Editor’s Note
This piece highlights the 10th anniversary of TOUS’s Sabadell factory, inaugurated in 2014. As the brand’s production heart, it blends craftsmanship with technology, producing over a million pieces yearly and serving as a key driver of innovation and growth.
TOUS’s main factory celebrated its 10th anniversary last year, standing as an engine of innovation and artisanal excellence, producing over one million pieces annually.
Inaugurated in 2014 to bring production closer to its headquarters in Manresa, the Sabadell factory has solidified its position as the jewelry heart of TOUS. Over this period, the factory has been an essential pillar for the innovation, evolution, and expansion of the Catalan brand.
Having its own production center has been a key piece throughout TOUS’s more than one hundred years of history for developing unprecedented prototypes and producing new collections. However, the distinctive hallmark of this factory has undoubtedly been the natural coexistence between craftsmanship and technology. Valuing its artisanal heritage, TOUS has kept the jeweler’s craft alive in its factory while incorporating pioneering techniques in the industry.
Each year, the Sabadell factory manufactures over one million pieces for the brand (which also has a workshop at its headquarters in Manresa), to supply its more than 600 stores worldwide.
This production is fundamentally based on two techniques: micro-casting, the most traditional in jewelry, and electroforming, which allows creating large-volume, lightweight pieces with almost no soldering, a technique TOUS began using pioneeringly over twenty years ago.
Micro-casting (also known as lost-wax casting in jewelry) is a traditional technique—used since Roman times—for making jewelry and metal objects from a wax mold. Once the mold with the shape of the jewelry is created, it is coated in plaster, and then the wax is melted, leaving a hollow mold where the desired metal, usually gold or silver, is injected.
Electroforming is based on a chemical electrolysis process that allows creating metal pieces by depositing layers of metal onto a mold. Among its advantages are that the pieces, being hollow, are considerably lighter than if they were solid, and this technique allows the production of complex pieces with a multitude of details.
Both methods combine semi-automatic processes—machinery is used to inject wax into the molds—but
explains Raúl López, director of the TOUS factory in Sabadell.
They also have, for example, a robot to assist in polishing, although, as López clarifies,
since even with the arrival of the latest technological tools, each piece is finished by hand. Craftsmanship remains the soul of this brand with over 100 years of history, from diamond setting to jewelry polishing.
One of the reasons so much importance is given to craftsmanship is that TOUS has prioritized the training and professional development of the more than 100 employees at this factory. In this regard, it has also integrated in recent years young talents and internship students from around the world through TOUS School, a professional training project aimed at preserving the jeweler’s craft and ensuring its generational transmission.
The Sabadell factory has played an important role in the growth and consolidation of the brand worldwide, as having its own production center has allowed TOUS to have absolute control over the quality and design of its jewelry.
Centralizing its production in Spain and having local suppliers has also strengthened its commitment to proximity production, more sustainable and responsible.
explains the factory director.
Furthermore, as part of this sustainability strategy, they began using recycled metals years ago.
assures López. For example, in 2024,
comments López.
As the center director explains,
Looking back to 2014, the factory director recalls these ten years in Sabadell:
Regarding the future, TOUS aspires for its Sabadell factory to remain a benchmark in jewelry innovation, where tradition and technology continue to shape sustainable luxury.