Sterling Silver Cross Necklaces

There are countless types and styles of sterling silver cross necklaces.  HandCraftedCollectibles.Com is the world foremost collection of sterling silver cross necklaces.  No web site or Mall Kiosk has this kind of selection.  This blog post will only show a few samples of sterling silver cross necklaces. To see a full collection of over a thousand sterling silver cross necklaces just click on sterling silver cross necklace.

Silver Cross Necklaces

Silver Cross Necklace

 This sterling silver cross necklace shown above is one of the more popular of all sterling silver cross necklaces. It is a 3D cross. This cross necklace, like all the other cross necklaces shown in this post come with a choice of one of three types of silver chains.  This cross necklace along with all the others has four lengths to choose from: 16″, 18″, 20″ and 24″.

Sterling Silver Cross Necklace

Silver Timber Cross Necklace

each of the sterling silver cross necklaces shown in this post represents twelve sterling silver cross necklaces. Because each cross pendant comes with a choice of one of three types of sterling silver chains and a choice of one of four lengths of chain which means anyone of these cross necklaces comes in one of twelve selections. 4×12 = 48. This post is showing forty-eight different sterling silver cross necklaces.

Silver Celtic Cross Necklace

Celtic Cross Necklace

 The Celtic cross necklace above is made from sterling silver like all the other cross necklaces in this post. The difference between the cross shown just above and any other kind of Celtic cross necklace is the presence of an Irish three-leaf clover, otherwise known as the Irish Shamrock.

Sterling Silver Irish Cross Necklace

The Celtic cross necklace shown above, can easily fall in between a Celtic cross necklace or Irish cross necklace. But a lot of Celtic jewelry and Irish jewelry had the same situation where they overlap. The sterling silver Irish cross necklace shown below is clearly an Irish cross necklace. The Irish cross pendant has a Celtic Trinity not engraved on the end caps, and in the middle of the sterling silver cross pendant is a very traditional Irish Claddaugh symbol.

The Irish Shamrock shown above in that Celtic-Irish cross necklace is pretty well-known in Irish folklore, where St. Patrick one of the first Christian missionaries to Ireland used the three leaf clover to teach about the holy Trinity. Each petal of the Shamrock was used to represent one of the members of the holy Trinity. But what does the Claddagh symbol mean or how does it add to the symbolism of the Irish cross necklace?

Irish Claddagh Cross Necklace

 

The Irish Claddagh symbol is a special Irish symbol that consists of a heart with a crown on top of the heart, the heart is held with two hands. The heart represents love, the hands represent friendship, and the crown represents loyalty or fidelity. So when you add the Claddagh symbol to the cross the symbol can mean the hands of Jesus holding your heart in faith crowned with a symbol of the King of Kings.

Symbolic Jewelry

It’s interesting when you’re studying symbols, and symbolism. You learn what different abstract symbols and designs mean that more often than not you learn what they don’t mean. It’s very common when studying symbols and symbolism that symbols from 1000 years ago don’t mean the same thing now that they did 1000 years ago.

As an example, 800 to 1000 years ago a Celtic Triquetra knot was popular among the Celts who lived in Western Europe and especially on what we now know as the British Isles. This Triquetra knot is a three-pointed Celtic knot symbol. And in that timeframe of about 600 years give or take, there were other Celtic weeds knots and designs that were based on the symbolism of “three.’

Archaeologists have uncovered many styles and types of these three pointed Celtic knots or designs, and they have also uncovered various meanings for these symbols. The problem is trying to match the description or symbolism to the right knot because Triskelle knot may have had one meaning in 800 A.D. and a totally different meaning to the Celtic people in 1200 A.D.

It’s common nowadays for people to assign their own meaning to many of these Celtic symbols. That’s okay because symbols mean what we want them to mean.  The Celtic people of the thousand years ago wanted a Celtic knot design to mean something and then 400 years later the same groups of Celtic people assign different meanings based on the evolution of their pagan religion or based on their necessities at the time.

When you study symbols and symbolism you find that the greatest symbol with an enduring meaning is the Christian cross. For over 1000 years and perhaps 1400 to 1600 years the cross has meant essentially the same thing. That meaning deals with the Christian faith and with Jesus being crucified and resurrected.

Silver Celtic Cross Necklace

For many Christians the crucifix is a symbol of his death, while many other Christians look to the empty cross as a symbol of his resurrection. There are even some Christians today who are offended by a cross with a symbol of the Savior on it. They fill like it symbolizes his death or celebrates his suffering. These are the Christians who enjoy the empty Christian cross.

One important note to consider, while talking about the cross symbol, is that the difference between the cross symbol and the crucifix symbol is, the crucifix is a cross with a symbol of Jesus on it, while the empty cross is referred to simply, as a Christian cross.

Here is where studying symbols and symbolism gets real fun and interesting. The Christian cross is a profound symbol of the resurrected Christ, and a symbol for the Christian faith. This symbolism is very deep, strong and abiding.  Millions of Christians joyfully and proudly wear a cross necklace or some other type of Cross jewelry as earrings or rings brooches etc.

Celtic symbolism and Irish symbolism have a blending where it’s common to see elements of Celtic symbols and Irish symbols mixed together into one icon or one symbol. This is especially true with the Celtic cross necklace, or an Irish cross necklace. Included here is a sterling silver Celtic or Irish cross necklace as an example of how the Celtic and Irish symbolism are blended with Christian cross symbolism to create an iconic expression of different cultures adding to very important Christian symbolism in the form of a sterling silver Christian cross pendant or necklace.

Take a look at the sterling silver Celtic cross necklace picture to the left in this blog post. The Celtic cross pendant is in the form of a traditional Christian cross. However there are Celtic knots and Celtic weaves and designs along with the very popular and traditional Irish Shamrock or Irish three-leaf clover. So how do Celtic knots and Irish symbols add more Christian symbolism to the Christian cross?

At the end caps of this Celtic cross pendant reside the Celtic Trinity knot.  The Celtic Trinity knot is one of those three-point symbols we talked about earlier. After Christianity was introduced to the Celts they adopted the Triquetra knot as a three-point symbol representing the holy Trinity, thus the name evolved into the Trinity knot symbol. That alone gives the Christian cross much more Christian symbolic value. The Celtic weaves through out the cross symbol or Celtic designs that represent infinity or eternity.

The infinity or eternity symbol also adds great Christian value to the Christian cross necklace. The Irish three-leaf clover is said to be a symbol that St. Patrick used to teach about the holy Trinity. Each of the three peddles of the three-leaf clover were used to represent a member of the holy Trinity. So you can see how that adds additional symbolic value to the Christian cross pendant. The Celtic cross pendant necklace shown in this blog post is the single most popular Celtic symbol in all of the Western world. It is also very popular to the Christian world. As far as Celtic jewelry or Irish jewelry is concerned, this Celtic cross pendant the second in popularity only to the Irish Claddagh symbol.

The last point to make about symbols and symbolism in regards to different cultures adding to the Christian cross is that through symbols different cultures can merge into other cultures, while retaining some of their own identity. In this case the Celts who were the ancestors to the modern-day Irish retained part of their identity by adding their symbolism to the Christian cross which is the symbol for Christianity.