Henry Birks & Sons
Henry Birks and Sons
An advertisement for a Birks-Ellis-Ryrie Jewellers in Toronto, c. 1920
Birks Group traces its origins to the opening by Henry Birks of a small jewellery shop in Montreal in 1879.
With an investment of CAD$3,000, Henry Birks opened in 1879 a small jewellery shop on Saint James Street in the heart of Montreal's financial and commercial district. In 1893, Birks entered a partnership with his three sons (William, John and Gerald), and the name of the firm became Henry Birks and Sons. As the focus of Montreal's commercial centre moved northward towards Saint Catherine Street, the Birks store moved to new premises on Phillips Square in 1894, where the company still maintains a store and corporate offices.
Starting in 1901, Birks oversaw the expansion of the company across Canada, with stores opening in the country's largest cities. In some cases, it bought local jewellers, adding its name to the local one (the Birks store in Toronto was Birks-Ryrie and the one in Winnipeg was Birks-Dingwall). The store on Phillips Square in Montreal opened in 1907.
In 1934, Birks received a Royal Warrant of Appointment. In December 1934, Birks opened its first store in Vancouver.] In 1954, the first Canadian shopping centre opened in Dorval and Birks is the first to open a jewellery store within a shopping centre.
