by Wendy Bulawa

Created on: March 30, 2009

On a rainy, windy evening in Worcester, Kim Stone hosted a unique party for nearly 15 of her friends and neighbors who arrived at her home not to buy Pampered Chef or Tastefully Simple items, but rather, to sell off neglected, unwanted or broken pieces of gold.

As the economy slumps and gold prices soar upwards of $800/ounce, the sale of one's gold has recently become very profitable- and gold parties' - more prevalent.

Lisa Rosenthal, owner of My Gold Party of Massachusetts, organizes upwards of 30 parties a month. "The gold party business has exploded," she said. Rosenthal became a gold dealer after being laid off from a mortgage business more than a year ago. She now provides a way for people to make money from neglected jewelrywhich in turn, can help them pay for gas, oil or food. A single mother residing in Georgetown, Rosenthal currently makes her living from money earned as a gold dealer. While she admits no fantasies of getting rich as a dealer, she has found a way to successfully support herself and her daughter, and has also hired staff to help manage parties on days that she's booked.

At gold partiesheld in private homes, small business offices, or even for fundraising, guests are prepared to sell off old gifts and family heirlooms, and in return, receive checks ranging from $25 to $1,000 and up. With jewelry chests holding broken or old jewelry or gifts from former loves rings and necklaces are valuable but ignored. "The stories about the gold and old boyfriends or ex-husbands make for lots of laughs," said Rosenthal who contends with the negative stigmas associated with selling gold alongside veteran pawn shop brokers. "Gold parties provide a great atmosphere to sell gold versus going into a pawn shop. No one at the party knows why you are selling your gold and there is absolutely no pressure to sell a single thing."

Rosenthal arrives to parties with her checkbook and scale- prepared to weigh, measure and pay for grams of gold. For guests that remain on the fence about selling their gold pieces, Rosenthal extends an offer to test and weigh gold pieces and provides a quote for them to consider. Home-based parties give neighbors an opportunity to enjoy one other, munch hor d'ourves and sip cocktails-while fundraising-focused gold parties help organizations gain a few extra dollars that may help them survive these challenging financial times. "I think just about everyone leaves a party waving their check in the air."

Stone, an attorney from Worcester,

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