Celtic Claddagh 925 Sterling Silver Round Pendant 9786

Description A Beautifully Designed Celtic Claddagh 925 Sterling Silver Round Pendant denoting love, friendship and loyalty, in a circular shape. The hands symbolise friendship. This Celtic Claddagh 925 Sterling Silver Round Pendant comes complete with chain and a presentation box. It will make a great gift for yourself as a momento or for someone you love. Claddagh Tradition. The Claddagh ring is a traditional Irish jewelry item composed of a pair of hands, which symboliz… Wear a Claddagh ring on your right ring finger. The point facing out when you’re single to show you’re available, or pointing inward to show you’re dating. When you’re engaged, wear the ring on your left ring finger with the heart facing out to show you’… After you’re married, reverse the ring so that it points inward to show that you’re in a permanent relationship. There are many legends about the origins of the ring, particularly concerning Richard Joyce, a silversmith from Galway circa 1700, who is said to have invented the Claddagh design as we know it.  Legend has it that Joyce was captured and enslaved by Algerian Corsairs around 1675 while on a passage to the West Indies. He was sold into slavery to a Moorish goldsmith who taught him the craft. King William III sent an ambassador to Algeria to demand the release of any and all British subjects who were enslaved in that country, which at the time would have included Richard Joyce. After fourteen years, Joyce was released and returned to Galway and brought along with him the ring he had fashioned while in captivity: what we’ve come to know as the Claddagh. He gave the ring to his sweetheart, married, and became a goldsmith with “considerable success”. His initials are in one of the earliest surviving Claddagh rings. There are three other rings also made around that time bearing the mark of goldsmith Thomas Meade.