FitzGerald Family Celtic Pendant
Walker Goldsmiths have been honored to be involved in the creation of this FitzGerald Family Custom Celtic Pendant. Claire FitzGerald came to me, Janet Walker, to create a Custom Celtic Pendant with a lovely diamond that she received from her husband who has passed away. The diamond was originally very well set in a 14kt gold bezel-tube in a 14kt gold ring. She also had a beautiful bright, deep blue, oval checkerboard-cut Zircon that she wanted in the pendant. And we had a nice little handful of blue Sapphires. We used Sterling Silver to create the pendant; kept the diamond in its 14kt yellow gold setting, set the 8x10mm Zircon in a Sterling crown and set the 6- 3mm Sapphires in white gold crowns and Wha-La! we created a slide pendant that she wears on a gold chain. So it’s mixed metals and mixed stones that can be worn with anything; the typical Celtic tradition; kind of like a Tartan with its variety of color and pattern.
Claire talked to me about just being the artist and trusting my skills to create a piece that she would have for an heirloom for her family, since the stones were of such a sentimental value to them. She also traded family gold and silver for this work.
Claire's gold rings
We talked about Celtic designs and our past experiences with traditional Scots and Irish celebrations, since she comes from a long line of Celtic ancestors, she told me about remembering her daughter’s involvement with Celtic dancing. Two of our daughters, Jessica and Sariah were Scottish Highland dancers in their young years and I had the fun time of creating their costumes. Claire remembered sewing for hours the intricate Celtic Knot patterns with ribbon on her daughter’s costume. That triggered my desire to create a Celtic knot for her pendant.
There are a lot of different Celtic Knots, some are intricate and merely decorative and some patterns are incredibly symbolic. The knots that are open in style, having a beginning and an end symbolize Life itself. The knots that are closed, having no beginning and no end to the design symbolize Eternity, continuity of family, relationships and all that we hold dear to our hearts. This FitzGerald Pendant is one of those knots. Thank you, Claire, for the privilege to be a part of this heirloom.