PHOENIX (AP) — Debbie Hanson of Phoenix got $245 for an old pair of hoop earrings, her husband's high-school class ring and a small heart that she wore all through high school, a literal gold mine that had been sitting untouched in her jewelry box for years.

"Wow!" Hanson said, raising her eyebrows in surprise at Dan Buerk, an appraiser from Red Swan, an offshoot of Pennsylvania-based Lippincott, a company that has bought gold coins and jewelry since 1990.

A group of women gathered in Hanson's home for lunch, a glass of wine and to swap stories behind the old gold jewelry they were willing to part with for cash. Gold parties like this one are the recession's version of Tupperware parties. Instead of spending money on plastic, the women are getting paid for their old jewelry.

Gold is a very bright spot in an otherwise bleak economy. Prices are hovering around $900 per ounce, driven up from $400 just five years ago by investors looking for a safe place for their money. Coupled with aggressive advertising by online gold buyers, jewelers and gold-party organizers, women across the country are cleaning out jewelry boxes and dresser drawers.

These women likely would not take their old gold to pawnshops or sell them back to their jeweler, said Julia Taffet, Red Swan's director of marketing. But in the privacy of a friend's home, they're eager to see what they can get for their old gold.

Some people are making room in their jewelry boxes. Others need the money. Buerk doesn't recommend people sell anything of sentimental value: "They are priceless."

Hanson's mother, Doris, also of Phoenix, brought over a thick serpentine 14-karat gold necklace that she got in the 1970s from her husband. She says she doesn't wear much jewelry anymore — at least nothing that flashy — just a few rings. Buerk said he'd give her $1,000 for it.

"Gosh, let's go!" she said, taking hold of the arm of the couch.

Hanson said she's going to go through her jewelry box and see what else she can do without.

Red Swan is new to the gold-party scene, launching in September of last year. Since then, Red Swan has issued 19,852 checks nationwide, mostly to women. Red Swan also has mailed out 7,465 of what they call "lead kits" to people who want to host a gold party or host a gathering like the one at Hanson's house.

Business also is booming for other companies trading in gold. Michigan-based My Gold Party, which started up this year, has representatives in 28 states and is looking for more. The largest online gold buyer, Cash4Gold.com, owned by Albar Precious Metals in Florida, boasts more than 25,000 transactions a month.

At exboyfriendjewelry.com, people sell, trade, auction and give away jewelry from an ex and share the story behind the piece. A woman selling a 10-karat white-gold ring with three small diamonds for $100 writes: "My ex-fiance gave me this ring for Christmas as a promise ring, which then turned into an engagement ring (because he was too cheap to buy me another ring). When I checked his e-mail one day, I found naked pictures of another woman. I decided it was probably time to call it quits at that point."

At some home gold parties, a buyer appraises guests' jewelry and pays them on the spot. At others, the host provides guests with mailing boxes to turn in their pieces. A few days later, a check arrives in the mail. Like other home parties, the host gets a commission, or what Buerk calls an 8 percent "thank you."

The value is based on karat count, weight and the current price of gold, said Buerk. He pays 50 to 70 percent of market value, depending on the piece.

Debbie Valentine of Phoenix decided that whatever she got from her old jewelry she would donate to Africa Harvest of Hope, a nonprofit in Redlands, Calif., that helps orphans in Tanzania.

"I've just had some things that have been sitting in a jewelry box. I'm intrigued to see what they are worth," she said.

Her pieces are lovely, two necklaces and a bracelet from Tiffany & Co. They'll be worth more, Buerk said, because they're designer pieces and likely won't be melted down but resold.

He weighs the bracelet first. He taps a few numbers on his calculator and tells Valentine his offer: $1,208. Buerk will give her $1,578.96 for one necklace and $702 for the other. Valentine said she'll take it: "It's a good opportunity for me to do something good for someone else."

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Information from: The Arizona Republic, http://www.azcentral.com