A laser welder is a bench-top fixture used at the jeweller's bench to join precious metals by means of a focused pulsed laser beam. The dominant technology in jewellery is the Nd:YAG or fibre laser running at 1064 nm with pulse durations in the millisecond to microsecond range, peak powers from a few hundred watts up to several kilowatts, and average power generally below 100 W. The operator views the work through an integrated stereo microscope and aims the beam by eye, triggering each pulse with a foot pedal.

Where a torch and solder produce a heat-affected zone several millimetres across, a laser weld concentrates its energy in a spot of roughly 0.2 to 0.6 mm diameter, which means the welder can join a broken prong inches from a heat-sensitive set stone, fuse a sized shank to a delicate filigree gallery, or build up a worn claw by pulse-stacking with welding wire, all without removing nearby gemstones. This is the property that has made the laser welder a standard fixture at the modern repair bench since the early 2000s.

Operating safety is non-trivial: the open beam at 1064 nm is invisible and can cause permanent retinal damage in a single pulse, so the machine is always enclosed and operators must wear wavelength-rated laser safety glasses appropriate to 1064 nm, generally OD 6+. The welder is not a substitute for traditional soldering in every case (high-volume sizing of identical bands is still faster with a torch and a sizing rig), but for stone-set repairs it has no real bench-level rival.