Unique Wedding Bands ?

Q: Anyone know a source for Celtic-patterned wedding bands?

A:I gave my fiance a claddagh ring in return for the engagement ring he gave me. It was not easy to find nice claddagh rings. Very few stores sell Celtic-patterned rings here in DC. I found a nice one in an Irish Jewellery/Craft store in Annapolis. They also had a collection of claddagh wedding rings; all crafted in Ireland, made of silver or gold, with or without stones. Simple ones cost $50-100, fancy ones cost a lot. If you want an authentic ring, then try local Irish Jewellery stores. How to find them? In my case, a sales clerk at a jewelry section of a local department store told me. Also check out custom jewelers. Abracadabra jewelers in Ann Arbor, MI has made several absolutely stunning Claddagh rings and Celtic knotwork-patterned bands. (In fact, our wedding rings are Claddagh rings set with rubies for hearts.) Solid gold rings aren't horribly expensive, but when you start adding stones the price can go up substantially (of course ;-) "Authentic" is a bit of a curious term to use. If you're looking for Claddagh rings, the "authentic" looking ones (i.e., the ones that look like the originals) are not all that attractive. The rings we have have much more lifelike

and graceful hands. (Of course, you might be going for that ancient look, but speaking purely from an aesthetic standpoint these are more attractive.) Also, we have traditional Claddagh rings in that they are composed of the traditional hands holding a heart surmounted by a crown. On the other hand, we wanted to work in the tradition of having both a wedding ring and an engagement ring. So, the hands and heart form one ring (the engagement ring) and the crown is on a separate thin band and is the wedding ring. We were amused by the slightly modified symbolism--one gets the love and friendship parts at the engagement and the loyalty part at the wedding ;-)