The origins of Irish jewelery making can be traced to the dawn of time. When the ancient Egyptians were building their great pyramids, the celts in this land were creating massive ring forts and crafting some of the most intricate pieces of jewelry ever seen.

From about 2000 BC to 500 AD gold and silver was used to make important magnificently worked personal jewellery Lunulae, collars, fibulae, torques and bangles. Many examples of these have been discovered over the years and are on display today in the National Museum of Ireland.

In more recent years, the Claddagh Ring has become fashionable and is given as a symbol of love, loyalty and friendship.

Once more, inspiration was sought from the ancient manuscripts and artifacts of our rich culture. In addition, the new era of contemporary design is recognised as world class with new designers bringing their own flair to one of the worlds oldest expressions of art.

The traditional skills used by the Celtic craftsmen helped them to create jewelry of breathtaking beauty and timeless elegance, and it is this proud heritage together with the same ancient skills and methods that they bring to your piece of Irish made jewelry today.

Under Irish law dating back to 1637, in the reign of Charles I, all jewelry of precious metals must be assayed and stamped with the official hallmark - the traditional letter symbol for the year it was crafted, a fineness mark guaranteeing the purity of the gold, and the official insignia of the Irish Assay Office in Dublin Castle, the seat of the Irish Government.

IRISH HALLMARK

Assay
An assay is a test of the purity of an alloy. A tiny piece of metal is scraped from the piece and the percentage of gold , silver or platinum is determined. Official assay offices determine whether a piece qualifies for an appropriate hallmark. Gold jewelry is mixed with other metals and Karat (which means 1/24) denotes the purity of gold in the jewelry. 14k Gold is 14/24 gold mixed with 10/24 other metal.

Under USA law jewelers are allowed a half karat tolerance. Naturally they take this tolerance and use it to legally supply sub-standard alloys, and this adds to their profits. Under Irish law there is no tolerance for under karating and 14k or 18k gold is exactly that 14/24 and 18/24 gold.

The heart symbolizes love, the hands friendship
and the crown loyalty.

The Claddagh Story
The romantic story of the mystical and beautiful Claddagh Ring began way back over 300 years ago in the ancient fishing village of Claddagh just outside the walls of the City of Galway on the west coast of Ireland.

Brief History of the Wedding ring
The wedding ring, that most famous and instantly recognizable symbol of the joining of a man and a woman as husband and wife, has a long history. The circular band, dating as far back to the ancient Egyptians, was seen as a representation of eternity and a love that has neither a beginning nor an end. The hole in the center of the ring is not just space either; it is important in its own right as the symbol of the gateway, or door; leading to things and events both known and unknown.

The actual ceremonial exchange of bands however stemmed from the Roman Empire where the giving of a band was denoted as a public promise that the marriage contract undertaken between a man and a woman would be honored. It was from here that this tradition filtered from to take root in Christian society making the swapping of bands an essential part of the marriage service.

They wore it like we do today, on the fourth finger of the left hand, because of a belief that the vein of that finger directly traveled from the heart. The Greeks took up this legend after conquering Egypt under the generalship of Alexander the Great in 332 B.C. and from them passed onto the Romans, who called this the "vena amoris", which is Latin for "the vein of love".

If you need more information on Irish, Celtic or Claddagh Jewelry
E-Mail michael@discountjewels.net