Rox has appointed its first ever in-house head of design at it targets moves into the wholesale jewellery market and expanding its range into leather goods.

Ailsa Mackie has put together more than two decades of design experience in the jewellery industry since graduating from Edinburgh College of Art in 1993.

She has previously worked at Asprey in a staff position as well as consulting for De Beers and other upmarket brands.

Now Ms Mackie will take charge of the designs for all of Rox's branded jewellery along with developing a range of giftware and small leather products.

Managing director Kyron Keogh has previously spoken of his desire to gain listings for Rox in high-end department stores in the UK and abroad in the second half of this year.

Yesterday he said: "After a two year search we are so pleased that Ailsa has joined the team at Rox as head of jewellery design.

"As a company, we've always had a fashion-forward, design-led focus so when we met Ailsa we were impressed by her passion for jewellery and attention to detail.

"We look forward to working with Ailsa on our exclusive Rox collections, further differentiating our diamond and silver jewellery in a way that will thrill our customers."

Last year Rox opened its first shops in England with outlets in Newcastle and Leeds. It has five locations in Scotland.