Popular in emerald Irish jewelry is the Claddagh.

The Claddagh is the name of a beach area in the western part of Galway, Ireland. People have been gathering seafood and fishing from the area for millennia. Historically, its existence has been recorded since the arrival of Christianity in the 5th century. The name is based on the Irish word cladach, meaning “a stony beach”. It is one of the oldest former fishing villages in Ireland.

The Claddagh ring, however, is a traditional Irish ring, with a raised design of two hands clasping a crowned heart and traditionally given in friendship or worn as a wedding ring. The design and customs associated with it originated in the Irish fishing village of Claddagh, located just outside the old walls of the city of Galway. The ring was first produced in the 17th Century during the reign of Queen Mary II, though some elements of the design are much older.

Nowadays this style of ring comes in many shapes and sizes and with the popular emerald stone as its main feature.

An example from irishop.com is shown here.

When purchasing any jewelry whether, Irish or otherwise, and particularly with valuable jewelry where there are diamonds, emeralds or other gemstones, always ensure that you known and understand what you are buying.

Get as much information as possible about the gemstones particularly, and understand the importance of color, clarity, cut and carat weight.

Doing this will go a long way to ensuring that the pieces you buy will be genuine and exactly what you want.

Emerald Irish jewelry can be really beautiful and a joy forever provided you keep the above in mind.

This entry was posted on Thursday, July 5th, 2007 at 11:29 am and is filed under Buying Emeralds.