Argos withdraws jewelry over

More than 50,000 jewelry pieces were taken off the shelves here and in the UK by Argos and other firms following claims that UK stamps of approval were illegally applied.

It has been claimed that 9carat rings and pendants illegally fashion jewelry wholesale received the stamps when they were being made in the UK. They were supposed to be applied later after independent qualitychecks confirmed the amount of gold involved in their manufacture.

In a statement yesterday, Argos said that the quality of its gold is not in question and that the investigation relates to the standard of hallmarking. The chain has 12 branches in the North and 13 in the Republic.

The current investigation in Britain centres on items which retail there for between 8.99 (Ir10.75) and stg100 (Ir120).

Birmingham Assay Master Michael Allchin said the items he was being asked to check each contained the three common hallmarks the name of the manufacturer, a box containing the figure '375' to denote 9carat gold and the mark of the Assay office which allegedly approved them.