Tous' second generation turned a watch shop into a global jewelry brand

Tous began in 1920 when Salvador Tous Blavi apprenticed as a watchmaker in Montblanc; in 1965 his son Salvador Tous Ponsa and Rosa Oriol Porta married and took over the family business.

Rosa installed a jewelry workshop in the back room in 1970 and, in 1985, designed the teddy-bear charm that became the brand's icon — the decision that gave a small Spanish jewelry shop a signature product.

In the 1990s the couple's four daughters joined the business and pushed it abroad: international expansion began in 1996 with stores in Germany, Andorra, Japan and the US, followed by Mexico, Puerto Rico, Athens, New York and Paris, plus bags, fragrances and accessories.

From one watch shop to stores across Germany, Japan, the US, Mexico and Paris from 1996, plus a bear icon now in the Barcelona Design Museum.

The bear gave Tous instant recognizability at affordable-luxury prices.

The daughters brought a new generation's export energy.

Diversifying beyond jewelry multiplied points of sale.

A single brandable object — here, a teddy-bear charm — can carry a family firm across borders once the next generation commits to exporting it.

Tous kept growing as a family business into its centenary, with the bear added to the Barcelona Design Museum's permanent collection in 2019; the third generation now runs the company.