Vincent Peach with a handful of sensational Tahitian pearls
To be female is to seek adornment. Yet women have arrived at a time when they no longer simply inherit baroque diamond sets from their mothers or are gifted baguette solitaires by adoring (or guilty) husbands. Women now buy their own baubles, thank you very much.
With that modernity arrives the Vincent Peach customer. She has abandoned strict symmetry in favor of the organically inspired designs of this cult favorite. When he designs, Peach combines the rugged and the precious—leather straps with freshwater pearls—so that a natural spirit prevails. Nothing appears forced. And ladies from Sandra Bullock to Miranda Lambert to Taylor Swift are donning these designs because of it.
Peach first takes the bare-bones strip of supple, high-grade animal skin, choosing from deerskin, crocodile, stingray, lambskin and goatskin. For some styles, he embellishes that strip with a single pearl—perhaps a black Tahitian—to create a bracelet or necklace. For other styles he may add several pearls and a pavé diamond bead. Then there are pearls that float at random spaces from each other, evading predictability. Such slinky silhouettes have become his trademark. Then there are the pearls that come in the hues of a sunset, from gray to pink to lilac to cream.
“No one else is doing anything close to what we’re doing in leather and pearls,” says the designer, who has recently opened a flagship store at 300 12th Avenue South in Nashville’s Gulch.
Peach sometimes adds metals molded to resemble organic shapes such as coral or antlers. Some pieces feature ancient Greek or Roman coins, some dating back to 330 years BC.
Born in Knoxville, Peach discovered his gift for art early. “I painted watercolors every day of my life for twelve years, from the time I was seven or eight,” he says. “I had artwork in galleries when I was in high school.”
As a youth, Peach apprenticed in the family business, which happened to be pearl wholesaling. “I didn’t know anything but pearls when I was a kid,” Peach says.
As he sought his own place in the world, he created thousands of jewelry designs. He finally made a piece that he could wear and feel comfortable: a leather-cord bracelet accented with one pearl. “I’ve got the same one on today, seven years later,” he says. And even though he calls it a sentimental piece, its wearability speaks to its quality and versatility. “I wear it in the shower,” he says.
That is the essence of Peach’s jewelry: It can be worn every day and everywhere. “I don’t want people to wear it once in a blue moon when there’s a fancy event and they dress up,” Peach says. “I want people to wear our jewelry every day. I try to make every piece so you can wear it with a T-shirt or an evening gown. It’s jewelry you live with.”
Vincent Peach is located in the Gulch at 300 12th Ave. S. For more information visit www.vincentpeach.com.
