The Assay office in Dublin has been in existence since 1637. It is organized and run by the Worshipful Company of Goldsmiths of Dublin who are representatives of the jewelry trade in Ireland.
The function of the Assay office is to ensure that the various gold, silver and platinum alloys measure up to declared standards. Example, 18kt gold should contain 750 parts pure gold per 1000 parts i.e.75% pure. The other 25% will be made up of different alloys and precious metals like Silver, Bronze, Copper, Zinc etc.
Each manufacturer and wholesaler are obliged by law to submit all his products to the assay office for testing. If the standards are not met the product will be destroyed or marked with a lower carat stamp i.e. 13.95 can only be marked as 10kt. So all Irish made jewelry will actually have more gold content than specified.
