The Dublin Assay Office was established in 1637 to supervise the
assaying of all gold and silver throughout the whole
Kingdom of Ireland
The Kingdom of Ireland ( ga, label=Classical Irish, an Ríoghacht Éireann; ga, label= Modern Irish, an Ríocht Éireann, ) was a monarchy on the island of Ireland that was a client state of England and then of Great Britain. It existed from ...
,
when the Dublin Company of Goldsmiths was founded by royal charter (13 Charles I), re-establishing the medieval Guild of All Saints.
Initially,
hallmark
A hallmark is an official mark or series of marks struck on items made of metal, mostly to certify the content of noble metals—such as platinum, gold, silver and in some nations, palladium. In a more general sense, the term '' hallmark'' can a ...
s consisted of the goldsmiths' proper mark which was the maker's mark originally used to identify the silversmith or
goldsmith
A goldsmith is a metalworker who specializes in working with gold and other precious metals. Nowadays they mainly specialize in jewelry-making but historically, goldsmiths have also made silverware, platters, goblets, decorative and servicea ...
responsible for making the article. The
fineness mark, the crowned harp, was applied to 22
carat gold and
sterling silver
Sterling silver is an alloy of silver containing 92.5% by weight of silver and 7.5% by weight of other metals, usually copper. The sterling silver standard has a minimum millesimal fineness of 925.
'' Fine silver'', which is 99.9% pure silver, i ...
, which was silver of a standard of 925 parts of fine silver in each 1,000.
In 1638 a date letter system was introduced and used in conjunction with the above marks. This date letter denotes the year in which the piece was made or hallmarked and is changed on 1 January each year. A new mark in the form of Hibernia was introduced on 25 March 1730 to indicate that a duty had been paid on all articles manufactured on or after that date. The Hibernia mark is used on all articles of Irish manufacture hallmarked at the Dublin Assay Office.
Up until 1923, the Dublin Assay Office was subjected to the same laws governing silver production in England and Scotland, and thus marked its wares in a similar manner. The formation of the
Irish Free State
The Irish Free State ( ga, Saorstát Éireann, , ; 6 December 192229 December 1937) was a state established in December 1922 under the Anglo-Irish Treaty of December 1921. The treaty ended the three-year Irish War of Independence between ...
in 1922 meant that the laws were made and governed from Dublin, but the system of hallmarking has largely stayed the same.
Dublin Company of Goldsmiths (Guild of All Saints)
The Dublin Assay Office continues to be run by the Company of Goldsmiths, one of only two extant direct successors of medieval guilds in Dublin; the other is the Company of
Apothecaries' Hall in Dublin (the direct successor of the Guild of St Luke).
The Guild of Goldsmiths (of All Saints) was known to have existed prior to 1557 when a replacement of its medieval charter was sought.
[{{cite book, last1=Webb, first1=John J, title=The Guilds of Dublin, date=1929, publisher=Ernest Benn Limited, location=London] When it was re-incorporated as a Company in 1637, it was 16th in order of precedence of the Dublin guilds. It included watch and clock makers.
The guild colours were red, yellow and white (1767).
Location
In 1696, it is known to have met in the London Stone Tavern, but in 1709 Goldsmiths' Hall was built in Werburgh Street (the Hall being the source of 'hallmarks'). In 1812, the Goldsmiths’ Company moved to 22 Golden Lane, and in 1838 to the basement of the Custom House.
After the Custom House burned down in 1921, the Goldsmiths - and the Assay Office - moved to
Dublin Castle
Dublin Castle ( ga, Caisleán Bhaile Átha Cliath) is a former Motte-and-bailey castle and current Irish government complex and conference centre. It was chosen for its position at the highest point of central Dublin.
Until 1922 it was the s ...
in 1925 from where they continue to exercise scrutiny and control over gold and silver ware throughout Ireland, subject to various Acts of Parliament over the years, often relating to duties imposed.
See also
*
Guilds of the City of Dublin
References
External Links
Dublin Assay Offic
official website
Economy of Dublin (city)
Irish goldsmiths
Irish silversmiths
Product-testing organizations
Guilds in Ireland