“Today’s gold price per troy ounce is approximately $1,574, but fluctuates daily,” says Amelia Courtney, the New Jersey–based Golden Girls representative who ran Berkson’s party. “The all-time high was reached last year at just under $1,900 per troy ounce.” The state of the economy is a good indication of gold prices. As the economy struggles and stays stagnant, gold investments increase and keep the value of gold strong, adds Courtney.

The ideal jewelry to sell are pieces that no longer hold value, such as single earrings, broken necklaces or out-of-date styles. “I traded in lots of old gold, mismatched earrings, broken necklaces, some banged-up gold bangle bracelets,” Berkson says. “Oh, and my mother-in-law’s silver! But don’t worry…she knew about it.”

Keep in mind that the majority of jewelry on the market (and in your jewelry box) is not purely refined gold. Fourteen karat is only 58.3 percent gold and 10 karat, only 41.3 percent, says Courtney. “So 14-karat gold is worth only 58.3 percent of market value at most.” Plated jewelry has no scrap value at all.

The gold theme was a hit with Berkson’s guests, mostly friends and neighbors in Chatham, who dined on fingerling potato cups, a trio of chilled soups in cordial glasses and a Nutella bombe dessert with gold-leaf accents from Ome Caterers in Whippany. Other yummy treats included gold-embellished cupcakes from the Pink Cake Box in Denville and easy-to-make St. Germain champagne cocktails, with a sparkling golden glow.

“They loved it because for once they were invited to a girl’s-night-out party that did not involve buying something they didn’t want or need—instead they went home with cash,” says Berkson. “They also liked the idea that Golden Girls contributed a portion of the proceeds to charity.” In fact, that was the evening’s silver—gold, really—lining: Golden Girls donates 2.5 percent of the value of the gold purchased at the party to the host’s charity of choice. ”The 2.5 percent is based on what Golden Girls grosses that evening, not from what the person donates,” Berkson says. With some parties grossing close to $10,000, this philanthropic contribution certainly adds up.  “I chose the American Red Cross in light of all the terrible natural disasters that have occurred over the past year,” she says.

The party was more successful than originally imagined. “While you would think that the most fun part of the evening was finding out how much your own gold and silver was worth,” Berkson says, “it was even more fun to see how excited and surprised my friends were after they sat down with their bag of junk jewelry that they estimated was worth $50 and walked away with a check for $300!”

For more information and details on throwing your own Golden Girls party, go to golddoesgood.com.

The Perfect Party Foods

For her gold-themed girls’-night-out party, Christine Berkson wanted to have fun hors d’oeuvres strategically placed around her kitchen—on the table, island and sitting-area cocktail table—so that guests could mingle, look at each other’s jewelry and munch at their leisure. The chilled soups in cordial glasses from Ome Caterers were not only pretty, but convenient to serve, along with the fingerling potato cups with caviar. Cupcakes from the Pink Cake Box were the perfect dessert item—finger friendly and irresistible. Ome’s Nutella bombe with gold leaf accents was also a hit. And don’t forget to serve a signature drink. In this case, the golden glow of a St-Germain champagne cocktail was the perfect choice. A snap to make and yummy to drink, these cocktails were flowing all night.

All That Glitters…