Meet the Designer
Jewelry runs through my veins: my grandmother, Sue Chan, is a goldsmith who has owned and operated a jewelry store in the heart of Chicago’s Chinatown for over 50 years. I was fascinated with all things shiny growing up, leading me to an auction house internship where one look through a jeweler’s loupe revealed a whole world deep inside the gemstones that I never wanted to escape.
Since then, I have held positions in operations at Harry Winston (Chicago), sales at Betteridge (Greenwich, CT), business development coordinator at Leslie Hindman Auctioneers (Chicago) and sales management at Marshall Pierce & Co. (Chicago). I completed the Graduate Gemologist program at the Gemological Institute of America (GIA), CA and later attained a certificate in Jewelry Design at GIA’s New York campus. These multi-faceted experiences led me to create Lei Lee Jewels in 2013.
In 2011, I received the "Shining Star" Award from the Women’s Jewelry Association (WJA) Chicago Chapter and am currently President-Elect of the WJA Dallas Chapter. In addition, I serve on the WJA Advocacy Taskforce, am a board member of Gen-Next Jewelers and an active member of the Notre Dame Club of Dallas.