Silver Celtic jewellery, as well as gold jewellery, dates back to around 2,000 BC. The motifs used in the jewellery go back even further though. In fact, they go back around 1,000 years earlier to 3,000 BC. The Celts were among the earliest peoples on the planet to design beautiful jewellery. They made brooches, bangles, rings, necklaces, lockets and more. Their motifs were spirals and interwoven twisted patterns, teardrops, shamrocks and stunning knotwork designs.
Most people who consider buying silver jewellery in a Celtic style usually also want to know the meanings behind the intricate designs and patterns. It is important to bear in mind, however, that any meanings given to a design 2,000 years ago may not have stuck, and today the Celtic heart knot, the Celtic double twist ring, or the Celtic twisted cross pendant, could have quite different meaning attributed to them from what they originally had.
Online shopping has made it a lot easier to buy silver Celtic jewellery. There are many online stores offering this ever-popular style of ancient designs. And while silver remains the more traditional medium for Celtic jewellery, gold and other materials are used too. This style of jewellery is distinctive for its unique patters and designs. They weave in and out of each other, intertwining and interlocking in twisted, spiraling, mesmerising ways. The patterns can be found on ancient stones as well and no other ancient people had anything quite like it.
It was the ancient Greeks who gave the name of Celts to the collection of tribal nations loosely affiliated with each other. They called them Keltoi from where we get Celtic. They had many things unique to themselves, but it is the designs and patterns they used in their jewellery that has become perhaps the longest lasting remnant of the original people. The worked in the precious metals of silver and gold. They made extremely intricate and delicate pieces so beautiful and striking that today’s craftsmen and craftswomen are keen to carry on the tradition.
Wherever you find a jeweller’s shop you are nearly certain to find silver Celtic jewellery on display. A Celtic silver knot, an Irish Celtic claddagh ring, a silver Celtic open cross, or a Celtic spiral heart pendant – all are familiar to anyone who enjoys Celtic designs and patterns. This jewellery style is showing no signs of becoming old-fashioned either. It has a timelessness about it that seems destined to go on forever. Perhaps that is what makes silver Celtic jewellery so alluring.