For 40 years, Rolex, a symbol of international excellence and renown, and TOUS, Spain’s largest jewelry group and the forerunner of a unique and innovative style of jewelry, have enjoyed a close relationship, based on sharing the same values of quality, precision and reliable customer service.
Rolex, the Geneva-based industry leader in Swiss watchmaking, has an unmatched reputation for quality and savoir-faire.
Founded in 1905 by Hans Wilsdorf, this pioneering wristwatch brand has been in the forefront of emblematic innovations in watch design that have journeyed with explorers and been worn by champions throughout the world for more than a century.
In 1920, Salvador Tous Blavi, a young apprentice watchmaker, successfully launched his professional career by founding a family business selling and repairing watches. Salvador Tous Ponsa, born in 1941, would follow in his father’s footsteps. Years later, he would go on to found the current Joyerías Tous together with his wife, Rosa Oriol.
Salvador’s passion and enthusiasm for watchmaking in 1980 would lead TOUS to become an official Rolex retailer at its Manresa jewelry store.
In 1985, TOUS began to expand in Spain and opened its second store, Rolex-TOUS, located on the famous Calle del Carmen de Lleida, one of the longest shopping streets in Europe.
From 1985 to 2009, thanks to the close relationship between the brands, several Rolex-TOUS stores were opened in the main shopping hubs in a number of Spanish cities, such as Valladolid, Barcelona and Barcelona.
2009 was one of the most significant years for TOUS and Rolex, as Rolex’s first exclusive boutique was inaugurated in Spain. Avenida Pau Casals, in the heart of Barcelona, was the location chosen for the Spanish debut of the prestigious Swiss watchmaking firm.
Two years later, in 2011, the Castellana Boutique, Madrid’s first Rolex boutique, opened its doors inside one of the capital’s famous department stores.
Barcelona’s second Rolex boutique opened in 2014, after TOUS transferred a store which had previously implemented a shared business model in which both brands had coexisted since 2008. The new Rolex boutique was thus inaugurated at Paseo de Gracia 75, one of Barcelona’s most elegant and majestic avenues.
The relationship between TOUS and Rolex was consolidated in 2016 when Europe’s largest Rolex boutique, the world’s third largest, was inaugurated.
Located in Josep María Sert’s iconic rationalist building at Paseo de Gracia 18, it debuted with a new Rolex concept space, intending to display THE WORLD OF ROLEX, the values which have guided the brand since its foundation at the dawn of the 20th century.
The store, located in the commercial heart of Barcelona, expands its space from three to five showcases, and is updated with the latest image concept of Rolex boutiques.