Close-up of a craftsman's hand holding a gold ring, with a jewelry-making workspace in the background showing tools, small beads, and metal pieces.

The Art of the Handmade

Jewelry as Art

Big Sur Goldsmiths is a family studio founded in Big Sur in 1964 by Karl Lee. Today it is a woman owned studio led by Carrie Armstrong, with her partner Ali A Lee. Together they carry on his designs and make new work inspired by the landscapes of Big Sur. Karl’s story is told in full on the Legacy page.

Every piece is one of a kind, hand forged and never cast, from recycled 18k, 22k and 24k gold we alloy in our own studio. The gemstones come from our own collection, gathered over sixty years, and almost every stone is set in 22k gold.

Made to be worn every day, and handed down.

Goldsmith Carrie Armstrong operating a jewelry rolling mill machine hand-fabricating fine jewelry in studio

Carrie Armstrong

Goldsmith. Artist. Mother.
Living life as art. Metal smithing accentuates the ride.
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FAQ
Goldsmith Ali Lee in the Ashland Oregon studio with dog continuing Karl Lee jewelry tradition

Ali A Lee

Third-generation goldsmith, maker, father
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Close-up of a person wearing layered gold chain necklaces and a beige shirt with a partially unzipped collar.

Balancing Tradition

&

Contemporary

A friend in Japan shared two ideas we carry with us:

Denshou (伝承)
Tradition passed down unchanged through generations.

Dentou (伝統)— what becomes.
Tradition that evolves, with each new disciple adding their touch.

Our work holds both.
Handmade, as it has always been.

Each piece—singular.
Crafted in gold and stone
to be worn, lived in, and passed on.

—Carrie & Ali

Recycled Gold

Ethical Gemstones

Karl Lee Big Sur

Big Sur Goldsmiths

Big Sur, 1964.
Karl Lee began a tradition of handmade jewelry—
silver and 22-karat gold, refined for daily wear.

Inspired by nature. Grounded in craft.

Today, as Big Sur Goldsmiths,
Ali A Lee and Carrie Armstrong continue the work—
hand-forged, one of a kind, made to endure.

A legacy, evolving — Read More

A young man sculpting clay on a pottery wheel inside a rustic workshop, with wooden walls and natural light coming through a window.
A black and white photo of a man sitting in a room with a large window and a painting of a young man hanging on the wall behind him.

Generations of artistry.
Handcrafted in our family studio.
EACH PIECE MADE TO BE WORN, AND HANDED DOWN.

“Some of the U.S. master goldsmiths/jewelers I have had the good fortune to meet through IG include Ali and Carrie of @bigsurgoldsmiths”

KYLE RODERICK, FORBES JEWELRY WRITER, BIJOUX REVIEW

Big Sur Goldsmiths is a family jewelry studio founded in Big Sur in 1964 by Karl Martin Lee, who began his work at the Esalen Art Barn. Today the studio's work is made by his son, Ali A Lee, and Ali's partner, Carrie Armstrong. Carrie Armstrong is also the maker behind Carrie Armstrong Design, her own line, and she owns and runs Big Sur Goldsmiths. Ali A Lee apprenticed under his father Karl and under Kocek, a European-trained master jeweler in Carmel. Work under the names Big Sur Goldsmiths, Ali A Lee, and Carrie Armstrong Design all comes from this one studio and these two makers.

THE LOOK

Model from behind with hands in her hair, wearing turquoise rings in gold, Big Sur Goldsmiths.

Made by hand to be worn. Photographed the way it is worn.