Coolook

Coolook was founded in 2011 by Mar Aldeguer, a journalist by training who grew up in Majorca. Her family ran a glassblowing factory with three centuries of history, and her mother, pianist Lideta Palou, had a lifelong passion for gemstones. One day Mar gave her a piece of jewelry she'd made herself from stones picked up on her travels. Lideta put it on and never went back to her diamonds. That's when Mar understood she'd found her calling.

Coolook was a family project from day one. Mar's husband Enrique Bermejo was the brand's first photographer, and his shots still hang in every store. Their eldest daughter is an architect who designs living spaces and also creates jewelry. The youngest, Coolook's first-ever model, studied advertising and marketing in the UK, then completed a master's in fashion and luxury management. She now lives in London, working at a digital creative agency while also serving as Coolook's lifestyle ambassador.

All Coolook pieces are handmade in Spain from silver with gold plating in various shades. The real signature of the brand is hand-cut natural stones: agate, labradorite, lemon quartz, fluorite, onyx, over twenty varieties in total. The stones are generous in size, the settings sculptural, the details surprising, and the prices refreshingly reasonable. The range covers earrings from delicate to statement, ear cuffs, necklaces, chains, pendants, chokers, medallions, rings, bracelets, cufflinks, brooches. Then there's MyCoolook, a separate line built around interchangeable charms that attach to base earrings, so you can switch up your look without buying anything new. Coolook works just as well for a special occasion as it does for a Tuesday.

The brand's loyal clients include Queen Letizia of Spain and Queen Máxima of the Netherlands. Coolook pieces have also appeared twice in the series Emily in Paris. You can see them in person in Madrid, in the Salesas neighbourhood - one of the city's most enjoyable areas to wander, full of boutiques, galleries, and cafés. Inside the store, blown glass lamps from the Gordiola workshop (that very same family glassworks from Mallorca) hang above the displays, and outside, the window is decorated with hand-painted marine motifs.