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The Cyclopedia of New Zealand [Canterbury Provincial District]

Watch And Jewellery Trade

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Watch And Jewellery Trade.

Including—Goldsmiths, Diamond Cutters, Mounters and Setters; Opticians; Watchmakers and Jewellers.

Butcher, Alfred, Watchmaker and Manufacturing Jeweller, 210 High Street, Christchurch. Mr. Butcher was born in London, where he served an apprenticeship as a watchmaker and manufacturing jeweller. He arrived in New Zealand in 1885, and established himself in business in High Street in 1895.

Coates, G. and Co. (Francis J. Smith, proprietor), Manufacturing Jewellers, Watchmakers and Opticians, Importers of Mathematical Instruments, Diamonds, Precious Stones, Clocks, Watches, and Jewellery, 218 Colombo Street, Christchurch. This business was established by Mr. G. Coates in Nelson in 1851, and removed to Christchurch in 1861, and is one of the oldest and one of the leading firms in Canterbury. In 1868 Mr. Smith entered into partnership with Mr. H. Thompson, and purchased the business, carrying it on under the name of G. Coates and Co. In 1882 a handsome brick building was erected to accommodate the increased business. Mr. Thompson retired in 1890, and Mr. Smith was joined by Mr. W. G. Coates, son of the founder of the firm. Mr. Coates retired in 1893, and since then Mr. Smith has traded as G. Coates and Co. The handsome interior of the shop gives every facility for the display of the extensive stock held by the firm. There are full and up-to-date lines of all goods pertaining to the business, including watches of all descriptions, clocks, chronographs, carriage and French striking clocks, jewellery of the latest designs, and solid silver goods, importations of which are received every month. There is also a splendid stock of instruments of the best quality for draughtsmen and surveyors, altitude aneroids, maximum and minimum, self-registering thermometers, field and opera glasses, Goertz's binoculars, diamonds, and precious stones. Designs for special work in plain gold or set with gems are prepared by the firm free of cost, on application.

Wrigglesworth and Binns, photo. Mr. F. J. Smith.

Wrigglesworth and Binns, photo.
Mr. F. J. Smith.

Grieshaber, Karl, Watchmaker, Jeweller, and Optician, 155 Colombo Street, Christchurch. Bankers, Union Bank of Australia. Private residence, May's Road, Papanui. Mr. Grieshaber was born in 1853, in Baden, Germany, where he was educated, and served an apprenticeship of three and a half years to the watchmaking and jewellery trade. He subsequently worked as an assistant in London, Birmingham, Worcester, South Wales, Essex, and Kent. While in London he was employed at the establishments of Messrs. Benson, Lockhart Hill, and Connell, 83 Cheapside. Mr. Grieshaber came to Lyttelton in 1877 per ship “Crusader,” and established himself at his trade in the same year. He is a direct importer of every description of manufactured articles, as well as being himself a manufacturer of jewellery, rings, brooches, etc., in every variety, for stock as well as to order, his specialty being diamond-setting. The premises occupied in Colombo Street are centrally situated, and consist of a two storey brick building. The shop is well-appointed in every respect, and fitted with handsome counters and show-cases. The work-room is situated on the first floor, and has all the necessary machinery for the trade. Mr. Grieshaber has complete sight-testing appliances, and undertakes the grinding and fitting of lenses to suit all eyes, for which he has a large, up-to-date stock of optical requisites. His business extends throughout Canterbury, and he makes monthly trips into the country districts. Mr. Grieshaber was married in 1884 to a daughter of the late Mr. Strien, of Prussia.

Standish and Preece, photo. Mr. K. Grieshaber.

Standish and Preece, photo.
Mr. K. Grieshaber.

Mr. Grieshaber's Premises.

Mr. Grieshaber's Premises.

Gundersen, Albert, Watchmaker and Jeweller, Manufacturer and Patentee of Electrical “Tell-Tale” and Factory Clocks, 251 High Street, Christchurch. Mr. Gundersen is a native of Bergen, Norway, where he was apprenticed to the trade; and he page 350 was with Messrs. B. Peterson and Co. for six years prior to commencing business on his own account in 1882. He is a direct importer of watches, jewellery, and precious stones, and manufactures to order. He has constructed a considerable number of “Tell-Tale” clocks, including two large ones at Sunnyside Asylum, and others at Lyttelton for the Harbour Board, for the Islington and Belfast Freezing Works, and at Manning's Brewery. Mr. Gundersen, who holds a certificate from the Horological Society of London, personally supervises the complicated work of his business, such as chronographs and repeaters. The premises contain complete appliances for every branch of work. Mr. Gundersen has been a member of the St. Augustine Lodge of Freemasons for many years, and was secretary for eight years.

Sandstein, Ernest Mark, D.B.O.A. and F.S.M.C., Consulting Optician, 187 Cashel Street, Christchurch. Telephone 397. This business was established in 1899, in well appointed apartments above the premises of the well-known jewellery business of the late Mr. M. Sandstein. The consulting room occupies the fore part of the floor, and is furnished with all the modern optical appliances used in connection with the profession in the most advanced centres of England and America. The workshops are likewise up to date, whilst the waiting room is a model for convenience and comfort. Mr. Ernest Mark Sandstein, the founder and present proprietor of the business, is an optician and refractionist of the most modern experience, having just recently returned from England, where he spent six years in studying the most advanced and effective methods of remedying defective vision. He is a son of the late Mr. M. Sandstein, who established the jewellery business—now carried on by his son in Cashel Street—in 1862, and a brother of Dr. Alfred Charles Sandstein, M.D., of Edinburgh, who, as a medical student, has one of the most brilliant careers on record. Mr. E. M. Sandstein was born in Christchurch, in 1871, and educated at the Boys' High School. At the age of twenty he proceeded to London, where he studied under some of the most brilliant opticians of England, and in 1897 gained his diploma as a D.B.O.A. In the following year he became a Fellow of the Spectacle Makers' Company, and in 1899 returned to Christchurch, where he established his present business. In this enterprise he has met with considerable success, and has been patronised by some of the best known people of the colony. As a violinist Mr. Sandstein has taken a prominent part in public performances in Christchurch, and, when in London, he became a member of one of the principal orchestral societies—the Strolling Players' Amateur Orchestral Society.

Sandstein, Marcus, Watchmaker, Jeweller, and Diamond Setter, Cashel Street, Christchurch. Mr. Sandstein established his business in 1862. He died in 1901, but the business is still carried on in his name.

Urquhart, Angus, Watchmaker and Jeweller, 175 Colombo Street, Christchurch. A native of Inverness-shire, Scotland, where he was brought up to the trade, Mr. Urquhart arrived in the Colony in 1860. His business was established in 1859 by Mr. Carl Asmussen, and has been conducted by the present proprietor almost since his arrival in the Colony.

Wakelin, John Robert, Watch and Chronometer Maker, Morten's Buildings, Cathedral Square, Christchurch. Arriving in the Colony in 1883 from London, where he had learned his trade, Mr. Wakelin was for six years in the service of Messrs B. Petersen and Co. He was the winner of medals at the Agricultural Hall, London, for watchwork models for teaching apprentices.

Whale Bros. (Seth R. Whale, working jeweller, and Cyril K. Whale, practical watchmaker), Manufacturing Jewellers, Watchmakers, and Importers, 230 Colombo Street; Workshop in Chancery Lane, Christchurch. This partnership was formed in 1901, when the premises in Colombo Street, opposite Messrs Cook and Ross's, were acquired. The business has from the first rapidly increased in all its branches—watchmaking, repairing, and jewellery—and the firm has received a large amount of patronage throughout Christchurch and its suburbs, besides securing a growing country trade. The shop facing Colombo Street is fitted with well-filled show cases, in which a good general stock of electro-plate, silver plate, handsome clocks of various styles, and other high-class articles are displayed to advantage. The counter cases also are well stocked with tastefully arranged gold and silver brooches, case goods, sleeve links, watches, etc. The arrangement of the windows also shows excellent taste, and displays a very fine assortment of jewellery, electro-plate, and other goods of the very best quality. One window especially is stocked with an artistic display of greenstone goods. At the workshop in Chancery Lane there is a competent staff of working jewellers, and the interesting art of manufacturing jewellery is carried on in all its stages, from the melting of the gold to the setting of precious gems.

Mr. S. R. Whale, the Senior Partner, served an apprenticeship with Messrs Taylor and Co., manufacturing jewellers to the trade in Christchurch, and was for four years in that firm's employment as working jeweller. He then, in 1898, started in business on his own account in Chancery Lane, where he met with a large amount of success in manufacturing for the trade only.

Standish and Preece, photo.Mr. S. R. Whale.

Standish and Preece, photo.
Mr. S. R. Whale.

page 351

Mr. Cyril K. Whale served an apprenticeship to watchmaking, and was afterwards employed by Mr. George Oxley, of Pahiatua, and was also for some years watchmaker to Mr. Frank Hyams, who has one of the leading businesses in New Zealand.

Standish and Preece, photo. Mr. C. K. Whale.

Standish and Preece, photo.
Mr. C. K. Whale.

White, George Thomas, Watchmaker, Manufacturing Jeweller, and Importer, 208 Colombo Street. Christchurch. Established in 1878. All kinds of jewellery, Including wedding-rings and keepers, are made on the premises, which are registered as a workshop under the “Factories Act.” Mr. White was previously in business in Taunton, Somersetshire, England.

Whitehead, Alfred J., Watchmaker and Manufacturing Jeweller, 261 High Street, Christchurch; branches at 64 Colombo Road, Sydenham, and West End, Kaikoura. Mr. Whitehead established himself in business in 1890, and met with success at the outset, his connection gradually widening, and now he has three shops, each of which does a considerable business. The premises in High Street are Mr. Whitehead's headquarters, where the manufacture of jewellery is carried on. There is a fine display of all kinds of jewellery and electro-plate. Amongst the jewellery there is a great variety of New Zealand greenstone, mounted in gold, and of the latest and most exquisite designs. The interior of the shop is so tastefully arranged that a visitor sees at a glance the quality of the stock kept on the premises—in gold and silver watches, clocks of all sizes and designs, plated goods, field glasses, and other lines. Mr. Whitehead does a very large trade in repairing. At his Sydenham shop Mr. Whitehead has a good general stock of watches and jewellery, and this branch also has a large connection for repairs. The branch at the West End, Kaikoura, has recently been opened under the management of the proprietor's brother, Mr. E. Whitehead, and contains a general stock of watches and jewellery and plated ware. Mr. Whitehead's special line, namely, greenstone goods of his own manufacture, is also well represented at the Kaikoura branch. Mr. Whitehead is a son of Mr. G. J. Whitehead, of the Christchurch Post Office; a very old colonist, who arrived in Canterbury in 1852. He has been connected with the post office for over thirty years, and is now chief of the mail room staff.

Standish and Preece, photo. Mr. A. J. Whitehead.

Standish and Preece, photo.
Mr. A. J. Whitehead.