Claddagh Rings Are Important Items in Any Jewelry Collection

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

Nothing certain is known about the origins of the ring. Some believe the first ring to have been made by Richard Joyce, an Irishman who had been held captive and subsequently sold as a slave to a rich jeweler in Algeria. His master, seeing his ability, taught him the finest skills of jewelry making. Joyce later returned to Galway City in Ireland after having been released by his master. There he practiced the trade he had learned and made the first Claddagh rings. The ones that still exist today bear his initials. More incredible accounts tell of the Claddagh ring having been dropped from its beak by an eagle. The ring fell into the lap of a wealthy and charitable lady in return for all her good works. As to why this ring which was supposed to have originated from Galway came to be known as the Claddagh ring, the explanation offered is startlingly simple. A British publication in 1850 featured a picture of the ring alongside a write-up on the fishing community of Claddagh. The label on the write-up was mistaken for the name of the ring.

Whatever the truth may be, the fact remains that the oldest and most expensive antique Claddagh rings are engraved with the RJ.

What is the appearance of a Claddagh ring

In the years from the 17th century until the present, Irish jewelers have never stopped crafting the Claddagh ring because of its immense popularity among the Irish and in the neighboring regions. Many of these rings have been lost but a few are still existing, carefully handed down from one generation to the next in many families. You may once in a while find them in secluded antique shops and occasional flea markets. If you do find a Claddagh ring with the initials RJ then you will have found one of the first ones ever crafted.

What is the appearance of a Claddagh ring

The central symbols of the Claddagh ring are the heart, the crown and the pair of hands. Taken separately, they symbolize love, loyalty (offering the crown to the sovereign) and friendship (the act of giving gifts). Taken collectively, they symbolize everlasting friendship or love. This symbolism, although uniquely Irish, is true wherever people value and look for enduring bonds.

Among the collectible jewelry that you can come across the Claddagh ring is the one that abounds in both mystery and symbolism.
With a keen interest in belts, Jackie Reese researches and writes about wallets and all other types of mens leather belts. Click here for more information about money clips and here for front pocket wallet.