What is a Hallmark?

Every piece you see on my website is sent to the Assay Office in Dublin Castle for Hallmarking. For me it is essential that all pieces are hallmarked displaying the purity of the metals and with the Aud makers mark. That way you are guaranteed the metal you are buying!

Check out what to look for on your pieces.

1. My makers mark, ABC, Audrey Bernadine Corrigan
2. The assay mark next to this
3. The metal purity. This pendant is sterling silver, 925

What does Assay mean?

The testing and assessing of metal by scientists to determine its ingredients and quality.

What is a Hallmark?

A mark stamped on metals by the Irish Assay Office certifying their standard of purity. 

Why is it Important?

A Hallmark guarantees that you are getting the purity of metal you are buying. 

How it’s Done

A sample of metal (usually from off cuts) and jewellery pieces are sent to Dublin Castle. The sample is tested for its purity by a qualified scientist. Once the test is positive for stated purity the pieces then go to the hallmarking room. Hallmarks can be punched with a stainless steel punch or laser engraved by an engraving machine. 

The Hook Lighthouse and Peninsula

The place that inspired my first collections, At Piece and Into The Light. It is a place I love to disappear to with friends and family. The crashing of the waves against the rocks is just so peaceful.

The Hook Light house is situated on Hook Head at the tip of The Hook Peninsula in Co. Wexford, Irelands sunny south east. It is one of the oldest operating lighthouses in the world! I first got to experience the area in the autumn of 2014 and I fell in love with it from that day. I was with my then boyfriend, now husband, and his mother.

Getting to explore this new place and getting to know these new people in my life, was just an experience I will never forget. The wind was howling, the waves were crashing and foam was in the air. Feeling like daredevils, Aaron and I walked out as far as we could on the rocks to reach the crashing waves. We stayed so long my cheeks were red with wind burn.

The bedrock on the peninsula consist of two sedimentary rocks, sandstone and limestone. One trip we discovered the beautiful quartz beneath the limestone and I couldn’t resist, I had to bring them home! This inspired me to create the At Piece collection, a play on words. A piece of rock from a peaceful place. The main feature is the moon shaped rock, as if it had broken away from the bedrock.

If you would like to find out more information about The Hook Lighthouse and Peninsula please visit hookheritage.ie for more information.