Celtic Jewelry

Twisted torque bangle

You will need Six cotors ot 20-gauge wire 4 x 5mm round siiver beads Masking tape Cylindrical dowels or mandrels. 'A in. and 2 in in diameter The most beautiful torque bracelets and neck rings have been recovered from Celtic burial sites. The torque was a badge of rank and power, and classical writers have reported that Queen Boadicea wore a golden neck ring and bangles when she went into battle against the Romans. This technique can be used to make a variety of choker collars, as well as...

Book of kells choker

I took my inspiration for this choker from the Book of Kells, an illuminated manuscript now housed in the library of Trinity College. Dublin, that dates back more than 1200 years and is regarded as one of the greatest surviving treasures of Celtic art. The stone in this choker represents the stones from which the monks would have ground their colors. The pink wire unit represents the swirling framework and lavish ornamentation of the illuminated text. I . Cut two 7-in. lengths of 20-gouge pink...

Duo spiral bracelet

You will need 20-gauge pink wire 20-gauge green wire Round- and flat-nose pliers Wire cutters Earty man observed the beauty of nature's spirals, using them as a symbol of eternity, symbolizing life, death, and rebirth. Spirals can be found in the art of most earty civilizations, but it was the Celts who found a way of weaving two. three, four, or even more coils together. These fun, colorful bracelets, made from two tones of wire, can also be made in gold and silver for a more reserved, classic...

Round and flatnose piers Wire cutters

. Using the tips of your round-nose pliers, curl the very ends of the doubled-up wires into o circle, trying to keep the wires parallel to each other. Continue forming an open spiral on each side, curling them in toward each other so that they meet in the center. Leave just over ' - in. of wire uncurled ot each end, to form the links. 1 . Cut eight 9-in. lengths of 20-gauge silver wire. Using the tips of your round-nose pliers, bend the wire about 2 in. from the end. Thread two block seed beads...

Celtic cross

Many of the finest examples of Celtic metalwork were created for the church, and embellished with precious and semiprecious gems. This jig pattern is a simplified, modern-day interpretation of a traditional Celtic-style cross. Celtic crosses differ from the later Christian crosses, which have a longer central stem. It is supposed that Celtic crosses were designed symmetrically to fit into a circle the symbol of the cycle of life . My design is suspended from a hand-made chain of S-shaped units...

Butterfly necklace

You will need 24-gauge biack iron wire Approx. 100 size 8 green and biack seed beads Round- and fiat-nose pliers Wire cutters Hammer and steel block Vise OPPOSITE Mrtfct* this black-wire butterfly in your favorite colors to suilyour personal style. The braided cor J gives a Celtic look. Much of Celtic art depicts animals as the subject. Even though butterflies were not as popular as dogs, horses, and roosters. I have given this piece a Celtic theme, through the beaded spirals on each wing. You...

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To moke the centrol cross motif, cut o 6-in. length of 18-gouge silver wire. Find the center of the wire with your round-nose pliers and bring the two ends together, crossing the ends over one another about 1 in. up the wire. O. Hammer the bose of the doubled end of the wire on a steel stoke to flatten it. (). Twist one piece of wire around the other, just above the hammered area, to form a small loop, which will be the top of the cross motif. 10 . Working from the spool of 18-gauge silver...

Triskele choker

Suspend the triskele motif from a twisted-wire choker ring made from the same two colors ofuire. as here, or from a ready-made chain or ribbon. The triskele. or triskelion. is a motif consisting of three interlocking spirals. Three-piece spirals were used by the early monks, probably to represent the Trinity of the Father. Son. and Holy Spirit. The number three was also very important to the Celts, as it stood for the on-going cycle of birth, life, and death so this choker has strong symbolic...