Armed raiders who smashed their way through a jewellery shop with an axe and a gun may have been targeting the most expensive watch in Scotland.
The men wearing hooded tops walked into the ROX store on George Street in Edinburgh at 5.15pm on Monday.
It is believed the raiders may have been after the rare time-piece from Swiss brand Girard-Perregaux which is worth £500,000. When unveiled last year, it was described as “believed to be the most expensive watch on sale in Scotland”.
The store was opened in October in a blaze of publicity by TV personality Cat Cubie and rap artist Labrinth.
A police spokesman said officers could not say whether the watch had been taken until a stocktake and forensic examinations were complete.
One man had an axe while the other was carrying what looked like a gun. They began the heist by using the axe to smash the glass display cases before a shop assistant was grabbed and forced to open a window display.
The pair left with a haul of jewellery and made their getaway wearing red and white helmets on a motorbike which was later found abandoned less than a mile away in Northumberland Street Lane North.
The axe has also been found and sent for forensic analysis.
Both men were wearing dark tops and jogging bottoms. The man with the axe had a stripe on the sleeve and leg of his clothing.
One had a local accent and the other was said to be English.
Detective Inspector Stuart Harkness from Lothian and Borders Police he is “directly appealing to anyone who saw the disturbance at the jewellers or who saw the motorcycle driving through the city to get in touch immediately”.
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