Posts Tagged ‘claddagh wedding rings’

Caring for Celtic Wedding Rings | Claddagh wedding Rings

Posted on: October 20th, 2009 by Sine Treanor No Comments

It’s important for owners of Celtic wedding rings to know how to care for their jewelry. Proper care will keep your wedding ring looking new and beautiful throughout the entire span of your marriage.

Celtic wedding rings generally come in two main kinds of metals: gold, and sterling silver. It is important to know how to care for your ring correctly.

Caring for Gold Celtic Wedding Rings

Although gold doesn’t tarnish like silver, any type of jewelry will get dirty if it is worn a lot, which your wedding rings almost certainly will be. One easy thing that you can do to help care for your ring is to take it off when you shower, wash your hands, or apply lotion. This will prevent your ring from being dulled with soap and lotion residues.

The safest way to clean gold Celtic jewelry is with commercially available jewelry cleaners. Be sure to choose a gentle cleaner, as too abrasive a cleaner or polish can scratch the gold. You can also clean your ring with a mild solution made from dishwashing liquid and warm water. You’ll only want to use a few drops of dishwashing liquid in a small bowl of warm water; let the jewelry soak and then clean it with a soft-bristled toothbrush. Polish it dry with a soft cotton cloth.

Caring for Sterling Silver Celtic Wedding Rings

Sterling silver is a type of silver that is mixed with another metal, usually copper, to make it hard enough to be worn as jewelry. As a result, Celtic wedding rings made of sterling tend to tarnish. Therefore, your ring should always be stored in a tarnish prevention bag, a cloth bag that is treated to delay tarnishing, whenever it is not on your finger. If your ring does tarnish, you can clean it with commercially available polishing cloths or silver polish.

Most likely, though, you will not have to polish your ring often if you wear it frequently. Silver rings that are worn daily tend to develop an attractive patina, where the silver tarnishes in crevices and remains bright everywhere else, emphasizing the design. As a result, the patina tends to complement, rather than detract from, Claddagh wedding rings.

Whatever you do, don’t use toothpaste to clean sterling silver or gold Celtic jewelry. Although many sites recommend this as a do-it-yourself way to clean your jewelry, in reality toothpaste is too abrasive and scratch the surface. A jeweler will need to buff the ring in order to remove the scratches, so what started as a simple cleaning may become a much more expensive proposition.

Claddagh Wedding Rings and other Celtic Jewelry Symbols

Posted on: October 7th, 2009 by Sine Treanor No Comments

Celtic jewelry may be beautiful but it’s not intended to simply be pretty. Instead, there is a lot of symbolism to be found in all Celtic jewelry. The most popular type of this jewelry is the Claddagh wedding ring which is filled with symbolism. However, even other types of jewelry that appear simpler do have a meaning hidden with their design.

Claddagh wedding rings are the most well-known form of Celtic jewelry. Many people even know what these rings symbolize. Claddagh wedding rings are designed with two hands holding a heart and topped by a crown. This represents love, friendship and loyalty. These are clearly important things in a marriage so it makes sense that Claddagh wedding rings are rich with these symbols.

Other Celtic jewelry is equally rich in symbols, though. For example, many people are interested in jewelry bearing Celtic knots. Most people are drawn to these because the intricate knots are visually stunning. However, they are also symbolic. Celtic knots represent eternity because their patterns go on and on forever as they intertwine and loop around.

Celtic Spirals
A design that is similar to Celtic knots is Celtic spirals. Spirals tend to represent the ongoing spirals of the mind and of nature. What this means is that the Celtic people recognized a constant need to find harmony within oneself as well as between oneself and the outer world. People who are on this quest may wear Celtic jewelry with spirals in the design to remind them of their mission.

Finally, there is the symbolism of the Celtic cross. People who are truly interested in Celtic culture and spirituality may have strong beliefs about the Celtic gods that are represented in the mythology of the culture. The Celtic cross symbolizes this respect for the gods. People who feel this way will wear Celtic jewelry depicting the cross as a way to keep God close at all times.

Get Your Celtic Jewelry Ready for Mabon

Posted on: September 14th, 2009 by Sine Treanor No Comments

Mabon is an autumn celebration which is practiced by Celtic people who wish to give thanks for Earth’s harvest. In many ways, Mabon is a holiday that is similar to Thanksgiving. However, there are also some differences between the two holidays which make Mabon a particularly special event in the hearts of many people who are of Celtic heritage. The date for Mabon changes annually as it depends upon the date of the autumn equinox. The date for Mabon 2009 is September 22nd so it’s time to polish up your Claddagh wedding rings and other Celtic jewelry and get ready to celebrate this special occasion.

Mabon is similar to Thanksgiving in that it is a time to give thanks for what we have. For pagan people, the autumn equinox is associated with a time during which the annual harvests are starting to run low. At this time of year, the farmland is changing. People who gather their food from the earth still have plenty of food to eat but winter is fast approaching. Mabon celebrates thankfulness for the food that is still available. Even though the farmland is starting to get barren, we give thanks for what we do have today. In the present moment, life is abundant for us.

People who celebrate Mabon today may do more than celebrate the harvest time. After all, in this modern age we do not necessarily go hungry as winter attacks the crops. Celtic and pagan people today may instead use Mabon as a reason to celebrate all of the abundance in their lives. They may wish to celebrate the abundance of love in their lives, the wealth that they have, the good health of themselves and their loved ones or any other aspect of life that they feel thankful to have today although it may be gone tomorrow.

You can create your own rituals around Mabon in order to express what you are grateful to have. For example, if you want to celebrate the abundance of love in your life then you may perform a special ritual with your husband involving the polishing of your Claddagh wedding rings. If you want to celebrate the wealth that you have then you may want to wear your Celtic jewelry in abundance on this day. If you wish to express gratitude for your health then you may want to treat yourself and your loved ones to a dinner of healthy foods. Explore your own feelings of gratitude this season and find a way to express them.

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