Fads come and go: the George Forman Grill to the Macarena, or the Blue/Gold Dress conundrum to the Ice Bucket Challenge. One thing that has held focus for thousands of years is the Ankh symbol.

The symbol was a first noted as a representation of life in ancient Egypt, typically with a centrally placed diamond depicting the sun. As worshipers of various earthly and cosmic things, the sun represented truth, power, and courage. The “ankh” is also known as “crux ansata” (“cross with handle” in Latin), that originally came into the earliest writings of ancient Egyptian hieroglyphics that was the symbol for life. Many ancient Egyptians gods and pharaohs are portrayed with the loop-adorned crosses resting on their sarcophaguses gripped in their hands.

The Coptic Christians maintained the shape of the ankh with their “Coptic ankh” using the same Latin phrase of crux ansata. In the 1960’s, the Ankh symbol earned popularity with the “New Age” mysticism movement. This movement’s followers rarely identified themselves as “New Age”, but rather associated with various spiritual or theosophical influences usually of esoteric origin.

Diamonds, essentially crystallized carbon with perfectly organized particles under high pressure conditions, are not only best friends with Madonna and her ladies, but part of Hindu culture as well as ancient Egyptian. The Hindus believe that diamonds came from a lightning bolt that hit a rock and spewed diamonds that were used as eyes in their deity statues. They believed that diamonds would turn away danger and would give invincibility. And with that said, it is no surprise that diamonds play an important role in our most meaningful jewelry.

Move the timeline forward and the ancient Greeks and Romans revered diamonds as “tears of gods” or pieces of “falling stars” that were not of earthly origin, rather from a distant galaxy or of godly origin. Plato himself wrote of diamonds as living things that embodied spirits and some even wore them because they believed they improved sexual attractiveness.

The culmination of religious/spiritual symbolism and the exclusiveness and beauty of the diamond, yields the diamond ankh necklace. This piece, whether worn by a spiritual person or a superstitious one, is always a symbol of courage, beauty, and life. Woodrow Jewelers of Rye, NY, one of the best New York jewelers based in Westchester County, has the piece that will make the statement that you want to make every day or only on special occasions. And whether you're wearing it as a hat tip to Plato or calling on your Ancient Egyptian roots, or even following Beyonce's footsteps in her Lemonade music video, the piece will certainly always be in style.

KC Designs has a beautiful rendition of this piece with 32 glistening diamonds in 14Kt white gold with a 0.14ct total diamond weight. Whether you’re spiritual, religious, or just happy to be alive, the diamond ankh necklace by KC Designs is an easy way to show your strength and value for life.