Cross Jewelry and Celtic Cross Necklace

Cross Jewelry

Historically the two most popular Christian symbols are the Fish and the Cross.

As the Cross started to be popularly used by early Christian Churches (circa 200-400 A.D.) The first
style of the Christian cross was the Tau cross which is a T shaped cross.

There are a large number of different styles of Crosses, some which represent various Christian
Churches and others symbolically represent a few of the early Apostles and Saints.

Many Crosses are a combination of the traditional meaning of the Cross with various cultural influences. A good
example of the Celtic Crosses. The Celtic Cross is essentially a circle at the intersection of the two straight lines. The Ankh which was originally an Egyptian pagan symbol of life came to be known in Christian circles as the Ankh Cross of life.

The very early Christian movement used the Greek and Latin crosses. The Greek cross is two intersecting lines of equal length. The Latin cross consists of two intersecting lines where the vertical line is longer than the horizontal line. Most cross designs are spin off's from these two styles. As the development of Christian Churches grew they added their own styles and embellishments to represent the differences in their Christian faith. Some cross styles reflect the development of their artistic evolution.

Some cross patterns were modified through the field of heraldry. For a detailed look with actual photos of
crosses and their meaning and symbolism.

All of this history is important to understand in relationship to jewelry because cultures and Churches would make crosses for jewelry (primarily cross pendants for necklaces and cross rings) based on the style of Cross they were exposed to. As the evolution of different Christian faiths have grown so have the numerous styles
of Crosses seen in jewelry.

As the transformation of the Cross grew from "crossing" ones self on their forehead or chest to carvings, sculpting to other art forms like stained glass etc the use of the Cross in jewelry was originally in the form of cross necklaces and cross rings.

Now days Cross jewelry has evolved beyond cross rings and cross necklaces to cross earrings, toe rings, cross
charms, pins and brooches. While early on in the history of the Cross many churches had a specific style of cross as their iconic representation. Now days, while their are still Church specific cross designs, the majority of Crosses are
non denominational in style affording Christianity and almost endless array of Crosses to choose from as they demonstrate their devotion to their faith. Such examples can be found at this locations for cross necklaces,

Celtic cross necklaces, Mens cross necklaces and unique, one of kind cross necklaces.