Collections: vintage jewelry

Collections: Vintage Jewelry
What makes you start collecting something? Is it by mistake or by intent? Is it because its pretty or functional? expensive? cheap? easy or hard to find?
My friend, A. has oodles and oodles of vintage jewelry. It's the type of collection that I salivate all over, because I, too, am drawn to vintage pieces. We have spent 2 days together now and we have poured over her jewelry trying it on and talking about the stories behind each one. She was so gracious to let me photograph her and some of her pieces.
I have to share the story of the charm in the first photo. It was given to A. when she turned 16 by her grandmother with a hand-written note. Her grandmother was given this charm by her A.'s grandfather and as a token of her love she passed it on. I love jewelry with stories.
A. buys her jewelry from ebay, antique malls, a local artsy area near the beach and quite a lot of it has actually been handed down to her or given to her as a gift. I took a lot more pictures but I may have to save some for another post.