May birthdays celebrate with their perfectly appropriate grass green birth stone: the emerald. This stone has been revered for millennia from the Aztecs to Indian maharajahs because of its fascinating color. Reminiscent of the vivacity and lushness of nature, emerald green exudes joy and vibrancy.

And don’t forget, Mother’s Day is May 13^th. This is a wonderful opportunity to show Mom you care, and make her feel beautiful. We have hundreds of rings, earrings, and necklaces to fit every taste. Whether she likes sweet and simple, or bright and flashy, a claddagh ring is an excellent way to share your love, friendship, and family loyalty with the woman who cares.

Eggs and busy bunnies are also obvious symbols of new life and fertility that are attributed to the goddess and have worked their way into our modern traditions. The Easter egg hunt evolved from the Christian shunning of Pagan traditions. Brightly colored eggs were once given as gifts to children. When the practice was frowned upon by Christians, adults made a game of hiding the eggs for the children to find instead.

With all the fertility symbols floating around this time of year, it might be a good time to look at purity rings for the young teens in your life. Purity, or chastity, rings are used as a symbol and reminder of a persons’ vow of abstinence until marriage. Whether for religious or moral reasons, these jewelry pieces are powerful symbols. Rings, bracelets or necklaces can be used as well.

We have a few pieces in our stock that would make excellent purity jewelry, but also keep your eye out for a new website solely devoted to this precious gift!

The shamrock played an important role in pagan and Celtic religions long before St. Patrick arrived in Ireland. The bright green color inspired thoughts of vitality, rebirth, and eternal life. Its three leaf shape corresponded with many three stage ideas: the elements; earth, wind and fire, the three stages of womanhood; maid, mother crone, and the life cycles of birth, death and rebirth are most common. Legend has it that St. Patrick plucked a shamrock from the field to illustrate the Christian belief in the holy trinity of Father, Son and the Holy Ghost. Sound familiar? That is also the symbolism behind the recognizable Irish trinity knot. Both symbols are familiar reminders of the Holy Trinity, but also embody a rich Irish tradition. Celebrate this year with more than dyed beer, and sport a trinity of your own.

As voted by your purchases on CladdaghRing.com, the top 10 rings of 2011 are:

1. SL-SL92 by a landslide. This classic claddagh design woos with its “Love, Loyalty, Friendship” engraving and simple, sturdy band.

2. LS-CLAD6 comes in close second with a daintier claddagh design.

3. LS-CLAD36 combines the claddagh with intricate Celtic knotting along the band.

4. LS-CLAD19 is a traditional claddagh with a twisted band for a little extra spunk..

5. LS-CLAD2H is another elegantly classic claddagh. You just can’t go wrong with this design.

6. SL-75GRCZ brings in green and clear cubic zirconium to make this claddagh outshine the competition.

7. MS-WED2 is the top selling mens ring; it’s sleek and sophisticated, especially with matching partner LS-WED1.

8. LS-3CL combines the classic claddagh design with the fun and intrigue of a puzzle ring.

9. SL90 designs personalize the claddagh to your loved one’s birth month in dazzling colors.

10) SMS-SG92 is SL92’s heavier, manlier counterpart, but with all the love and meaning still intact.

It’s clear to see why all these rings have faithful followers and continue to be worn by countless new customers. Which one is your favorite? Let us know!

We have four exciting new designs that I think might sneak their way onto next year’s list:

The lovely SL-1, engraved like the SL92, but with a daintier band and face. I think this will be a big seller next year!

With it’s Celtic woven infinity band the SL-46 is sure to please.

The SL25 takes the claddagh ring to a whole new arena by creating a block of small claddaghs, while staying comfortable to wear with a simple band around the back.

The SL95 accentuates the claddagh heart with brilliant green and clear cubic zirconium, similar to our SL-75, making this a ring sure to catch your eye.

If you haven’t found your heart at CladdaghRing.com yet, hopefully this list has given you an idea of all the wonderful designs we offer. And with Christmas around the corner, this little extra inspiration could make your holiday shopping quick and easy. Happy Holidays!

Claddagh comes from the Irish phrase, “An Cladch” which means “flat stony shore.” It was the name of the village on the coast of Ireland where the claddagh design originated. The ‘gh’ ending is added for phonetic English speakers to create the guttural, phlegmy sound that doesn’t have a character in our language.

Here are the ruby pieces we offer.  You can see depending on the style and designer the color will vary.

Few points about the ring: You can choose the size 4 – 9, and the color 14K White (http://bitsy.me/0mu) or 14K Yellow (http://bitsy.me/0mt) gold. Made by a Master jeweler in the USA. Features a 1/10 CT CONFLICT FREE Heart Shaped Diamond. Made from Solid 14K Gold (you choose yellow or white) – Not filled or Plated!

What is Conflict Free? if you have seen the movie Blood Diamond you have a good idea what the issues concerning diamonds are.  We work with reputable diamond suppliers and can ensure all our Diamonds are conflict free.

The Gold is cast here is the US and this ensures the highest quality standards.  Finally the Stone setting and final polish and cleaning is done right here in our workshop by the Master jeweler himself.  He takes care that every diamond he sets is perfect.

Why are we doing this giveaway?  Our Master jeweler was so pleased with the response we received from our St. Patrick’s Day Giveaway he wanted to showcase his own designs.  He has been working hard to design and create beautiful rings using Heart Shaped Diamonds.  He has many stunning designs and thought this would be a great way to get people to see them.  To view all the options for his Heart Shaped Diamond Claddagh Rings please click here.

99% of our pieces are made in Ireland but these designs are made at our US workshop here in Colorado.  This ensures we have full control over the type of diamonds we set into the ring to ensure each customer gets a perfect ring.

So enter via facebook and get a chance to own something stunning and beautiful just for you!

But it can also serve as the gift the bride gives to her bridal party to say thank you for sharing in her day.  I worked with one bride whose future husband is Irish and in an effort to celebrate his heritage she bought each of her bridesmaids the Silver Claddagh Pendant SL-SP90-4

Sterling Silver with White CZ Pendant

We worked with several designs before we settled on this one.  It was important for her to stay in a budget and purchase something her bridesmaids could wear even after the wedding.

Another Bride I worked with loved the natural look of our amber pieces and the Celtic designs.  She purchased both pieces below for each woman in her bridal party.

Green Amber Silver Marquise Celtic Earrings

Green Amber Celtic Pendant with 18" Chain

Bridal jewelery is that final personal touch the bride can bring to her wedding.  Whether she wants to celebrate her or her partner’s heritage, say thank you with a beautiful piece of jewelery, or just complete her whole look!

We are excited to introduce a new line the Celtic Brilliance collection!  It is high quality Silver  accented with Genuine Diamonds.

CELTIC Brilliance Trinity Earrings with Diamonds SE1059

These are pieces that will last well past the wedding day!  They add sparkle and shine and movement.  These pieces embody the Brilliance of Diamonds set in Sterling Silver.

For other bridal jewelery options please visit: http://www.claddaghring.com/category-s/114.htm

The options are limitless! The important aspect of this part of Bridal planning is make it personal!  Those personal touches to your wedding are what make it the day you will never forget!

This is a tough one.  Ring sizes are not easy to guess.  I have been told in
the past a person’s shoe sizes is close to their ring finger size.  But I wear a
size 6.5 shoe and my ring finger is a size 5.5.  My husband wear a size 13 shoe
and his ring finger is a size 11.  So it does not really work for us.  But it is
a good place to start.

There are detailed equations on the web for calculating ring sizes.  We have
ring size charts:

What is my Claddagh Ring size?

What is my Puzzle Ring size?

Both charts are the same and they offer a conversion from the most common
countries.

We also sell a nifty little ring gauge, because let’s be honest it is not easy to go into a jewelry store and say can you measure my finger because I want to buy a ring from a different jeweler.

But I have come up with some fun and easy ways to make at least a somewhat
educated guess.

First keep in mind man’s and ladies sizes are the same.  Not like shoes. Man’s size 9 will fit a ladies size 9.  So that is one easy thing.

If you know your ring size you can try to guess using your fingers as your guide.  Play with
one of their rings and try it on to see where it fits on you.

To give you a visual I have measured a few fun items:

Penny = size 9

Nickle = size 12

Dime = size ~8 (it is really closer to a 7.75 but we only sell our rings in
1/2 and whole sizes)

Quarter = size 15 (none of our Claddagh rings are made in this size and only a
select few of our puzzle rings can be custom made to this size)

Chap-stick tube = size 5

Crayola color wonder marker = size 4

Top to a Vaseline intensive therapy lip treatment = size 7.5

Sharpie Permanent Marker (not the pen type) = size 1

So hopefully these measurements will give you a visual and something to work
with!

Some other things to keep in mind when measuring fingers-

1. Fingers swell – it is best to measure when they are at their most swollen
which for most people is at the end of the day.  Don’t measure first thing
in the morning because likely it will be much smaller than would be comfortable
to wear all day.

2. The wider the ring the tighter it will feel on your hand.  If you are
measured with a 3 mm wide measuring tool and it reads a snug size 7, and you are
ordering anything larger than a 5 mm wide ring you may consider ordering up to
the size 7.5.

3. It seems unfair and counterproductive but just because you are a size 6 in
one style of ring does not always mean you will be a size 6 in the next.
Some differences may happen because of manufacturing and or overall shape of the
ring.  It is ok.  We have a very easy exchange/return policy so don’t
panic.

4. Taking into consideration point #3 if you can, have your finger
measured at 3 different locations just to be 100% sure your ring size is
what you think it is.  This is really good to do when purchasing your
wedding band or engagement rings.

Ring make great gifts and sizing can be tricky but with some creativity and
maybe a little luck you may find the exact size you need!

(The measurements above were done at my desk using the said items and one
of our ring gauges.  It is intended as a fun and lighthearted approach to
ring measurements, and should not be taken as an absolute.  It is always
best to have measurements taken at a local jeweler or by using one of our ring
gauges.  If you purchase something based on the information above and it is
not the correct size, please do not get angry with me, just follow our easy
return/exchange instructions and we can get you the correct size you need.
I cannot be held responsible for any errors made, but I can exchange things
pretty easily so please just call – 888-278-9953.)

I am always interested in who wears our Claddagh rings.  While I do not always get to talk to our customers since they purchase online the few that I do have very specific needs and reasons for purchasing the Claddagh.

I have collected my own informal data of the Claddagh.  Here are my results.

#1 For a partner in a serious relationship – Most of the time the people who call are men who are looking to get something special for their partner.  This can be a 20 something buying a Claddagh ring for his girlfriend before he goes off to college.  A 40 something buying it for his wife after the birth of a child.   This by far is the most common customer we have calling.  Usually they are looking for sizing advice or delivery time questions.

#2 Family rings/Heritage rings – I have notice an increase of customers calling to give the Claddagh ring as a gift to their daughters, grand daughters,  nieces, or nephews.  When these customers call they are usually commemorating a birthday and want to honor their heritage.  Giving the Claddagh ring is a way to tie in their Irish background and share that with the younger generation.

#3 Engagement and Wedding rings – I have seen a marked increase in our silver wedding band sales.  Times are tough but people still need wedding bands.  Our silver wedding band Claddagh rings have been very popular since 2008.  One interesting trend is active service members calling needing a Claddagh wedding band fast because they want to get married before they deploy.  While the silver rings are popular some of our more dramatic gold Claddagh rings are also in demand.   But an interesting trend is to use the Claddagh as both engagement and wedding band.  When we sell some of our more ornate Claddagh rings the customers often tell me they will use it as both engagement and wedding band because they love the look and don’t see the need to pair with it another ring.

The meaning of the Claddagh ring “Love, Loyalty, Friendship” is appealing to many people.  Love is what we feel for our soul mate or first love.  Loyalty is our bond to each other and our promise to stay true to that relationship.  Friendship is where it all begins.  Without the foundation of friendship and the respect that comes from that the relationship may not survive.

I am sure there are a million reasons for choosing to wear a Claddagh, I think the most interesting one I have heard of recently is from the TLC reality show “Sister Wives” the three sister wives all wear a Claddagh rings to celebrate and honor the bond they have. Whatever our feelings about their relationship they have found meaning in the Claddagh ring for themselves.

Have you heard of any or do you have a unique reason to wear the Claddagh ring?  Share with us!