Designer Katherine Jetter, owner of The Vault Nantucket, has been in the jewelry business for 18 years, sourcing gemstones, attending trade shows, and honing her creative talents for clients based all over the world. For the last 10 summers, she has transformed The Vault into a destination for fine jewelry by sought-after designers (think: Fernando Jorge, Moritz Glik, Tabayer, and Silvia Furmanovich).

But a lot happens beyond the store’s glass cases: Events have been the cornerstone of Jetter’s brand from the very beginning. Over the years, she has hosted festive al fresco dinner parties and intimate luncheons; culturally enriching, expert-led talks; and lively in-store trunk shows with designers. Creating a calendar of elevated experiences for her clients has effectively built a community around the store—and the glittering emeralds and diamonds that beckon them in.

This year she tried something new: The Residence, a temporary retail space at 10 Easy Street in downtown Nantucket that she describes as an “elevated social club.” Open daily, with private events after hours, it expanded The Vault’s jewelry range to offer fashion from Dolce & Gabbana, Johanna Ortiz, Francis Valentine, and Taller Marmo, as well as vintage watches and pre-loved Hermès handbags.

Over 45 days, Jetter and her team orchestrated a “flow of energy” through 30 events, from mahjong sessions to garden parties. Here, she looks back on the first 10 years of The Vault—what has worked, how she measures success, and what it took to pull off some of the summer’s best parties.

What’s one event you hosted this summer that stands out to you as particularly well-done and memorable?

Stephen Webster’s been one of my closest friends in the industry for over 18 years. For his visit, we literally turned The Residence into a James Bond Casino Royale night [pictured below]. We brought a blackjack table and a roulette table over on the ferry for fake gambling and the proceeds were donated to the Nantucket Cottage Hospital. We had everybody in black tie, which never happens in Nantucket, and martini flight tastings. The house was packed. I think we had over 75 people. It was just a really electric, special night. And then another night with Stephen—chef Maggie Hediger hosted a crab boil dinner for us in the garden. It was the most delicious meal under the stars. It was so unexpected; we were all dressed up in fancy attire with jewels on, eating crab boil with our hands. Stephen Webster’s collection is so inspired by the sea as well; it was the perfect fit.

Since this was the first time you did The Residence, can you give us a sense of the ROI?

I would definitely call it a success. At this point in time in retail, if you operate in the high luxury space the way we do, it’s not about direct conversion of sales anymore. You need to do much more to connect with your client and establish a relationship beyond the transaction. The ROI is difficult to assess in terms of the unbelievable amount of goodwill and value that we create through social events with clients. We definitely expanded our business significantly this summer, especially as we added high-end fashion and lifestyle to our assortment. For me, it was about expanding into something much more meaningful—to really create deeper conversations around design and really sharing the world of what I find interesting with my community.

Events have always been at the forefront of your retail strategy. Why do they work so well for you?

Everything about The Vault is very authentic. We’ve grown very organically based off of who I am, and my team is an extension of our philosophy. I started out as a designer so I’m extremely passionate about my work the other designers that I carry in my space. All of that leads to my wanting jewelry to be a conversation about the workmanship, and educating our clients on what we do. By default, that philosophy requires creating energy and experiences that allow for those conversations to happen. I’ve literally been hosting private jewelry parties from before I even moved to Nantucket. Events are who I am; being social is who I am. It just seems like a more authentic way for me to sell. If you want to establish trust with your client, you have to be true to yourself.

You had a killer summer. And now it’s shoulder season—what does this time of year look like for you, given that your business is located in a resort destination?

The pace is obviously different. The selling experience does not have the same fast and furious intensity as the summer. But we get to have a lot more quality one-on-one time with customers and can help them to really dive into what they’re looking for. For shoulder season customers, it’s more of a thoughtful purchase—they’re more focused and patient—and probably less of a summer-treat impulse buy. Our year-round customers are looking to transition into choosing pieces for the holidays or special occasions so we have to start having those conversations. And we do a lot of custom design work as well at this time of year. Or it’s a customer who bought something over the summer but they still want that orange garnet earring. Or they want a 30 ct. diamond tennis necklace for Christmas and want me to start looking for it.

You’ve been at this for 10 years. Have you settled into a proven approach to curating jewelry for your store, especially given how well you seem to know your customers?

98% of our clients are self-purchasing women, and they’re all incredibly accomplished. So my first point of decision-making is excellence in execution of the design, and the depth of collection. We curate the store to create a jewelry journey; it’s almost like a study of the history of jewelry. The jewelry design needs to be strong and stand out because that’s ultimately what jewelry collectors are interested in: special statement pieces. At the same time, I try to carry designers with depth of SKUs and price points. People want to feel like they can explore and discover a collection and find their place within it, and that becomes much more difficult if there are just a few pieces to choose from. But if you love jewelry, there is no chance that you will walk out of The Vault without having found something that you love.

If you were to go back in time, could you have predicted that the business you have built would have reached this level of success?

When I started The Vault, I had no idea that it would become a brand well-known for its curated jewelry or one of the top retailers in the country. I’m really proud of what we’ve done: We’ve had 14 to 20% growth in sales every single year for the last 10 years, we’ve grown our team so significantly, and we have been able to maintain and keep growing our trusted customer base each year. Keeping that trust in what we do is the most rewarding thing.

Is it too soon to start talking about next summer?

Well, we’re going to be making The Residence an official location—our own permanent space—moving forward for summer 2027. The Residence experiences we did this summer at 10 Easy Street were the building block for what we plan to do next year. We’re also going to be moving significantly into high-end fashion retail to complement what we offer at The Vault.

Top: Katherine Jetter, owner of The Vault Nantucket, had a great summer. The undeniable highlight was the opening of The Residence, a companion retail experience that provided an intimate space for immersive shopping and special events. A permanent location that will adopt the same format is in the works for the 2027 season. 

Follow me on Instagram: @aelliott718

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