Goldfinger: a man with a Midas touch

THE jewellery, precious metals and antiques world includes some dreadfully shady people. And some complete suckers. "A couple of times we've had some very prominent Irish businessmen coming in with bars of gold they've bought on holidays or when they've been away on business. When they get back here with the bars to be analysed, we find that it's not gold at all," says Ireland THE jewellery, precious metals and antiques world includes some dreadfully shady people. And some complete suckers. "A couple of times we've had some very prominent Irish businessmen coming in with bars of gold they've bought on holidays or when they've been away on business. When they get back here with the bars to be analysed, we find that it's not gold at all," says Ireland's Assay Master Ronald Le Bas, whose job is to ensure all that glisters is in fact gold. It's not just high-profile business people who get suckered by the shiny stuff. Ordinary holidaymakers often get sold a pup. Or rather a chunk of steel. "Every August and September we get floods of people coming into us who've bought gold abroad, or gold jewellery on the beach. Sadly to say, more often than not they're the ones at a loss," he says, handing over a bar of fake gold. "We're the oldest form of consumer protection," says Le Bas, straightening his tie. The Company of Goldsmiths of Dublin Assay Office was set up by charter of King Charles I in 1637. What the Assay Office does is to assay and hallmark, or test and certify, all the gold jewellery made in Ireland. While it's fierce high-tech now, biting the gold to check its purity must be the quick test. "We don't do that," he says somewhat stiffly. "We're very much like a dry cleaners," jokes Le Bas, who drives 190mph racing cars on the Formula Atlantic circuit. "We operate a six-hour service. We're by far the fastest assay and hallmarking service in Europe." Irish manufacturers or jewellery wholesalers cart tonnes of trinkets and baubles into the Assay Office, and it is then tested and stamped with the hallmark symbols. Items which don't pass muster, perhaps for not containing enough gold, are then smashed up and returned to the manufacturer. A fair amount of the jewellery actually fails to make the grade. "No one is going to submit, make or import items that they know are going to fail. But maybe about three to five per cent do," he says. Given the 20,000 items that pass through the Assay Office each day, up to 1,000 items could be bogus bling. "There's huge money to be made in substandard goods. Unlike any other consumer product, you have no idea whether you're getting 18 carat gold or not. At least with a washing machine or something, either it works or it doesn't," suggests the 46-year-old Dublin man. "If a jeweller hasn't got his items hallmarked he's breaking the law. I wouldn't consider him a reputable jeweller. There's a substantial number of items on the market that are not compliant. But then again, hallmarking regulations are probably the least of their worries. They probably have issues with the Revenue Commissioners too." Le Bas suggests that on a busy day the Assay Office could test up to 20,000 objects. Generally speaking each item costs 50¢ to test and hallmark, although there are some bulk discounts. This would mean that about 5.4m glittery bracelets, rings or knick-knacks are tested each year, generating an income of up to ?2.7m annually. Le Bas is startlingly vague when it comes to figures and finances. "It's a non-profit organisation but we pay our way," he says. The Assay Office is a curious organisation that operates in a kind of governmental purgatory somewhere between the semi-state quagmire and the private sector. "We get no grants-in-aid and we pay for rent and everything," he says. Micheal Martin, the shiny new Minister for Enterprise & Employment, may be surprised to know that he has some pull in the Assay Office. He doesn't give them any grants but they have to come to him cap in hand when they want a fee increase to meet revenue shortfalls. "If we were set up today, we'd probably be a semi-state," concedes Le Bas. The Le Bas family has been in the silver business since 1574, and its presence in the Dublin Assay Office dates back to the 1880s. Ronald joined the Assay Office in 1973, and became Assay Master in 1988, following his father, great-grandfather, great-granduncle and so on. Despite the family having dominated the job, Le Bas says that it is "not necessarily" handed down from one generation to another - except for most of the past 120 years, obviously. A board made up of wholesalers, retailers, manufacturers and "prominent people", including ex-Ansbacher boss Gay Moloney, helps run the organisation and choose its chief. A bit like the Pope, Le Bas doesn't have a contract, so barring calamity he gets to run the office pretty much indefinitely. The Assay Office is housed in a building at the back of the Chester Beatty Library in Dublin Castle. We meet in one of the boardrooms, as the operation is in the process of moving to temporary accommodation. A fancy new headquarters is to be built for the Assay Master and his 38-strong team of scientists, engineers and admin staff. "It's bulging at the seams at the moment," says Le Bas. Funding for the new premises "is not quantified yet"; however, it will be a joint venture between the OPW and the Assay Office. It is expected that everything will be finished in about three to four years, according to Le Bas, which will give staff the capacity to handle 50 per cent more work. They must be delighted. Other than testing and certifying, the Assay Office also does a bit of toolmaking, antique authentication and customs clearance. The Irish jewellery-making industry is in moderately healthy shape. "The biggest market for Irish manufacturing is the US and the Irish community there," he says. "Traditionally they only export to the US. They don't really export to Europe." There are over 1,000 jewellery firms registered with the office, ranging from small mom-and-pop outfits to larger factories. The fabled Thomas O'Connor operation in the Dublin suburb of Harold's Cross seems to have spawned much of the industry, as former staff set up their own businesses over the years, according to Le Bas. Strong support for fledgeling retailers from the Thirties, Forties and Fifties provided the foundations for a bulging domestic high-street presence. The size of the industry is tough to ascertain but Le Bas has thoughtfully compiled some figures from the pointy-heads at Eurostat, which show that some 25 EU countries imported ?2.8bn worth of jewellery in 2003 and exported ?4.9bn worth. This figure shows jewellery at wholesale prices rather than at much higher retail rates, and does not include home-grown (and home-sold) bling. The Irish retail sector could be worth well over ?600m, including watches and other items. At least the consumers handing over millions of euro for Irish-certified precious metal can be sure of what they're getting. Le Bas considers the quality of Irish hallmarking to be the finest in Europe. It doesn't muck about with purity levels and does exactly what it says on the tin. In Ireland, all 18 carat gold is 18 carat gold, whereas somewhere such as Holland, 18 carat gold might only be 17.5 carats. There have been devilish attempts to devalue the standard. "There have been forgeries. Absolutely. The last unfortunate guy was Michael Keating of Naas," he says. "That was in 1750. He forged once and got a very severe warning. Then he forged again and was sentenced to death." You clearly don't mess with the Company of Goldsmiths more than once. - Nick Webb

It's Christmas bargain-time with cheaper clothes, toys and DVDs

CHRISTMAS shoppers will get much better bargains this year, with big falls in prices for some of the most popular buys, according to analysis of the latest inflation figures. The cost of toys last month was almost 8pc less than in November last year and the drop in the price of electrical goods, such as TVs and DVD players, was even bigger - 9pc cheaper than in 2003. But wining and dining will cost more than last Christmas. The price of meals in restaurants and cafes is 5pc up , beer is 3.3pc dearer, wine 2.6pc and spirits 2pc. But drink in off-licences is much the same price as twelve months ago. Books are one of the few popular presents which are more expensive, while the cost of clothes and shoes is 3.3pc down. Even jewellery will cost little more than last Christmas, according to Austin Hughes, chief economist at IIB Bank. "The influence of the euro, tumbling costs for electrical goods worldwide and intense competition in retailing, probably heightened by internet shopping, means the cost of Christmas may not be rising as fast as we all feel," he said. The figures from the Central Statistics Office show prices rose by two-tenths of a per cent in November, leaving them 2.9pc higher than the same month last year. This was higher than the October rate of 2.8pc but should still leave average inflation for the whole of 2004 at 2.2pc - the best figure since 1999. Nearly all the November increase was due to higher energy costs, which rose more than 15pc during the twelve months. Although oil prices have fallen, the effects of the recent rise in electricity costs have yet to show through. Mr Hughes expects inflation to remain subdued at 2.5pc next year. But this disguises a wide spread between falling prices for many items and sharp increases in the cost of many services. - Brendan Keenan