Countess Sophie takes a shine to Croi Sliogan the new designer jewellery collection by Martina Hamilton

Martina's new collection Croi Sliogan got off to a fantastic start when she was lucky enough to encounter Her Royal Highness Sophie Countess of Wessex in Dublin during her recent state visit with Prince Edward. Martina just so happened to be launching the new collection in Dublin at the Kilkenny Shop when the Countess paid a visit.

‘The Countess admired the collection and asked me in detail about its origin and inspiration. I was happy to tell her about my long Sunday walks on Streedagh, about Sligo being the Shelly Place, and the reference to W B Yeats in the title. I asked her if it was OK for me to present her with a necklace from the collection, to which she replied “No, no unless you allow me to buy the earrings to match”.’

We were delighted to see Countess Sophie out and about in Dublin that night and at Chateâu de Fountainebleau in Paris the next day wearing the full collection. The inspiration of a broken piece of shell found on a north Sligo beach on a rainy winter’s day wound up in the international fashion spotlight.