? That was just a prototype. When the actual production came out, they changed it to white. You can decorate yours to whatever you want. THey have decals with all sorts of prints, for the new mPulse, but you can cut it. Alternatively, you can find decal film at Michael's (or craft supply store). You can remove it and it won't damage your machine.

You want to find reputable wholesalers like us, Stones and Findings. We lab test all of our supplies and are highly trusted. We guarantee our metallurgy. We are the largest wholesaler of gold filled chains in Canada and 3rd largest in North America. To see wholesale prices, you will need to register an account. stonesandfindings.com/my-account/ It will not ask you for your retail license because we ship all over the world and different countries have different requirements for tax. If you are in the USA, we cover all duties, taxes and clearance. Our turnaround time is extremely fast and perhaps best in the industry. We are better than most US local suppliers both in terms of price and service. I hope this helps. We look forward to doing business with you.

You're welcome. Thanks for this note!

Esta máquina utiliza 110v. This machine uses 110v.

I don't think there is much of a video to make cuz the one tip is: More the Better!!!! I must have 7 on my stack of 17 chains. I love them and each mean something special to me - more and more people are doing this. Instead of tattoos, they're collecting permanent jewelry momentos