AG Jewelry - The Sculptured Wearable Art of Alan Giovannetti
There are jewelers, and then there are artists who happen to work in gold. Alan Giovannetti is firmly, unmistakably the latter. A San Francisco native whose creative roots run deep into the counterculture movement of the 1960s and 70s, Alan has spent more than five decades perfecting a craft that sits at the rare intersection of fine jewelry, wearable sculpture, and deeply personal artistry. His work is not just made to be worn - it is made to be felt, noticed, and remembered.
The Craft - Lost-Wax, One Drop at a Time
Every piece Alan creates begins the same way: by hand, using the ancient tradition of lost-wax casting, built up one careful drop of wax at a time. There are no shortcuts, no production runs, no two pieces alike. He allows each work to evolve organically as he goes - guided by intuition, honed craftsmanship, and what he describes as a whimsical imagination. Once the form takes shape, he spends hours smoothing and polishing every surface to a perfectionist's standard before setting his chosen embellishments - which might be a precious gemstone, an exotic carving, a piece of beach glass, or a taxidermy eye that caught his attention. The result is jewelry that feels genuinely alive.
The Signature Contour Ring
Alan's most iconic creation is his signature contour ring - a design so thoughtfully conceived it has become a hallmark of his work. Unlike a traditional band ring that simply stops at the finger webbing, a Giovannetti contour ring is sculpted to mold around the natural shape of the finger, elongating and flattering the hand in a way that a conventional ring simply cannot. It is the kind of detail that only comes from decades of obsessive attention to how jewelry actually interacts with the human body - and once you've worn one, a standard band feels like a compromise.
A Legacy Written in Gold
Alan's journey in jewelry began in 1967 when he joined the craft co-op INMATRIX and began working with Brooks Darrow. His path led him to a formative mentorship with the legendary Sam Paul Gee at Gee's celebrated North Beach shop - a destination where the stars of San Francisco society came to find the extraordinary. It was there that Alan's reputation began to take on a life of its own. His client list from those years reads like a roll call of American cultural royalty: Elton John, Miles Davis, Fleetwood Mac, Herbie Hancock, Bootsy Collins, Kris Kristofferson, Rita Coolidge, Michael Keaton, Bob Weir, Liberace, Redd Foxx, Flip Wilson - music legends, screen icons, and tastemakers who recognized something rare when they saw it.
He later opened his own successful jewelry gallery in Sausalito, and his award-winning work has been recognized at some of the most prestigious arts festivals in California - including the San Francisco Arts Festival, the Marin County Fair, the California State Fair, and the Berkeley Arts Festival, among many others. His pieces have been carried by celebrated galleries from New York's Aaron Faber to Angel Int. in Beverly Hills to the Union Street Goldsmith in San Francisco.
The Artist Today
Alan now lives and works in West Marin - in a studio that, by all accounts, is a world unto itself, bubbling with oddities, works in progress, and the kind of creative energy that simply cannot be manufactured. He shares his home with Zoey, his African grey parrot, and continues to create new work with the same restless curiosity and exacting standards that have defined his career for over half a century.
For collectors, gift-givers, or anyone searching for a piece of jewelry that carries a genuine story - Alan Giovannetti's work is as close to irreplaceable as it gets.
To inquire about available pieces or commission work, contact Alan directly through BestOfMarin.com.
Pro tip: Ask about rare one-of-a-kind originals currently available - Alan often has singular pieces in the studio that are never reproduced.
