Celtic jewelry designs have a very ancient heritage. The history of Celtic Art is fascinating, rich with myth, folklore and mystery. One of the most identifiable representations of Celtic Art is the Celtic Cross, a symbol that combines a cross with a ring surrounding the intersection. There are many legends related to the origin and history of the Celtic Cross, including those of religion and tradition.

The Celts were a powerful race of nomads who first emerged in Central Europe. From the Celtic artifacts found in Central Europe, to others of a later date in Western Europe, you can find a progressive evolution of a style which will influence Western Art long after the Celts themselves lost their authority over the ancient world. The characteristic intertwined lines of their metalwork found a new Christian theme from the 7th century AD in the interlacing patterns of Irish manuscripts and stone Celtic crosses.

But the tradition of Irish metalworking dates back to the Irish Bronze Age (c.3500-1100 BCE). Irish craftsmen produced a range of simple shapes in bronze, copper and gold, as well as the more intricate torques (neck ornaments consisting of a band of twisted metal, worn especially by the ancient Gauls and Britons). In the Late Irish Iron Age (400 BCE – 100 CE), these Irish and Celtic metalworking traditions fused to produce a number of outstanding jewelry pieces of fine art metalwork, of which only a few survive today. Celtic craftsmanship in metals continued to develop in the early Christian Art period (c.500-900 CE), producing such jewelry masterpieces as the Tara Brooch, the Ardagh Chalice, the Moylough Belt Shrine, and the processional crosses like the great 12th century Cross of Cong.

The Celtic Cross shape has been widely used by ancient people long before the arrival of Christianity. In some cultures the four arms of the cross are interpreted as the four elements (earth, air, fire, water), the four directions of the compass (north, south, east, west), the four parts of man (mind, soul, heart, body) or four ways to ascension (self, nature, wisdom, god/goddess). Celtic Christians describe the circle on the cross as a halo or an eternity symbol. As per some ancient scriptures and philosophies, circle symbolizes the moon and a cross and circle together represents the sun. According to Irish mythology, Saint Patrick created the cross during his time converting the pagan Irish by drawing a circle around a Latin cross to represent the Pagan moon goddess.

Making them into charms are some ways to bring these symbols with you, whether just for decoration or for luck. Silver is one of precious metals that are often used for jewelry or other items. It is durable, shiny, malleable, and valuable. Silver gives a jewelry or accessory more value and durability. Items that are made with silver also look very beautiful. You can even keep them as heirlooms. You can incorporate your favorite charms on your jewelry and accessories easily. You can buy jewelry which already has charms in it, or you can buy the charms and attach them to your existing jewelry. Charms are great with necklaces, bracelets, earrings, key holders, or cell phone accessories.

There are many places where you can buy charms. You can buy them at your local jewelry shops, or online shops such as Lucky Charm shop. A word of caution in shopping for any item is to only buy them from sellers with good reputations. International standard for labeling items are as follow. Fine silver is an item which is made from ninety nine percent silver. Sterling is an item which is made from silver alloy which contain 92.5% silver and 7.5% other metal. Most of the charms and items in the market are made from sterling silver as it is more solid than fine silver which is very soft.

Some online sellers falsely label their items. Some label their items are while they are only plated. Some sells items with very low content. Some sellers even sell items which do not contain silver at all. Note that items that are labeled as German silver or Tibetan might contain little to no content at all. You need to be careful when the price a seller quotes for you is much lower than the price of in the market. Silver tarnishes and some manufacturers add some treatment to prevent this problem. Some silver items are plated with rhodium to prevent tarnishing. You can also find vermeil charms. Vermeil is gold plated sterling silver. Argentium is a kind of sterling that is more resistant to tarnish than ordinary sterling silver. However, silver charms that are made with this alloy are rare.