Modern Armenian Jewelry: Symbols People Wear Today
Vazgen Martirosov
Somewhere in Los Angeles, a girl who has never been to Yerevan wears a small gold mountain around her neck. Her grandmother could see that mountain from her kitchen window. Neither of them needs to explain what it means.
Quick answer: modern Armenian jewelry takes the old symbols, like Mount Ararat, the cross, the eternity sign and the Tree of Life, and turns them into small gold pieces you can wear every day. Traditional pieces were big, silver and made for weddings and feast days. Today the same meaning fits into one clean pendant, usually in 14K or 18K gold. You can see our own in the necklaces collection. Below: the symbols people choose today, what each one means, how modern pieces differ from traditional ones, and how to choose.
What is modern Armenian jewelry?
It is jewelry that carries an Armenian meaning in a simple, modern form. The idea is old. The look is new.
Traditional Armenian jewelry was rich and layered: silver belts, headdresses, filigree and enamel, with many symbols on one piece. If you want that history, we wrote about it in jewelry in Armenia. Modern pieces keep one symbol and let it breathe. A mountain. A map. A cross. They are small enough to wear to work and strong enough to wear for years.
That is also why so much of it is Armenian gold jewelry now. Gold does not tarnish, so a pendant worn every day still looks right twenty years later.
Armenian symbols in modern jewelry and what they mean
Mount Ararat
No symbol is more Armenian than Mount Ararat. You can see its two peaks from Yerevan on a clear day, even though the mountain itself stands across the border. It means home, memory and the land Armenians carry with them wherever they live.
Our Ararat pendant shows both peaks in gold, with the word written in Armenian letters underneath, set in a round gold frame, as in the photo at the top. Message us to order one. It is the kind of piece people buy for themselves, and the kind they send to a cousin abroad.
The map of Armenia
A small outline of the country, often with a spot of blue for Lake Sevan. It is the most direct way to say where you are from, and a favourite for people who live far from it.
Tigran the Great (Tigran Mets)
Tigran the Great, Tigran Mets in Armenian, was the king who ruled Armenia in the first century BC, when the kingdom reached its largest size. His coins show him in profile wearing the Armenian tiara, a tall crown with a star between two eagles. Today that profile is a symbol of strength and national pride, and you can wear it on our Tigran Mets pendant necklace.
We Are Our Mountains (Tatik-Papik)
The monument known as We Are Our Mountains, or Tatik-Papik, "grandma and grandpa", shows an old couple carved from stone, standing side by side. For many Armenians it stands for family, the older generation and people who stay rooted in their land. On a pendant it reads as a quiet tribute to your own grandparents.
The Armenian cross
Armenia became the first country to adopt Christianity as its state religion, in 301, and the cross has been at the heart of Armenian art ever since. You see it carved into thousands of khachkars, the stone crosses that stand all over the country. Their craft is listed by UNESCO as intangible cultural heritage.
A traditional Armenian cross often has flared or split ends, sometimes with a small flourish at each tip. Modern versions keep that outline or go fully simple. If you prefer a classic shape with sparkle, our diamond cross necklace is set in 18K white gold.
The Armenian eternity sign
The Armenian eternity sign, the arevakhach, is a wheel of curved arms turning around a centre. It is one of the oldest Armenian symbols, carved on khachkars and old churches, and it stands for eternity and the endless turn of life. Today it shows up on pendants, rings and cufflinks, often in plain gold so the shape speaks for itself.
The Tree of Life
Roots, trunk and branches: family, growth and the link between generations. Tree motifs run through Armenian carpets and stone carving, and the meaning is easy to feel even without the history. Our own Tree of Life pendant is a design we drew ourselves, in 14K yellow or white gold.
The pomegranate
The pomegranate is Armenia's fruit: full of seeds, it stands for abundance, fertility and good fortune in a family's life. In modern jewelry it is usually a small gold fruit, sometimes with red stones for the seeds.
Faith and family pendants
Three other kinds of pieces are part of Armenian life even when they carry no national symbol.
The first is faith. Our Virgin Mary pendant comes in five stone colours set in 14K gold, and it makes a lovely gift for a christening or a name day.
Some people also layer a hamsa, the hand-shaped symbol shared by many cultures across the region. We make it framed in a gold heart or oval.
The third is family. Our family pendant necklace shows a family in gold on mother-of-pearl: a father lifting a child, a family silhouette, a heart or a circle. It is the same idea as Tatik-Papik, just about your own family.
Traditional vs modern Armenian jewelry
Here is how traditional Armenian jewelry compares with what people wear today.
| Traditional Armenian jewelry | Modern Armenian jewelry | |
|---|---|---|
| Symbols | Eternity sign, crosses, pomegranates, birds and vines, often all on one piece | One symbol, drawn clean and simple: Ararat, the map, a cross, a tree |
| Metal | Silver was the everyday metal, gold for the wealthy and for brides | Mostly 14K and 18K gold, in yellow or white |
| Size | Big and heavy: headdresses, wide belts, chest pieces | Small pendants and fine chains you can wear every day |
| When it is worn | Weddings, feast days, the dowry | Every day, under a shirt or over a jumper |
| Who it is for | Handed down from mother to daughter | Bought for yourself, given at a christening, sent to family abroad |
| Main technique | Filigree, granulation, niello, enamel | Clean casting, mother-of-pearl inlays, small diamonds |
Neither one replaces the other. Many families keep a grandmother's silver piece in a drawer and wear a small gold pendant every day.
How to choose a piece of Armenian jewelry
Start with the meaning. Ararat and the map say "home". The cross and the Virgin Mary say "faith". Tatik-Papik, the Tree of Life and a family pendant say "my people". Pick the one that matches the person.
Choose the metal. Yellow gold looks warm and classic. White gold looks cool and modern. For a piece worn every day, gold lasts far better than plated metal.
Think about layering. Small round pendants sit well together on two chains of different lengths, like the map and Tatik-Papik in the photo above.
Ask for your own symbol. If you want an eternity sign, a pomegranate or your village's church, we can make it from a picture. See custom gold jewelry for how it works.
Frequently asked questions
What are the most common Armenian symbols in jewelry?
Mount Ararat, Tigran the Great, the cross, the eternity sign (arevakhach), the pomegranate, the map of Armenia and the Tree of Life. Each one has its own meaning, from home and faith to family and eternity.
What does the Armenian eternity sign mean?
It stands for eternity and the endless cycle of life. It is one of the oldest Armenian symbols and appears on khachkars and old churches.
Is Armenian jewelry made of gold or silver?
Both. Traditional pieces were mostly silver. Most modern Armenian jewelry is gold, usually 14K or 18K, because it does not tarnish and lasts for everyday wear.
What is a good Armenian gift for someone living abroad?
A small pendant with a clear meaning: Ararat, the map of Armenia or Tatik-Papik for home, a cross or Virgin Mary pendant for faith, a family pendant for the people they miss.
Can you make a custom Armenian pendant?
Yes. Send us a picture or a sketch of the symbol you want and we make it by hand in our Yerevan workshop.
Back to that small gold mountain
The girl in Los Angeles may never climb Ararat. She does not need to. The mountain her grandmother saw every morning now rests just below her collarbone, and one day she may hand it to someone of her own. That is what modern Armenian jewelry is for.
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