Leonard Dews, the independent, family-owned Lancashire jewellers, is celebrating after securing the agency for luxury watch brand, Rolex, with the Blackpool store becoming one of just four such official stockists in the region.

Leonard Dews, the independent, family-owned Lancashire jewellers, is celebrating after securing the agency for luxury watch brand, Rolex, with the Blackpool store becoming one of just four such official stockists in the region.

Rolex will sit alongside other world renowned brands available at Leonard Dews, including Patek Philippe, Cartier, Breitling, Omega, Chopard and Tag Heuer.

Owner of Leonard Dews, Michael Hyman, said: “It has been 41 years in the making. It goes without saying that I’m delighted to represent what is arguably one of the most respected watch brands in the world.

“The Rolex brand is synonymous with style, class and luxury. It is a name that has cropped up time and time again when discussing watches. The demand is fantastic and I’m thrilled to finally be able to bring this line to our loyal base of customers.”

Over the last six months, Leonard Dews has doubled the size of its flagship Blackpool store, adding 500 sq ft of retail space to give it 1200 sq ft in total.

The entire Rolex collection, with an estimated value of �750,000, was showcased at a preview event, which also marked the unveiling of the �300,000 overhaul to the Church Street premises.

The addition of Rolex and the extension to its flagship store follow what have been a bumper eighteen months’ trading. In addition to increased footfall to both its Blackpool and Lytham stores, Leonard Dews’ watch sales have also soared, with the jewellers reporting an 11 per cent increase on like-for-like sales from last year.