For obvious reasons, there is more value in antique jewelry than in modern. Building up a collection can cost a small fortune however, unless you know where to look.

The cheapest way to acquire antique jewelry is to buy it wholesale. Although great for a lot of things, don't buy your jewelry from eBay. The sellers will know the value and there are very few, if any, bargains to be had.

The best bargains can be picked up on the weekend at garage and estate sales. There is such a high volume of stuff for sale that the sellers won't have had time to do their research and hundreds of dollars worth of stuff can be picked up for next to nothing.

A lot of people who go to these sales are looking for the worthless stuff to recycle and make new pieces from. There is the occasional treasure to come across, but recycling is also very profitable.

You may find that visiting those sales on Saturday mornings becoming something that you look forward to all week. It's the buzz of finding something really worthwhile that keeps you going every week.

Estate and yard sales are the best places to come across antique jewelry, often at less that the wholesale price. Most estate sales are held by families to get rid of a deceased family member's stuff. Antique jewelry is often looked upon by the younger generations as just old and ugly.

Apart from visiting sales, don't neglect eBay completely. There are many jewelry categories and you might just strike lucky.

The great thing about eBay is the amount of security they have in place to protect the seller. Always check the feedback and never purchase an expensive item for new seller, unless it is a must have item, whereas you can use eBay's escrow service to pay for it. Keep in contact with the seller too.