Ali A Lee, Goldsmith

Ali A Lee grew up on the edge of a cliff in Big Sur. Instead of a play area, he had a bench next to his father's. The first piece he made there was a simple silver forged band.

His father, Karl Lee, began Big Sur Goldsmiths in 1964 at the Esalen Art Barn. Karl made refined, simple jewelry with no sharp edges, meant to be worn every day and to last for generations. Ali is the third generation of jewelers in his family. He apprenticed with Karl and with Kocek, a European-trained master jeweler in Carmel-by-the-Sea, a generous teacher whose company Ali counts as an honor. The two had very different styles, and Ali learned from both.

Ali works differently from either of them. He doesn't draw and doesn't use CAD. He makes spontaneously, in the moment, guided by inspiration and by pieces that stayed with him from childhood. Every piece is hand fabricated from recycled gold and platinum. The rugged simplicity of the forms comes from Big Sur, and the work is nature-forward and closer to sculpture or painting in gems and precious metal than to mechanical jewelry. Turquoise and tourmaline are his great loves, and many of the stones he sets come from the family's collection, built over decades. Many were cut at the old Partington Ridge studio.

Today Ali and his partner Carrie Armstrong, who owns and runs Big Sur Goldsmiths, continue the studio's handmade tradition.