Signet, the owner of the Ernest Jones and H Samuel chains, yesterday confirmed its ambition to expand in the US after calling off talks with American rival Zale about a £2.5bn merger.

The abortive talks began after Goldman Sachs, Zale's advisers, rekindled discussions about dormant merger plans with Signet, which is dual-listed in London and New York and had a market value of about £1.8bn after gaining 4.1 per cent yesterday.