Celtic & Irish Jewelry
Jewelry with Celtic designs like Celtic knots or Celtic crosses is very popular. Another popular Celtic/Irish design is the Claddagh with it's crown, heart and hands symbolism.
Celtic Cross
A
Celtic cross has a ring (usually in the background)
which completely surrounds the intersection of the
Celtic Cross. This cross with the surrounding circle
is generally associated with Celtic Christianity. It's
interesting to note that the design itself is much
older and actually pre-dates Christianity. The Celtic
cross plays a major part in most Celtic jewelry and
certainly plays a major part in most Celtic art. 
A
standing stone cross is called a Irish Cross or sometimes,
a 'high cross'.
There are many of these Celtic crosses (known as high crosses, Celtic Crosses or Irish crosses) erected in the Celtic regions of Ireland. Many of these are still standing today. Some of these were erected as early as the 7th century and have inscriptions in 'runes'.
Here is a link with more detailed information on the History of the Celtic Cross.
Claddagh
A very popular Irish/Celtic ring is the Claddagh ring. Rings with this traditional design are commonly given engagement, wedding or friendship rings.
The Claddagh design originated in the fishing village of Claddagh located near the city of Galway. The design, as we know it today, comes from the 17th century and was first produced during the reign of Queen Mary II.
The Claddagh design has two hands clasping a heart. The design usually includes a crown too. The three elements of the Claddagh design are associated with:
- Heart: to symbolize Love
- Hands: to symbolize friendship
- Crown: to symbolize loyalty
The way a Claddagh ring is worn is said to convey various messages about the wearers 'availability'.
If the Claddagh ring is worn on the right hand and the heart is pointing away from the wearers body then the wearer is signalling they are currently not in a relationship and are potentially 'available'.
If the ring is worn on the right hand but the heart is pointing towards the wearers body, then the wearer is saying that they are in a relationship and that their heart has been 'captured'.
A Claddagh ring worn on the left hand with the heart pointing away from the body means that they wearer is engaged to be married. When worn on the left hand with the heart pointing to the body, this indicates that the person is married.
