This ring’s home is around the index finger of my right hand, though for the longest time it had been worn around that hand’s middle finger. It is a size 7 and when taken off, the shape of the ring is circular, despite its slightly irregular shape, likely due to wear. I was given this ring nine years ago, nearly to the day, (my birthday was on Friday!) when I turned 13. My grandmother gave me this ring as it represents our Irish heritage, it being a traditional claddagh ring. 

The ring is made of silver and is very simple in design compared to the plethora of claddagh rings I have seen since owning it, now that I am aware of their commonplace in not only Irish culture but American culture as well. As mentioned before, the ring is ever so slightly bent, perhaps from wear over nine years of ownership and my own personal mistreatment of the gift, me being at times an irresponsible owner.

The focal point of the ring is the iconography that makes it specifically a claddagh ring. The band forms two hands that come together from either side to hold a heart that wears a crown. This ring is very modest in its design compared to an array of ornate variations that can be found. The hands that clasp the heart appear as though they stem from a wrist clothed in a shirt—there is a line that appears vertically across the silver band to emulate a shirt cuff accompanied by horizontal lines—almost like faint scratch marks now that have worn down significantly—to look like the folds of the cuff. The hands are positioned such that the thumbs are holding the heart from above while the rest of the fingers are drawn together below the heart with an open space between the thumb and fingers. There are faint markings to mimic the separation of the individual fingers though they appear haphazardly and are not evenly distributed to create all the fingers. These lines too are faint, requiring close inspection. The heart itself is somewhat oblong, favoring a more horizontal shape with rounded edges rather than a strong vertical, pointed heart shape. Between the heart and the crown there is a space but it is not completely open unlike the space between the thumb and the fingers. Rather, it appears as a cavity within the metal. The crown that sits atop the heart has a simple band with the top of the crown marked by seven lines to show the arches. All these pieces come together to make the claddagh, representing friendship, love and loyalty characterized by the hands, heart and crown respectively.

The ring’s diameter is 2 centimeters, the backside of the band is .3 cm and it is 1 cm from the base of the heart to the top of the crown. The outer, backside of the band, the side not on display while worn, is regular in width and without detail. When inspected closely, the outer band is laden with imperfections. Faint scratches, none that actually cut away at the silver but just scratch the surface are detected, likely from constant wear of the ring and coming in contact with other objects that would disturb the metal. The inside of the band has a scratch or marking of some kind on the right side when observing the ring with the front facing forward. On the left side of the inner band, there is a faint marking that appears to be numbers that have significantly worn away likely due to constant wear. The numbers appear to read “325” which leads me to believe they signify a serial number for the make of this style ring. There are other minor markings, perhaps scratches or imperfections in the making of the ring that are found on the inner band, close to the printed number.

I’d like to determine what type of material the ring is made out of since it has been susceptible to scratches and markings over time and has tarnished little over nine years. I know that it is a very common style ring as I’ve seen them all over gift shops and specialty stores both in the states and in Ireland. Despite it being so common, I’m excited to look into the history of the claddagh symbol and how it grew so feverishly in popularity over time. Having traveled to Ireland and visited the city where the design originated, I’m eager to learn about the possible customs and traditions associated with the ring and how its usage has changed over time.