Jewellery chain Ortak has gone into administration threatening more than 150 jobs.
The Orkney-based jewellers said the rising costs of materials and the impact of the recession on the high street had put pressure on it in the last few years.
It has appointed financial services company BDO as its administrator to provide “breathing space” while a potential buyer is sought.
Ortak has 13 retail shops in Scotland, including two on Orkney, as well as branches in Sheffield and Newcastle.
Its other Scottish stores are in Dundee, Aberdeen, two in Edinburgh, four in Glasgow, Inverness, Livingston and Stirling.
The firm employs 155 staff, with 44 on Orkney.
In a statement, it said: “The board regrets to announce that after an exhaustive review of the business we feel unable to continue to trade outside of insolvency protection and in the circumstances has appointed BDO as administrators to provide a breathing space in order to explore a sale of the business as a going concern.
“The current business model has come under pressure over the past few years as the recession has impacted on the high street and the cost of raw materials has increased significantly.”
Ortak started in Kirkwall in the 1960s and its designs are said to take inspiration from the landscape of the isles.