Birks Group Inc. (formerly Birks & Mayors Inc.) is a designer, manufacturer, and retailer of

jewellery Jewellery (or jewelry in American English) consists of decorative items worn for personal adornment such as brooches, ring (jewellery), rings, necklaces, earrings, pendants, bracelets, and cufflinks. Jewellery may be attached to the body or the ...

, timepieces,

silver Silver is a chemical element; it has Symbol (chemistry), symbol Ag () and atomic number 47. A soft, whitish-gray, lustrous transition metal, it exhibits the highest electrical conductivity, thermal conductivity, and reflectivity of any metal. ...

ware and gifts, with stores and manufacturing facilities located in

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

and the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

. The Group was created in November 2005 through the merger of Henry Birks and Sons Ltd. (Canada) and Mayors Jewelers Inc. (United States). The company is headquartered in

Montreal Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...

Quebec Quebec is Canada's List of Canadian provinces and territories by area, largest province by area. Located in Central Canada, the province shares borders with the provinces of Ontario to the west, Newfoundland and Labrador to the northeast, ...

, with American corporate offices located in Tamarac, Florida.

History

Henry Birks and Sons

Birks-Ellis-Ryrie Jewellers Toronto 1920s

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 into a partnership with his three sons (William, John and

Gerald Gerald is a masculine given name derived from the Germanic languages prefix ''ger-'' ("spear") and suffix ''-wald'' ("rule"). Gerald is a Norman French variant of the Germanic name. An Old English equivalent name was Garweald, the likely original ...

), 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 Sainte-Catherine Street ( ) () is the primary commercial artery of Downtown Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It crosses the central business district from west to east, beginning at the corner of Claremont Avenue and de Maisonneuve Boulevard in Wes ...

, 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 Phillips Square is a public square located in Downtown Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The Square was established in 1842 thanks to a gift from Thomas Phillips to the city of Montreal, with the stipulation that the lot be used solely as a park. Histo ...

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 Dorval (; ) is an Greater Montreal, on-island suburban City (Quebec), city on the island of Montreal in southwestern Quebec, Canada. In 2016, the Canadian Census indicated that the population increased by 4.2% to 18,980. Although the city has t ...

and Birks is the first to open a jewelry store within a shopping centre. In 1953, Henry Birks and Sons bought out Roden Bros. Ltd., a company that produced silver hollowware, flatware, cut crystal, and medals. In 1955, the company successfully sued the City of Montreal before the Supreme Court of Canada for forcing it to close on Catholic holidays, in '' Henry Birks & Sons (Montreal) Ltd v Montreal (City of)''.

Regaluxe Group

In 1993 Jonathan Birks sold the company to Italy-based Iniziativa Regaluxe SrL. The Birks Group is now publicly traded under the ticker symbol BGI. Square Phillips Montreal 53

In 2001, the company completely renovated its flagship store on

in Montreal. In November 2005, Henry Birks and Sons Ltd. and the American Mayors Jewelers Inc. merged to create the Birks & Mayors Group. In 2007, Birks was named as the official supplier of jewellery for the

2010 Winter Olympics The 2010 Winter Olympics, officially known as the XXI Olympic Winter Games () and also known as Vancouver 2010 (), were an international winter multi-sport event held from February 12 to 28, 2010 in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, with ...

in Vancouver. The Ottawa store on Sparks Street became a source of gifts to official parliamentary visitors during its existence. The freestyle skier Jennifer Heil was a spokeswoman for the company. In 2013, the birks group changed its name from Birks & Mayors to the Birks Group. In 2015, Birks caused some controversy after Canadian Prime Minister

Justin Trudeau Justin Pierre James Trudeau (born December 25, 1971) is a Canadian politician who served as the 23rd prime minister of Canada from 2015 to 2025. He led the Liberal Party from 2013 until his resignation in 2025 and was the member of Parliament ...

's wife, Sophie Grégoire-Trudeau, wore a number of their pieces to meet the

Queen Queen most commonly refers to: * Queen regnant, a female monarch of a kingdom * Queen consort, the wife of a reigning king * Queen (band), a British rock band Queen or QUEEN may also refer to: Monarchy * Queen dowager, the widow of a king * Q ...

Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 19268 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until Death and state funeral of Elizabeth II, her death in 2022. ...

. One of the jewels was a maple leaf brooch that Birks had loaned to her. Since this brooch was worth $7,125, it raised questions regarding the ethics of such a loan.

UK development

The Birks Group sold the Mayors chain (founded in 1910 in

Ohio Ohio ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Erie to the north, Pennsylvania to the east, West Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Indiana to the ...

) to Aurum in 2017. As part of the agreement between Birks and Aurum, the Birks Brand collections of fine jewelry will continue to be offered in 16 locations in the U.S. through the Mayors network. This transaction allowed the company to develop internationally, starting with the UK in October 2017. A month after it launched in the UK, Birks made headlines when

Meghan Markle Meghan, Duchess of Sussex (; born Rachel Meghan Markle, August 4, 1981) is an American member of the British royal family, media personality, entrepreneur, and former actress. She is married to Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex, the younger son ...

wore a pair of 18K yellow gold and opal earrings for her official engagement announcement to

Prince Harry Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex, (Henry Charles Albert David; born 15 September 1984) is a member of the British royal family. As the younger son of King Charles III and Diana, Princess of Wales, he is fifth in the line of succession to ...

. This publicity increased the demand for the brand on digital stores and some inventories sold out. Meghan Markle supposedly holds Birks among her favorite jewellery brands, bought at least seven Birks pieces for approximately $20,000.

Activities

Maison Birks is a designer, manufacturer and retailer of

, timepieces,

ware and gifts, with stores and manufacturing facilities located in

and the

. As of October 2017, it operates stores under two different retail banners: 28 ''Maison Birks'' stores across Canada (formerly ''Birks'') and 2 ''Brinkhaus'' stores in

Vancouver Vancouver is a major city in Western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the cit ...

and

Calgary Calgary () is a major city in the Canadian province of Alberta. As of 2021, the city proper had a population of 1,306,784 and a metropolitan population of 1,481,806 making it the third-largest city and fifth-largest metropolitan area in C ...

. Maison Birks has six flagship stores in

Ottawa Ottawa is the capital city of Canada. It is located in the southern Ontario, southern portion of the province of Ontario, at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the cor ...

Toronto Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...

Edmonton Edmonton is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Alberta. It is situated on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Metropolitan Region, which is surrounded by Central Alberta ...

and

. The company also operates one

Rolex Rolex () is a Swiss watch brand and manufacturer based in Geneva, Switzerland. Founded in 1905 as ''Wilsdorf and Davis'' by German businessman Hans Wilsdorf and his eventual brother-in-law Alfred Davis in London, the company registered ''Rolex ...

-branded store in

Orlando Orlando commonly refers to: * Orlando, Florida, a city in the United States Orlando may also refer to: People * Orlando (given name), a masculine name, includes a list of people with the name * Orlando (surname), includes a list of people wit ...

Awards

* 1998: Diamond International award * 2004: Diamonds: Nature's Miracle award *2018: World Branding Awards

References

{{reflist

External links

Official website
at the

National Gallery of Canada The National Gallery of Canada (), located in the capital city of Ottawa, Ontario, is Canada's National museums of Canada, national art museum. The museum's building takes up , with of space used for exhibiting art. It is one of the List of large ...

, Ottawa, Ontario Companies listed on NYSE American Design companies established in 2005 Jewellery companies of Canada Companies based in Montreal Canadian brands Canadian companies established in 2005