Thursday, March 26, 2009


I was at a gold party in Connecticut the other evening.

Party goers came bearing their gold bounty in silk jewelry bags, purses, zip-lock bags and mailing envelopes.

Below you will see video footage I shot as guests gathered at Cheryle Podgorski’s kitchen to sip on some wine, taste delectable treats and swap stories behind some of their unwanted, outdated or mismatched gold they were going to sell to Maggie Percival that evening for cash.

Gold parties, that first began to thrive in Michigan amid problems in the auto industry th

ere, have become increasingly popular around the nation as desperate Americans seek  for ways to raise money for personal use, fun or to finance charity projects amid a deepening economic recession.

At the party I attended, guests donated part of the money they got from selling their gold to a Connecticut charity Podgorski runs that provides free prom dresses to high school girls who cannot afford one.

Seating at a dining table, Percival, a representative of a Michigan-based business that has aggressively promoted gold parties, used a jeweler’s loupe, an electronic gold testing kit and a digital measuring scale to test and appraise the jewelry before paying friends and aquaitances on the spot for their gold.

The parties essentially tap onto a hostess and organizer’s social connections to drive up attendance and the presence of friends to reassure partygoers that selling gold may not be a taboo. Their settings, a home of a friend or an acquaintance, set them apart from pawn shops and jewelry stores that also compete for the same business.

 Check out the video clip below that I shot at the party. © Rodrique Ngowi. All Rights Reserved.