Created in about 700 AD, the seven-inch long brooch is composed primarily of silver gilt and is embellished with intricate abstract decoration (termed "Irish interlace" or Celtic knotwork) both front and back. The beads contain images of over 20 wolves' heads and dragons' faces.

The design, the techniques of workmanship (including filigree and inlaying) and the gold, silver, copper, amber and glass are all of high quality, and exemplify the advanced state of goldsmithing in Ireland in the seventh century. The brooch is made in the pseudo-penannular or "Faux" penannular style, meaning it was not meant to be a brooch to hold clothing, but to be decorative.

Like most brooches of the period, it contains neither Christian nor pagan religious motifs, and was made for a wealthy patron, almost certainly male, who wanted a personal expression of status.

It is probably the most spectacular, and one of the best preserved, of several dozen high-status brooches found in the British Isles, but mostly in Ireland. Although similar in style, each has a completely individual sign in detail.