The Williams family in vacation in Moab, UT spring 2022. Left to right: Delaney, Jacqui, Bodie, Jack, Grady and Ryan.

Jacqui Williams is a mother of four young children and in the thick of all that a busy household entails. In her spare time, she has developed an interesting hobby and an on-trend business – she is a specialist and seller of permanent jewelry.

Williams explained that many people do not know what permanent jewelry is. “They think it’s weird, but when they find out about it, it’s exciting because it’s less painful than they think.”

In fact, it’s pain free. Permanent jewelry is simply gold or silver chains (with or without charms) that a specialist affixes to the client with a customized welding device. In just a few seconds, the buyer has a “permanent” piece of jewelry. More accurately, it is indefinite, because the piece can be easily removed by cutting the thin chain, if necessary.

Permanent jewelry has become popular in the past few years, especially with the younger generation and on many social platforms. Best friends get matching ankle bracelets, a bride and groom get matching necklaces on their wedding day – a few examples of ways people wear permanent jewelry.

Williams was introduced to permanent jewelry by her sister who traveled to Utah for corporate meetings. “It seemed like every time she came home, she had another piece of permanent jewelry,” Williams said. She wanted a piece of her own but when she did some research, she found that it was unaffordable, so she did some homework. “I looked into it, bought the machine and trained myself to do it far more affordably. It’s pretty simple and fun,” Williams added. Her business, Linked by Jacqui, launched last June.

Williams quickly realized that two factors drive up the price for selling permanent jewelry – working out of dedicated spaces which creates overhead and selling solid gold chains. She keeps her costs down by working out of her home and traveling to her clients for transactions. Marketing her product on Instagram, she works with less expensive, gold-filled and sterling silver chains. Williams enjoys doing parties, bridal showers, Galentine or favorite things parties, sorority functions and Mom and Me events.

Hailing from Overland Park, Kansas, Williams wasn’t always into jewelry. After high school, she moved west to attend Brigham Young University and then moved to Mesa, Arizona to be near her sister and to attend Mesa Community College to pursue a nursing degree. Williams, who is a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, enjoyed her time in Mesa because of the large LDS population in Arizona. “I loved the strong church culture, especially after coming from Kansas where that didn’t really exist when I was growing up,” she said. She eventually moved to Colorado, married and started a family. Williams worked as a labor and delivery nurse at Littleton Adventist Hospital for almost a decade until it became too difficult to find childcare after her second baby was born.

Williams loves to spend time with her family: husband Ryan, daughter Delany, and sons Grady, Jack and Bodie. She enjoys exercise and baking, especially gingerbread cookies. She hopes to get back into nursing someday. Until then, Williams is focused on her permanent jewelry business.

Permanent jewelry, which is connected by soldering jewelry on without a clasp, has become very popular and is trending on social media.

“It’s a fun way to earn a little extra spending money,” she concluded.

To learn more, visit Williams’ Instagram account, @linked.by.jacqui.

By Celeste McNeil; photos courtesy of Jacqui Williams