Hand Forged Originals
Family Studio Est. 1964 in Big Sur, Ca
Limited Production Studio Jewelry
Recycled 18k, 22k & 24km Silver and Platinum combined with wth ethically sourced gemstones
art. ADORNMENT. jewelry.
Limited handmade by
Carrie Armstrong Design
&
Ali Lee - AAL
This amulet pendant holds a long, high cut blue chalcedony in 22k gold between a faceted sapphire and an old mine cut diamond, with an 18k gold bail. The blue reads as lit from within. I hand fabricated it in our mountain studio, a form I have made for years, and this one is one of a kind.
Chalcedony cabochon, 30 carat, cut long and high so light enters the stone. Set in 22k gold, flanked by a faceted sapphire and an old mine cut diamond, on a satin silver body. Bail is 18k gold.
The blue reads as lit from within.
An amulet, a form I've made variations of for as long as I've been able to make. Never the same, always similar.
Satin silver
22k gold
18k gold bail
30 carat chalcedony cabochon
Sapphire
Old mine cut diamond
Hand fabricated in our studio
One of a kind.
541.301.6923
Made by our hands in our mountain studio in the USA. One of one: once it sells, it will not be made again. Returns accepted within 15 days of delivery if the piece hasn't been damaged.
All our work and this website are made by Carrie and Ali, so if you need any detail that isn't here, please reach out. I'm available by text or email if any prospective customer has a question. We can also send video or more photos of the item in question.
To The Gallery
These drop earrings are 22k gold and nothing else, ear wires included. Carrie forged and tooled them by hand, nothing cast and nothing made by machine, so the satin surface carries the mark of the tool. The pair is one of a kind, in gold from the ethical sources Karl Lee's studio has kept for decades.
22k gold, nothing else. Hand tooled and satin brush finished. The ear wire is 22k gold throughout.
The surface carries the mark of the tool directly. Nothing cast, nothing fabricated by machine. The form is the work. Nearly an inch wide.
Drop 1.6" (40.8 mm)
Width 0.89" (22.5 mm)
Forged by Carrie
One of a kind.
Made by our hands in our mountain studio in the USA. One of one: once it sells, it will not be made again. Returns accepted within 15 days of delivery if the piece hasn't been damaged.
I'm available by text or email if any prospective customer has a question. We can also send video or more photos of the item in question.
Fossilized coral, a long oval cabochon, fills the top of this Big Sur Classic ring in a 22k gold bezel. I hand fabricated it on sterling silver with a band fitted to the finger, and it is one of a kind. The metal comes from ethical suppliers we have kept for decades, the handwork from Karl Lee.
22k studio milled gold setting, sterling silver base and band, fossilized coral oval cabochon 18 carat weight
Ring size 8.5
1.10 “ ( 28.7mm ) vertical
0.75 “ ( 19.2mm ) horizontal
0.28 ” ( 7.1mm ) gem height
0.47 “ ( 12mm ) band width
Form fitted band shape
Hand fabricated by Ali
Individually crafted studio piece
Made by our hands in our mountain studio in the USA. One of one: once it sells, it will not be made again. Returns accepted within 15 days of delivery if the piece hasn't been damaged. Rings can often be sized up and only very rarely down. If you need a different size, we'd be glad to make you a similar piece in your size.
I’m available by text or email if any prospective customer has a question. We can also send video or more photos of the item in question.
LEGACY & Big SUr Roots
Our story begins in 1964 at Esalen, when the human potential movement was just getting started. What is now called the Art Barn was the first studio: pottery, painting, sculpture, jewelry. Ali's father, Karl Lee, made his first work there. Later he moved to Henry Miller's old cabin on Partington Ridge, and that is where the work and the raising of a family began in earnest. Ali was born and raised up there, above the Pacific, among raw metals and lapidary tools, with the surf going all day.
Today Carrie and Ali carry on Karl's work in the mountains of Ashland, Oregon. Two people, one studio. We alloy our own gold. We set stones we have gathered and cut over many years. Every piece is one of a kind, designed and made by hand, start to finish, right here. Nothing goes out. Nothing comes off a line. We have a lifelong commitment to jewelry as art, and we keep it.
KARL LEE 1960’s STUDIO (now The ESALEN ART BARN)
Karl Lee began hand forging the Big Sur Classics in the 1970s at his studio on Partington Ridge, above the coast, where Ali was born and raised. The first ones went mostly to neighbors and to the Phoenix Shop at Nepenthe. Carrie Armstrong and Ali Lee still make them the same way. Each month there is a small, strictly limited run in 22k gold and silver, set with a cabochon.
only originals
Please do be in touch, we always have interesting work in the studio.
WORDS from our studio
We don't send emails often. But if you'd like an occasional, quiet note directly from the two of us, sign up below. We'll let you know when Ali has cut a fresh batch of cabochons, or when new pieces are finally off the bench and ready for their next chapter. We are also adding to the blog slowly but surely.
WHERE TO SEE OUR WORK IN BIG SUR
THE PHOENIX SHOP AT NEPENTHE
has carried our work since the 1970s. If you are visiting Big Sur please stop by this iconic Highway 1 landmark to experience our one-of-a-kind work in person.