Claddagh Rings Are Among the Best Collectible Jewelry
Collecting jewelry can be a productive way to spend your free time and money. At the same time, if you have good taste, your collection can appreciate in value beyond your imagination as the years go by. Much depends on how well you picked the items you chose to include in the collection and on how affordably you purchased them. Among the antique jewelry items that are good buys are Claddagh rings which were crafted hundreds of years ago.
Whence the first Claddagh ring
Scholars do not agree as to the origin of the Claddagh ring. The most factual explanation would be that it was crafted by Richard Joyce. He was an Irishman who had been captured and sold as a slave in Algeria. His master, a wealthy and experienced jeweler was impressed by his quick intelligence and taught him jewelry crafting. Upon his release from captivity, he returned to his native Galway (a city in Ireland) and there put his newly acquired skills to good use in crafting the first Claddagh ring. A second anecdote claims that the first Claddagh ring was dropped from the beak of an eagle and fell into the lap of a very rich and very charitable widow in return for the many benefits that she had given her community. Why this style of jewelry came to be known as the Claddagh instead of the Galway ring seems to have resulted from people erroneously associating the label on a newspaper article about Claddagh with the picture of the Galway ring which was beside it in an 1850 British publication.
Among the oldest Claddagh rings still bear the initials of the jeweler mentioned above. These rings are highly valued by people who collect antique Claddagh rings.
What is the appearance of a Claddagh ring
Between and 17th century and today, hundreds of Claddagh rings have been crafted due to the immense popularity of its symbolism for people seeking enduring love. It was widely used as wedding rings and handed down from one generation to the next. Many families still have their heirloom pieces from two generations back. Not a few of them have been lost but many still manage to pop up in flea markets and alley shops. Collectors who spot Claddagh rings with the initials RJ engraved are lucky to be looking at one of the original rings.
How to tell a Claddagh ring when you see one
The Claddagh ring is typified by a heart on top of which sits a crown. Both heart and crown are held by a pair of hands in a gesture of offering. The heart naturally symbolizes love. The crown which is offered along with the heart is a gesture of allegiance or loyalty (as when one offers the crown to a king). The act of offering stands for friendship and all the three symbols combined embody what friendship and love is all about.
Plainly, the Claddagh ring belongs in the best antique jewelry collections because of its history and its meaning.
Doc. No:1206-LM-ULT5-dc11
With a keen interest in Celtic jewelry, Ciara O’Brien researches and writes about <a rel=”nofollow” onclick=”javascript:_gaq.push(['_trackPageview', '/outgoing/article_exit_link/4068915']);” href=”http://www.irishcelticjewels.com/rings.htm”>Claddagh ring</a> and all other types of Celtic jewelry. Click here for more information about <a rel=”nofollow” onclick=”javascript:_gaq.push(['_trackPageview', '/outgoing/article_exit_link/4068915']);” href=”http://www.irishcelticjewels.com/”>Celtic engagement rings</a>
