Get permanent jewelry, from bracelets to necklaces, at this new Tucson boutique ✨

The permanent jewelry trend has made its way to Tucson and it’s here to stay, well, permanently.

Local salon owner Emily Buckley brought the trend to Tucson this summer after seeing permanent jewelry go viral on social media.

“I felt like it was getting really trendy on TikTok and other social media platforms,” she said. “And I feel like Tucson is always kind of behind the times when it comes to trends. So, I was like, ‘We'll bring it to Tucson and kind of be not so behind on the times.’”

Buckley’s permanent jewelry boutique, Goldie x Willow (pronounced Goldie by Willow), is currently housed in her hair salon Willow, located at 219 N. Third Ave. Buckley often finds herself doing pop-up permanent jewelry events outside of the salon too.

Since Goldie x Willow’s start in June, Buckley has done around 400 pieces of permanent jewelry, she said. But what exactly is permanent jewelry?

It’s a piece of fine jewelry, such as a bracelet or anklet, that’s measured for the perfect fit and then welded together. There's no clasp on the piece of jewelry, so the final product leaves you with a shiny, permanent accessory.

Goldie x Willow currently offers sterling silver and 14-karat gold-filled rings, bracelets, necklaces and anklets. Rings range from $30-$50; bracelets are around $80; anklets are around $90; and necklaces are around $100, depending on which metal you choose and how much material is used, according to Buckley.

“I have close to 50 chains and you come in, you pick your chain, I have charms and little connectors and all those things,” she said. “I have them all laid out as samples so you can try them on and see how it goes with your skin tone (and) with your other jewelry that you wear. Make sure everything matches and you like the feel of it. ... I’ll have you try it on and make sure the fit feels right. From that point, we can make it larger or smaller and then I will weld it shut and clean it off, polish it and you're good to go.

“So from start to finish, it's a pretty quick process. Usually, it's like 10 minutes.”

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If you’re concerned about going through metal detectors or getting the jewelry wet, Buckley says there shouldn’t be a problem.

“So it’s all considered fine jewelry,” she said. “And with TSA, which is airport security, you can take all of your fine jewelry through the machine (with) no problem. I actually travel quite frequently, and I've never had an issue and no one that I've done has ever come to me with the issue like, ‘Oh, I couldn't get through security,’ or whatever the case may be, so that’s super awesome. ... They (the chains) really are super strong. And I guarantee all of my chains, too. So if for some reason you have a reaction or say I was trying a new chain and it tarnished or whatever the case may be, I guarantee that, so I always will replace it if necessary.”

However, Buckley doesn’t recommend wearing a piece of permanent jewelry when getting an MRI due to the strong magnets. If you need to remove the permanent jewelry for whatever reason, you can cut it off with sharp wire cutters or kitchen shears, according to Buckley.

She recommends cutting it off near the welding point, so you can get it rewelded later.

“You get one free reweld,” she said. “Because it is fine jewelry, I always like to make sure they're gonna last, so say you're doing your dance to put your skinny jeans on and it snags or whatever and it comes off, you get one free reweld and then if after that you needed to reweld it for any reason it's only 10 bucks, so nothing crazy.”

Unlike typical jewelry stores that are seeking to meet a sales quota, Buckley started Goldie x Willow for fun as a side hobby.

“I think it's just a lot of excitement,” she said. “Because, like I said, Tucson is just a little bit behind the times when it comes to trends. And so I think there was a lot of excitement that we have something on trend where you didn't have to go to Scottsdale or go to Phoenix or wherever to get kind of the new thing. ... When I opened, I didn't really expect much of it. I was just doing it because I had extra space (in the salon) and I needed a hobby and it's kind of turned into this big crazy thing.”

“I would love to see it grow into its own thing and not be so much of just an expansion of the salon but its own little brand,” she added. “But like I said before, I'm not putting any pressure on it, whatever it grows to be is fine, there's no loss really because I just enjoy my time doing it.”

To schedule a permanent jewelry appointment or for more information, reach out to Buckley through Instagram.