Laings appoints Serena Gough to its board

Luxury family-owned jewellers Laings has promoted Serena Gough to its UK board. Gough has been a part of the Scottish headquartered business since 2019 and heads up Laings Services and Laings Bespoke departments spanning each of the six showrooms located across the UK. Laings said that the move comes as the company further strengthens its leadership team to “drive growth as part of its wider programme of investment into bringing craftsmanship to the forefront of the business”. Her appointment to the board comes in recognition of her “significant contribution” to the business and her “passion, knowledge and understanding” of the jewellery and luxury watch industry. Gough’s new role comes amid Laings unveiling a suite of workshops across the estate, the upcoming opening of a new home in Glasgow and an expansive relocated showroom in Southampton. Laings is also introducing new apprenticeships within the business, growing opportunities in the UK. A wider recruitment programme to appoint specialists into various roles including watchmakers, goldsmiths, designers and apprentices will take place throughout the coming years, in line with the business investment of its workshops. Gough said: “The transformation and growth in our Services and Bespoke business in recent years achieved by growing our team of highly skilled watchmakers and goldsmiths, shows how committed Laings is to further our integrity to our clients and embracing our responsibility to educate and improve our industry. “A lot of time has passed since Laings was founded in 1840, when the company was very much a jeweller based on the skills of clockmaking, watchmaking and goldsmithing. I’m looking forward to the opening of our state-of-the-art workshops, new fantastic showrooms and facilities, and for us to return to the original Laings vision of what a jeweller is at its roots, with craftsmanship and skills in the limelight. For our teams to be able to share this with our clients and us take ownership of the quality synonymous with our brand is truly a privilege to be a part of.” She added: “I look forward to continuing to work alongside our incredibly talented team in my new role, with a shared love for skill and learning, we are all focused on delivering excellence in both the jewellery we create and services we provide whilst inspiring and nurturing the next generation of talent to grow within our industry.” Stuart McDowell, managing director at Laings, concluded: “Serena has been a tremendous asset to Laings for over four years, working as an integral part of the expansion of our Services and Bespoke departments and the development of our workshops. We’re thrilled to welcome Serena to our UK board of directors and we’re looking forward to her focusing on her roots in watchmaking and bringing her extensive knowledge and skills to her new role.”