Today we’d like to introduce you to Peter Lopez
Peter, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
I was born and raised in the City of Angels, but really, I grew up in my father’s jewelry store. My fondest memories of my childhood were spent in the back of his store watching the jewelers create these miniature sculptures that fascinated me; everything from nameplates to animals, a machine gun, a semi-truck (full 18-wheeler), and even a cowboy hat.
Being of Cuban descent, my dad was all about gold and didn’t sell many gemstones, once I got older, I started learning about gems and diamonds. I think this was the beginning of my being a lifetime student.
This new direction I followed opened a whole world of jewelry and watches that I have spent most of my life following.
Around 2012 I started a blog about the wonderful world of jewelry, and as I was navigating that, I started teaching myself ecommerce and digital marketing. That small blog slowly transformed into an amazing website that I absolutely love!
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
Being an entrepreneur, like my father, I made the leap into business at the tender age of 18. I opened a small booth in a jewelry mart, but the jewelry industry requires a lot of capital, so I took on some partners. After years of dealing with their toxic behaviors I walked away. The main reason was that I became a single father to an awesome daughter, now 24 and thriving so I have zero regrets.
It has not been an easy road at all, as I am an outsider in the L.A. jewelry industry. I am Latin, and I guess a bit head strong, for almost two decades, I never found a company that I fit in and felt like a part of their team.
I have come to accept that life for some of us is not easy but at the same time, I am happy that I have gone through these struggles as they have molded me into the man I have become, and I really love this current version of me.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
I love my work. I am a designer and a curator. I am crazy about vintage jewelry and watches. I believe my superpower is curating exceptional rarities.
I am a huge fan of ancient Roman History, so I created a Roman anthology collection. It’s important dates in Roman numerals.
I am most proud of being a father and I believe that being a single father helped me become a better person all around and I think my passion for vintage jewelry combined with my passion for being of service sets me apart.
So maybe we end on discussing what matters most to you and why?
Believe it or not, besides my daughter, Honor matters to me most. Being an honorable man, father, friend and businessperson. With honor as a foundation, everything works out for me even if it doesn’t go the way I expected because I learned a lesson and grew as a man.
I guess that’s why I love the quote by Theodore Roosevelt, The Man in the Arena (from a speech he gave in Paris in 1910)
As long as I keep moving forward, chasing my dreams and goals, even at 55 years old, and as long as I try to have honor in everything I do, then I can look in the mirror and feel proud of myself.
Pricing:
- basically from $100 to $20,000
- and beyond 🙂 but my average sems to be
- $800
- $1000
- $1500
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.petersvaults.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/petersvault/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/PeterPLopez
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/peterplopez/
