Jewellery chain looks to sparkle after expansion

The pair invested £1m in their ROX outlet at Trinity Leeds, which launched at the weekend, creating 10 new jobs.

It sells diamonds, silver jewellery and luxury goods with price points from £25 for silver contemporary jewellery and gifts up to £100,000 for diamond engagement rings.

ROX promises to pamper customers with its own Laurent-Perrier champagne bar.

The pair met on holiday in Majorca when they were 12 years old and became firm friends and eventually business partners.

Mr Mitchell studied gemology and jewellery at North Glasgow College and spent time running a jewellery market stall on Camden Market before going on to launch a diamond company in Glasgow’s Argyll Arcade in 1993. He is responsible for overseeing all buying, merchandising and jewellery design.

Mr Keogh started his career in London as a graduate surveyor with an international property consultant before moving to Hong Kong to work as a management consultant for a blue chip company.

He moved back to London where he co-founded a software company, which was later sold in the dotcom boom.

In 2002, the pair joined forces to launch ROX in Glasgow, surrounded by 30 other jewellery companies in the city’s Argyll Arcade.

They spotted an opportunity for a younger, fashion-led jewellery proposition in an area with a footfall of 50,000 shoppers a week interested in jewellery.

Today, the £11m turnover group employs nearly 100 people and has five stores across Glasgow, Edinburgh and Aberdeen.

“Expansion into England has been on our radar for some time now; we have been waiting to find the perfect location,” said Mr Keogh, who is managing director.

ROX has been named Independent Jeweller of the Year for the past three years running at the prestigious UK Jewellery Awards.