Hand Forged Originals

Family Studio Est. 1964 in Big Sur, Ca

Limited Production Studio Jewelry

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Recycled 18k, 22k & 24k · Hand-forged originals

art-ADORNMENT-jewelry

Limited handmade

Carrie Armstrong Design

Ali Lee - AAL

Hands cupping a collection of ornate gold rings with colorful gemstones against rust-colored fabric

Blue Chalcedony Amulet

$3,200.00

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.

studio@bigsurgoldsmiths.com

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

22k Gold Sculpted Drop Earrings

$3,400.00

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 Big Sur Classic Ring

$1,400.00

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.

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Carrie Armstrong gold ring with diamonds

Close-up of a person's hand wearing a ring with a large, transparent, rounded gemstone or glass piece.

Close-up of a person's hand wearing a silver ring with a large green gemstone, along with other rings with red and green gemstones.

Close-up of a woman's face, showing her left eye, nose, and lips, with short dark hair and a dark blue blazer, wearing a long, dangling earring with multiple colorful beads and a large green gemstone at the end.

Close-up of a person's hand wearing a silver ring decorated with multicolored gemstones in various sizes and shapes.

We Share regular studio updates on instagram

Deep in the creative zone. A nice place to be. • #handfabricated #wearableartjewelry #bigsurgoldsmiths #carriearmstrongdesign #statementcuff

A mood… • LABRADORITE/22K GOLD/ STERLING SILVER • #alittlebeautyeveryday #modernheirloom #finecraftjewelry #carriearmstrongdesign #bigsurgoldsmiths

Carnelian season, persimmon season. . CARNELIAN/ 22K GOLD/ STERLING SILVER . #finecraft #studiojewelry #ringgoals #carriearmstrongdesign #bigsurgoldsmiths

Sometimes love have pointy bits • BLACK TOURMALINE/ 22K GOLD/ STERLING SILVER • #oneofakindjewellery #statementring #handfabricatedjewelry #bigsurgoldsmiths #carriearmstrongdesign

A horizontal duo of Big Sur Classics. The purple tone piece is purple chalcedony, with depth and unwavering color appeal. It’s paired here with an earthy soft toned labradorite that has a purple and peach overtone with a gray and brown undertone matrix. As the classics go, always set in a warm 22K yellow gold we mill in our mountain studio. A base and band of sterling silver gives balance and dimension to the overall design of these beauties. • #bigsur #bigsurgoldsmiths #familytradition #studiojewelry #carriearmstrongdesign

Sometimes we need to slow down, like wayyyy down. Real still, where we can hear our own thoughts, our own internal answers to the questions we ask ourselves. This is more of a mental note to self I’m thinking. This opal reminds me of that. There is a deep fiery inner glow going on within. AUSTRALIAN OPAL/ 22K GOLD/ STERLING SILVER. . . #australianopal #opaljewelry #handfabricated #bigsurgoldsmiths #carriearmstrongdesign

Hey baby… • TOURMALINE/ DIAMOND/ 18K & 22K GOLD • #highjewelry #finecraft #studiojewelry #carriearmstrongdesign #bigsurgoldsmiths

I’ll be hanging in downtown Ashland today 10/3 with @lithiaartisansmarket. The weather is calling for a glorious autumn day, come give me birthday love! • #handcraftedjewelry #lithiaartisansmarket #modernheirloomjewelry #carriearmstrongdesign handmadeisthenewluxury

To become a ring maker… Who knew? With each new piece created, there is never just one favorite, The heart simply grows. • HELIODOR/ BLACK TOURMALINE/ PREHNITE/ GARNET & DIAMOND CIGAR BAND • #handfabricatedjewelry #originaljewelry #familylegacy #bigsurgoldsmiths #carriearmstrongdesign

So much to love, Enough time for it all. RING BOX / OCTOBER 2026 • #bigsurclassics #timehonored #handfabricatedjewelry #bigsurgoldsmiths #carriearmstrongdesign

The dreamer invites you to dive in (or step in if you are not a diver). A whole universe within where one could float on a brilliant blue horizon atop the depths and peer up at a violet sky. • MULTICOLORED TOURMALINE/ 22K/SILVER WIDE BAND/ SATIN FINISH • #oneofakindjewelry #storyteller #studiojewelry #carriearmstrongdesign #bigsurgoldsmiths

Hand forged, one piece at a time. One movement at a time. One link at a time. One heartbeat at time. Slowed time, which is a lovely pace to enjoy life and create by. • #22karatgold #handforgedjewelry #highjewelry #bigsurgoldsmiths #carriearmstrongdesign

Autumn Equinox 2026. May the shifting of season resonate with beauty, uplift, and ease. • MANDARIN GARNET/ 22K & 18K GOLD RING • #highjewelry #garnetandgold #handfabricatedjewelry #bigsurgoldsmiths #carriearmstrongdesign

Midday pause with this sweetie. Finished the final inner polishing and called it a wrap last night. Here’s to slow creations, intentional ones. INDICOLITE/ DIAMOND/ 22K & 18K GOLD • #handmadeluxury #studiojewelry #bigsurgoldsmiths #carriearmstrongdesign #oneofakindjewellery

Deep in the creative zone.
A nice place to be.
•
#handfabricated
#wearableartjewelry
#bigsurgoldsmiths
#carriearmstrongdesign
#statementcuff

LEGACY CRAFT

Our story begins in 1964 at the Esalen Institute amidst the birth of the human potential movement. Ali's father, Karl Lee, shaped our family's fine goldsmithing tradition as he created his first works in his studio at the fabled Art Barn. He later moved to Henry Miller's old cabin on Partington Ridge and made it his home and studio. Ali was raised in that studio, perched above the Pacific among raw metals and lapidary tools, to the song of crashing surf.

Today, Carrie and Ali continue Karl's original handmade jewelry tradition in the wilds of Ashland, Oregon. We are a dedicated two-person artisan jewelry studio. Each unique piece is designed and hand fabricated in our atelier. Never outsourced. Never mass-cast or by assembly line. We forge the 22k gold. Cut the gems. Set every stone by hand. We honor a lifelong commitment to

Limited Production Art Jewelry

Big Sur Goldsmiths founder Karl Lee at the Esalen Institute Art Barn in the 1960s, where the family's goldsmithing legacy began.

KARL LEE circa 1960’s STUDIO in the ESALEN ART BARN

THE BIG SUR CLASSIC Rings

SINCE 1970

My father Karl Lees old business card for the 1970's. Made with a woodblock print he carved. The days before internet and cell phones.

Karl Lee first began hand-forging this signature Big Sur Classic design in the 1970s from his art studio overlooking the coast on Partington Ridge—where Ali was born and raised. These early pieces were offered primarily to local residents and through the iconic Phoenix Shop at Nepenthe. Today, Carrie Armstrong and Ali A. Lee continue this family legacy, crafting a strictly limited production series of these classic adornments each month.

Karle Lee at the potters wheel at the Esalen Institute Art Barn before the move to Partington Ridge in Big Sur, California

Mixed metal classics by Carrie Armstrong: moonstone, citrine, bloodstone, ruby in 22K gold and silver

One in a million tourmaline rarity set as Big Sur Classic. 22K gold and Silver

notes 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.

Looking down from Nepenthe to the Phoenix Shop and the Big Sur Coast

WHERE TO SEE OUR WORK IN BIG SUR

THE PHOENIX SHOP AT NEPENTHE

The Phoenix Shop at Nepenthe has carried our handcrafted 22k gold and gemstone jewelry since the 1970s. If you are visiting Big Sur, California, stop by this iconic Highway 1 landmark to experience our one-of-a-kind work in person.

Representation