Stonecross Hand Made Steel Tone Celtic Cross Pendant with Rune Stamped Arm & Black Leather Cord | Norse Necklace Gift | RK-1620

The Stonecross is a large flat Celtic cross pendant cut from sheet metal in a satin steel tone, with the four openings of the ring cross pierced right through so the shape reads as light and shadow rather than as a solid slab. A short line of Elder Futhark runes is stamped into the foot of the cross. It hangs from a heavy black leather cord with a steel lobster clasp, and it arrives in a linen drawstring pouch.

The ringed cross is one of the few genuinely hybrid objects in early medieval art, and that is what makes it interesting. It appears on the high crosses of Ireland and on the Norse settled coasts of Scotland and the Isle of Man in exactly the period when Scandinavian settlers were converting, and many of those monuments carry Norse names, Norse runes and Norse mythological scenes cut alongside Christian iconography. The Gosforth cross in Cumbria shows Ragnarok and the crucifixion on the same stone. This pendant belongs to that world rather than to a tidy division between pagan and Christian. It is made and finished in our Memphis shop.

Specifications

What the ring on a Celtic cross is for

The circle that joins the four arms is the feature that makes a Celtic cross a Celtic cross, and there are two honest answers about why it is there.

The structural answer is straightforward and probably the real one. A tall stone cross with four unsupported arms is fragile at the joints, because stone has almost no tensile strength and an arm sticking out sideways is a lever waiting to snap. Running a ring between the arms braces all four at once and turns four cantilevers into a single stiff frame. Every surviving Irish high cross has it, and the ones that lost their rings tend to have lost their arms with them.

The symbolic answers came later and there are many. A halo. The sun. The world encircling the cross. Eternity, because a circle has no end. None of these are recorded by the people who carved the first ones, so treat them as tradition rather than as fact. What is recorded is that these monuments were public, deliberate and enormous, standing at monastery gates and crossroads as boundary markers, preaching aids and statements of ownership.

On this pendant the ring is pierced rather than solid, leaving four openings between the arms, which is exactly how it is treated on the stone originals.

The metal and the finish

The pendant is cut from sheet in a steel tone with a brushed satin face and cleaned up polished edges. We describe it that way on purpose. It is not solid sterling silver and it is not hallmarked, and a pendant this size in sterling would cost several times what this does. Describing a finish honestly is better than implying a metal.

A brushed face is the right choice for a flat piece this large, because a mirror surface on a slab that size behaves like a small mirror and shows every scratch. The satin grain diffuses light, keeps the outline crisp and hides ordinary wear. The rune line at the foot is stamped rather than laser marked, so the metal is displaced rather than burnt, and it stays dark against the brushed face.

The cord is round leather rather than a chain, which suits a heavy flat pendant. A chain of the weight needed to carry this cross would sit awkwardly. Leather takes the load, sits flat against the neck and does not tangle.

Engraving, runes and your own design

Use the rune converter on this page to turn a name, a date or a short phrase into Elder Futhark and we will cut it into the steel, the leather or the wood. If you would rather have a Viking pattern than a rune line, choose your own design in the engraving option above the add to cart button and tell us where it goes. Where a piece already carries an engraved design, your chosen engraving replaces it rather than sitting alongside it. On this pendant that means your text takes the place of the stamped rune line at the foot, and the broad reverse face will hold a longer line or a date if you want something private on the back. See the engraving page.

Fit and sizing

The cord fastens with a lobster clasp, so it goes on and off over the clasp rather than over your head, and it wears at a fixed length rather than sliding. Before you order, take a piece of string, hang it round your neck and mark where you want the bottom of the cross to sit. That distance, doubled, is the cord length you want. Most men wear a heavy pendant somewhere between twenty and twenty four inches, which puts a cross of this size at the middle of the chest, below the collarbone and above the sternum.

This is a large flat pendant and it is worth being honest about that. It has presence, it will show over a shirt rather than hiding under one, and it will move when you move. If you want something that disappears under a collar, this is not it. The bail is fixed rather than swivelling, so the cross faces forward and stays facing forward.

If you would rather wear it on a chain of your own, the bail is generous enough to take most link chains.

Care

Take it off before you shower, swim or sleep. Water sitting in the pierced openings and around the bail is what ages a finish, and a heavy pendant on a cord is not something to roll over on all night.

Wipe the face with a soft dry cloth after wearing. If it needs more, a barely damp cloth and a soft brush around the piercings, then dry it fully. Avoid silver dips and ultrasonic cleaners, which are made for solid precious metal and will strip a finish from a plated or coated piece.

Leather cord needs its own care. Keep it out of long soaks, and give it a very light wipe of leather conditioner once or twice a year so it stays supple rather than going stiff and cracking at the clasp end. Store the whole thing flat in the linen pouch.

Made in Memphis

Cut, pierced, stamped, finished and assembled in our shop in Memphis, Tennessee. This is not a drop shipped importer catalogue pendant with a new name on the card. Because it is genuinely made, processing runs one to two weeks before it ships, and longer for engraved orders. Shipping inside the United States is free, returns are open for seven days, and the lifetime warranty against defects in our making covers this pendant with no end date and no receipt needed.

A note on handmade variation

This is hand made, not machine made and not bulk produced, so what arrives will not be a pixel for pixel copy of the photograph. The direction of the brushed grain, the exact depth of the stamped runes, the finish on the pierced edges and the tone of the leather cord all vary a little because each piece is worked by hand from natural materials. The dimensions, the material and the build are the same every time. The character is not.

Frequently asked questions

Is this sterling silver

No. It is a steel tone finish on sheet metal, and we say so rather than implying a precious metal. If solid sterling matters to you, ask us before ordering.

Is the cord included

Yes. The black leather cord and the steel lobster clasp come with the pendant, and it is ready to wear out of the pouch.

How big is it on the chest

It is a large statement pendant rather than a discreet one. It sits proud of a shirt and will be seen. Hang a piece of string round your neck first if you want to know exactly where it will land.

Will it tarnish

A finished surface dulls slowly with skin contact and much faster with chlorine, salt water and cosmetics. Keep it dry, wipe it after wearing and it will hold its colour.

Can I have my own runes on it

Yes. Your line replaces the stamped runes at the foot, or you can have something private cut into the broad back face instead.

How long does shipping take

Processing is one to two weeks plus transit, at the longer end for engraved orders. Shipping within the United States is free.

What is in the box

• One Stonecross ringed Celtic cross pendant with a stamped Elder Futhark rune line
• One black leather cord with a steel lobster clasp
• One linen drawstring pouch
• Care card covering finish care and leather cord care
• Made and finished in Memphis, Tennessee

Explore the range

See more in Anglo Saxon and Celtic pieces, Norse pendants, Mjolnir pendants and accessories, or read the guides.