“All my life I’ve been interested in jewels and gemstones and gold and silver,” says Dockerty. “My uncle says when I was 6 or 7, I came up to him and said right out of the blue, ‘You know what, Uncle Dan? I just love jewelry.’” She laughs, not remembering the episode.
In college at the University of Florida, Dockerty became so fixated with a $400 emerald and diamond ring at a local jewelry shop that she walked in one day and offered the owner her moped for it.
“He looked at me like I was crazy, and that’s when I realized that yes, I must be,” Dockerty says. “I was able to persuade myself I could not actually sell my college transportation for a ring.”
To a number of charitable organizations in South Florida, Dockerty herself is a gem. She is a co-founder of Treasures4Charity, a Delray Beach shop in which donated goods are sold to the public, with the proceeds going to one of 25 different charities. She is also an active volunteer fundraiser for the Bethesda Hospital Foundation and a member of the Junior League of Boca Raton. In recognition of her service, she was one of 22 women from throughout Palm Beach County to be nominated for the Junior League of Boca Raton’s 2011 Woman Volunteer of the Year award.
Having aced the Gemological Institute’s graduate exam in March, Dockerty is now combining her love for jewelry with professional-grade knowledge, offering her services as a personal jewelry consultant.
“Friends come to me and say, ‘I have all of this stuff I don’t wear any more.’ So I will come up with ideas for redesigning the pieces, and have it made for them by jewelry artists I’ve connected with in New York,” Dockerty says.
Will she leave real estate to pursue her passion full-time? “Oh no. Real estate is the reason I can actually purchase jewelry!” she declares with a laugh, saying she can easily picture herself with a sign saying I Work For Jewelry.
All joking aside, Dockerty says the most precious jewels in her life are husband, Bob, a mortgage banker with Dockerty Romer & Company in Delray Beach, and her two children, 17-year-old Bobby and 15-year-old Margaux.
— Paula Detwiller
10 Questions
Q. Where did you grow up and go to school? How do you think that has influenced you?
A. I grew up in Miami and went to Our Lady of Lourdes Academy. My best friend, Suzy, and I have known each other since we were 5 years old and attended all the same schools. We married brothers and had our baby boys one week apart. The rest of my family also lives in Miami so we visit quite a bit! The city of Miami has a huge international population, so my love of travel was inspired by living there along with my dad who was a Captain for Delta Airlines and owned a travel agency.
Q. What professions have you worked in? What life accomplishments are you most proud of?
A. I graduated in Business/Fashion Merchandising and worked several years in retail before working in the travel industry — first running my dad’s agency in Miami and then the Wackenhut Corporation’s travel department. I had met my husband, Bob, who was living in Boca then, so I was lucky to be able to follow Wackenhut on their move to Palm Beach Gardens. After my babies were born I got my real estate license and that is what I am doing currently. I love helping friends find and sell their homes. My greatest accomplishment other than raising my kids is receiving my Graduate Gemology degree from the GIA. I have been studying off and on for 10 years and I finally graduated this past March!
Q. Tell us a little about your volunteer work. Why is it important to you?
A. I started Treasures4Charity three years ago with my friend Brooke Qualk. It began as a monthlong garage sale in an empty store space in Delray Beach’s Pineapple Grove to raise money for Gulf Stream School and the Junior League of Boca Raton. It was just Brooke and I working three days a week from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. We are now a nonprofit, open five days a week, have more than 85 volunteers and raise money for 25 local charities. The unique thing about our store is the donor gets to pick the charity they want to help. People love that!
Q. What advice do you have for a young person selecting a career today?
A. If you study hard, do your best in school, and be generous with your time and talents, God will guide you. Be open-minded to all opportunities.
Q. How did you choose to make your home in Gulf Stream?
A. The Gulf Stream School. Bob and I had just married and didn’t even have kids. We had heard how great the school was and took a drive one afternoon. We saw the school and neighborhood and knew this would be our home. The first house we saw we bought and 18 years later we are we still here!
Q. What is your favorite part about living in Gulf Stream?
A. When the kids were little, for sure, my favorite part was the proximity to the school and being able to walk or drive a golf cart. Now it’s just enjoying the lovely and quiet elegance of the neighborhood and being really close to Atlantic Avenue. We are very grateful to live in such a beautiful place.
Q. What book are you reading now?
A. The Gems & Gemology Magazine or anything related to jewelry designing or collecting. The Inky Mirror in Nantucket, Mass., and The Coastal Star are my two favorite newspapers.
Q. What music do you listen to when you need inspiration? When you want to relax?
A. I like almost all music. I love to sing, especially in the car and at piano bars. The Club Car in Nantucket and the Atlantic Grille in Delray are two of my favorites.
Q. Do you have a favorite quote that inspires your decisions?
A. My kids would say, “Lots of hands make little work” or “It takes a village,” but recently I heard this one and loved it: “Whatever the mind of man can conceive and believe, it can achieve,” by Napoleon Hill.
Q. If your life story were made into a movie, who would you want to play you?
A. I guess Ellen DeGeneres. We have nothing in common, but she just cracks me up and I love her zest for life!
Caron’s jewel box
of upcoming projects
The first is ‘Savor the Grove’ on Nov. 10 to celebrate the Junior League of Boca Raton’s 40th anniversary and our James Beard award-winning cookbook, Savor the Moment.
There will be a dining table that seats about 100 in the parking lot of Treasures4Charity, which is in the Esplanade Shopping Center in Pineapple Grove.
“I have an incredible jewelry designer from New York providing fabulous things to look at and try on during our cocktail hour.”
The second event is the Bethesda Hospital Foundation’s Bethesda Ball & Golf weekend at The Breakers. I’m helping plan the golf tournament, which will be held at Breakers West on March 2 with cocktails to follow.
Deborah and Harry Sargeant are chairing the ball on March 3 with Broadway superstar Davis Gaines performing songs from The Phantom of the Opera.
“I think all the ladies will look lovely in black and white gowns and I’m working to secure a donation of a very special black-and-white diamond of some sort to be sold in our silent auction.”
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