Not only is a claddagh ring has a rich history, as does much jewellery, but it also is one of the best and most popular ways to represent your feelings for the one you love. It’s a perfect gift you can give to symbolize your affection to the other person.
In its own feature, a claddagh ring represents a heart held by two hands and a crown is raised above the heart. In every claddagh ring, the heart symbolizes love, the hands represent faith and the crown above is for loyalty. These three parts are unchanged in every claddagh ring and so is their meaning. The first claddagh ring was made as a show of love between two hearts that were oceans away from one another.
Richard Joyce made the first claddagh ring for his lover. The meaning of a claddagh ring is therefore woven around this story. Richard returned to his love in claddagh when he was set free from slavery. Some narrators also write that Richard actually went to his lover in claddagh with the first claddagh ring.
As a jewel symbolizing love and friendship, a claddagh ring has become amazingly popular these days as a wedding or engagement ring, a birthstone ring or even a valentine’s ring. But the way a claddagh ring is worn on, represents different meanings to different people at different occasions.
If you believe and follow the tradition that surrounds the claddagh ring, you must know the way you wear a claddagh ring. The way this precious jewel is worn represents a different meaning about your status and relationship. The meaning of a claddagh ring goes even beyond its visible features.
The meaning of a claddagh ring as worn by you represents different status when worn on the right hand or the left hand. Further more, the direction of the heart’s crown has its own meaning when its worn such that it directs upward towards your finger nail or downward towards your knuckles.
The claddagh ring is one of the most meaningful jewels ever created. The story and meaning of claddagh ring is significant in every way.
Claddagh rings on right hand
It shows that your heart is still available or open to love if the ring is worn on right hand with the crown facing outwards.
Wearing claddagh ring on your right hand with the crown facing your knuckles (inwards) represent friendship prior to the wedding. It shows that your heart is taken.
Claddagh rings on left hand
Wearing claddagh rings on the left hand means entirely different. Claddagh ring worn on the left hand facing the wrist represents a relationship which is about to reach a wedding. It shows that your heart is been taken. A claddagh ring is worn exactly the same way during a wedding ceremony.
You can say that the moment a relationship grows and reaches a marriage, the left hand becomes the ideal place to wear a claddagh ring.
Since the very first claddagh ring, the meaning of a claddagh ring remains the same. It represents love friendship and loyalty. With this deep meaning, the significance of a claddagh ring is that it’s obviously a perfect choice for weddings and engagements. In Ireland, this ring is passed traditionally from mother to her daughter on her wedding day.
The claddagh ring has now gone beyond being a traditional Irish wedding ring. Its design has been adapted to have traditional stones and gems. The three symbols of a claddagh ring, the hands, the crown and the heart have been handed down from Celtic ancestors over hundreds of years and that’s the reason why it’s so cherish today.