Scottish Celtic Jewellery Designers

 

Scottish Celtic jewellery designers have been around for a long time, relying on symbolism and artwork created by artisans many centuries ago.

Many contemporary and traditional Celtic designs are inspired by the Book of Kells, which was attributed to the monastery on The Scottish island of Iona. In 806, after the Viking raid on the island that killed 68 people in the community, Colombian monks fled to a new monastery in Kells, County Meath.

It must have been around 800 when the Book of the Kells was written, although there is no way of knowing whether the book was produced entirely on Iona or Kells, or partially in each location. The Book of Kells can be seen in the Old Library at Trinity College Dublin.

It is bound in four volumes, two of which are publicly available. One of the volumes displays a decorated main page that is periodically changed to allow visitors to browse different pages of the book.

Many Scottish jewelry designers make Celtic jewelry. Today, Hebridean Jewelry is run by John M. Hart, whose father spearheaded the revival of Scottish Celtic jewelry in the 1940s. Hart continues to develop new designs to this day, and his contemporary designs also include some Gaelic symbols.

Sheila Fleet of Orkney later also designs a range of Celtic jewelry, although today she is best known for her contemporary silver enamel jewelry designs. One of our favorite designers is Russell Caldwell - his Celtic knot jewelry is sharp, contemporary, yet uses the traditional knot as inspiration.

Russell calls one of his series "Celtic Nouveau" and is outstanding. Shetland Jewelry has an incredible range of jewelry items including wedding rings, earrings, necklaces, and cufflinks. Art Pewter Silver produces many of the Scottish tin needles, Skean Dhubs and Clan Crest. They also have a range of plaid brooches and jewelry.