A jewelry collection is one aesthetically pleasing hobby to devote your extra time and money to. And if you collect antique jewelry, the chances for the items to appreciate in value for the right collectors are great. It will all depend on how carefully you seek out authentic antiques.
Acquiring collectible jewelry can be a fruitful way to employe your energy during your free time besides being a possibly lucrative way to invest your money. It all depends on whether you have an eye for identifying good designs and materials from mediocre and bad ones. A lot will also depend on whether you can get them for a decently low price. For the most part, antique or period jewelry will appreciate in value, all the more so if you happen to be collecting noted types of jewelry like the Claddagh ring.
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.
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.
Antique Claddagh rings are emerging from time to time
Hundreds of Claddagh rings have been made since the 17th century. Some of them have been used as wedding rings for generations, being handed down from mother to daughter to granddaughter. In the passing, many have been lost but you may still find them once in a while in itinerant flea markets where odds and ends from boxes in abandoned houses make their way now and then. Any collector who happens to spot a Claddagh ring initialed with RJ should waste no time or expense in purchasing it on account of its being one of the first ones ever made.
How to tell a Claddagh ring when you see one
The ring bears the image of a heart topped by a crown or a tiara. Both are held as an offering by a pair of hands. Love and loyalty are expressed in the act of offering the heart and the crown to the beloved one or dear friend. The act of giving the gift itself is taken to symbolize friendship. When friendship, love and loyalty come together, permanent and lasting relationships are established.
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 Celtic jewelry, Ciara O’Brien researches and writes about Claddagh ring and all other types of Celtic jewelry. Click here for more information about Celtic engagement rings
Photo credit: Royal Claddagh via Visual hunt / CC BY
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