Sandra Bellew

Over the past few decades, Madrid's Chueca neighbourhood has transformed from a quiet bourgeois quarter into one of Europe's most vibrant districts, full of fashionable boutiques, vintage shops, cafés and galleries. Halfway between Plaza de Chueca and the Fundación MAPFRE art museum — with its collection of 19th and 20th-century masters — at number 8 Calle del Almirante, you'll find a shop with the same name: Almirante 8.

This is where Sandra Bellew sells her jewellery — a designer and gemmologist with over twenty years' experience.

Sandra works with silver, brass, pearls and raw diamonds. Her pieces are inspired by poetry and nature, history and tradition. Here you'll find chokers with rough, irregular textures reminiscent of ancient artefacts; brooches and pendants shaped like leaves and flowers; earrings, rings and bracelets set with uncut diamonds. And because everything is made entirely by hand, almost every piece is unique.

A separate line — religious medals with a deliberately rough, aged finish — are called medallas rústicas. The Virgin Mary in various forms, the Guardian Angel with a child, the Christ Child, the Cross of Calatrava, various saints — all cast in brass or silver with intentionally uneven edges and a texture that looks as though the medals have lain untouched for centuries. People buy them for themselves, give them to newborns, attach them to prams and cradles, to wedding bouquets.

Sandra herself is almost always in the shop: greeting visitors, offering advice, talking about the pieces. But if you'd like to come at a particular time, it's best to arrange a meeting in advance via Instagram.

And one more thing: Sandra Bellew shares the space with local clothing brand Guillén y Bayona. They complement each other beautifully — handmade designer jewellery and original clothing that revives the traditions of quality and craftsmanship.