For the start of this Canadian private-label thread I thought I would I would start at the West coast and go eastward. Vancouver, British Columbia is a port city and terminus of the Canadian Pacific And Canadian National Railways, it also connects with the Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railroad, and is the starting point of the British Columbia Railway which was formerly the Pacific Great Eastern.

Larry Buchan

Hamilton Grade #926 Serial No. 480774, 17 jewels, gilt trim, Adjusted. Double sunk Arabic 24-hour dial marked "O.B. Allan Vancouver, B.C." Yellow Gold filled screw back and bezel case inscribed "President 9300226" made by Philadelphia Watch Case Works, Riverside, New Jersey. Hamilton records show watch finished on April 26, 1905, and sold to the Montréal Watch Case Company, Montréal, Québec on April 28, 1905.

I found the following information doing a Google search. Oscar Bruce Allan was born in 1878 in Guelph, Ontario. He moved to Vancouver in 1897, where he was employed by George E. Trory, jeweler and watchmaker. O.B. Allan opened his first jewelry store in 1904 at the corner of Granville and Pender Streets. In 1910 or 1911 the store was moved temporarily to 581 Granville (at Dunsmuir); in 1912 it was moved back to Granville and Pender into the newly built Rogers Building. The business manufactured and sold jewelry, especially diamonds. O.B. Allan died in 1966, leaving the business to his son, also named Oscar Bruce Allan. The latter retired in 1973. I remember there was a branch of this store in Calgary, Alberta during the 1970's untill the 1990's when they closed.


Larry Buchan

Another Vancouver marked watch here...

9544770 - Geo E. Trorey, Vancouver B.C. (Waltham, 18 size, 17J, model 1892)

Fantastic 1892 pocket watch Fred, I never seen one of these before, really interesting seeing that OB Allan worked for him at the start of his career. I have some more Vancouver watches that I will post later but for now I'm going eastward.


Let's carry on our Canadian adventure leaving Vancouver following the CPR eastward along the fertile Fraser Valley and going northward along the spectacular scenery of the Fraser Canyon to the first Divisional Point at North Bend 129 miles from Vancouver, we continue going northward along the canyon to Cache Creek and go eastward through the semi-dessert ranchlands to the next Divisional Point at Kamloops we have traveled 121 miles. The next leg of our journey takes us through Craigalachie the location where the last spike of the CPR was driven in 1885 to our next Divisional Point the mountain community of Revelstoke a distance of 129 miles. The next 125 miles to Field British Columbia takes us through some beautiful mountain scenery as we ascend the Selkirk Mountains going through the longest railway tunnel in North America through the Rogers Pass we change time zones from Pacific to Mountain going through Golden we change crews at Field start our climb up through the Spiral Tunnels to the Continental Divide at Stephen which is the border between the provinces of British Columbia and Alberta. On our descent through the eastern slopes of the Rocky Mountains we go through the mountain resort towns of Lake Louise and Banff we then travel through the foothills to my hometown on the prairies Calgary we have traveled the total of 640 miles from Vancouver. Calgary is a thriving city that came into existence as Fort Calgary an outpost of the Northwestern Mountain Police in 1875. Calgary came into its own when the Canadian Pacific Railway came through in 1883, and became a divisional point of the CPR in 1902. It became an important junction on the CPR's mainline with trackage running south to Lethbridge and the US border, and north to Red Deer and Edmonton. In 1914 the Canadian Northern Railway and the Grand Trunk Pacific Railway arrived in Calgary.

Hamilton Grade #940 Serial No. 270708, 21 jewels, movement marked " L.H. Doll Calgary N.W.T . 21 jewels 940, Adjusted Safety Pinion" Double sunk Roman numeral radial 24-hour dial marked " L.H. Doll Calgary N.W.T." Yellow Gold Filled swing ring case inscribed "Guaranteed M.W.C. Co. Imperial 30 Years 28044" manufactured by the Montréal Watch Case Company, Montréal Québec. Hamilton records indicate Watch was finished on August 10, 1903 and sold to the Montréal Watch Case Company, of Montréal Québec on August 31, 1903. "NOTE" N.W.T. stands for North West Territories as Alberta did not become a province of Canada until 1905, were celebrating our Centennial in the New year.

LH Doll movement.

Louis Henry Doll was born in Prince Albert Ontario on November 23, 1867 the son of Wilhelm Frederick Von-Doll a German nobleman of Stuttgart Germany who with his brother and Mr. Dueber came to the United States in 1857. They were all expert watch makers and in that same year they established in Covington what has since become the famous Dueber Watch Company and is now known as the Dueber-Hampden Watch Company. He served his apprenticeship with his stepfather, and opened up a wholesale jewelry business of his own in Toronto. After moving to Winnipeg, and San Francisco he found himself almost penniless in Revelstoke, B.C. in 1887. Here he found work with a local jeweler doing maintenance of railway men's watches, after the proprietor disappeared with all firms profits, he ended up assuming control of the business and opened up a branch in Golden, B.C. and was promptly all but wiped out by a robbery. In 1889 Doll sold his business and with the proceeds came to Calgary.

In Calgary he sank his money into a small jewelry store on Stephen Avenue where the Clarence Block now stands, he then moved across the street when the Clarence Block was built, and a few months later became a tenant of the Lougheed Block. In 1907 L. H. Doll moved into his own Doll Block, a handsome redbrick and sandstone structure complete with bay window, this building can still be seen at 116 8th Ave. S.E. There the millionaire jeweler conducted his business in what was described by the Calgary Eye Opener as "Doll's New Diamond Palace"

Source of information The Glenbow Museum Archives: articles from the Calgary Herald by Jack Peach Calgary historian.

Photos of L. H. Doll's building in Calgary

Brickwork above bay window

Photograph of L. H. Doll.

Watson Brothers DIAMOND HALL Calgary.

Hamilton Grade #940 Serial No. 621821, movement marked "Motor Barrel 940 Adjusted 5 Positions 21 Jewels Double Roller" Double sunk Arabic 24-hour dial marked: "Watson Brothers DIAMOND HALL Calgary" Yellow Gold Filled swing ring case inscribed "Cashier Gold Filled Extra 679245" Maker American Watch Case Company, Toronto, Ontario.

Watson Brothers Hamilton #940

Hamilton Grade #940 Serial No. 621821, movement marked "Motor Barrel 940 Adjusted 5 Positions 21 Jewels Double Roller" Double sunk Arabic 24-hour dial marked: "Watson Brothers DIAMOND HALL Calgary" Yellow Gold Filled swing ring case inscribed "Cashier Gold Filled Extra 679245" Maker American Watch Case Company, Toronto, Ontario. I acquired this pocket watch from Locomotive Engineer, Vince B.Griffiths of Calgary in 1990, it belonged to his father Locomotive Engineer James Griffiths, a repair mark in the case back shows R-6428 this is from the George F. Ritchie watch repair records in the Glenbow Museum Archives and it shows that the pocket watch was cleaned and a new mainspring was installed for $7.50 on February 12, 1952.

Watson Brothers Brandt dial

Watson Brothers store

D.E.Black advertising wallet.

Calgary is the home of some of the largest and most up-to-date retail houses in the great northwest and one worthy of special mention is that of D.E.Black, diamond merchant, manufacturing jeweler and optician, issue of marriage licenses and the largest watch repair business in Canada. This business was established in 1905 and is located at 116 A. 8th Ave. East and occupies the first floor of a two-story brick 22 by 75 ft. in dimensions, carrying a most complete stock of diamonds, watches, jewelry of every description, silverware, precious stones, sterling silver novelties, etc. A specialty in which he has few equals and no superiors is the elegant setting and mounting of diamonds and prescious stones: also repairing of fine watches and jewelry repairing, employing none but the most skilled workman. The optical department is also most complete and under the management of the graduate optician.

The House employees thirty-eight people in various capacities, each one a specialist in their particular line. Mr. Black, whose experience in this line of business covers a lifetime, was born in Westport, Ontario April 30, 1880 and came to Calgary seven years ago from that place and engaged With L. H. Doll in the jewelry business and after one year opened up a repairing business of his own. He is a member of the A.F. & A.M., I.O.O.F., K. of P., our Board of Trade, and is one of our prominent and progressive business men, and an important factor in the growth and development of the city.

D.E.Black Longines Express Leader dial

D.E.Black Longines Express Leader movement Serial No. 1315585 manufactured after 1905 as movement and dial are marked Alberta. 17 jewels, Adjusted to 5 Positions.

W. A. Stevenson, Kindersley, Saskatchewan Hamilton #924

We're going to leave the CPR mainline of Calgary and take a trip northeast on the Canadian Northern Railway (now a part of the Canadian National Railways) on its secondary mainline that runs to its mainline at Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. The first subdivision out of Calgary takes us through the Badlands of Drumheller, Alberta famous for its Tyrell Museum of dinosaurs, then it's on to Hanna, Alberta a divisional point 132 miles from Calgary. The next divisional point covers 136 miles of Prairie to Kindersley Saskatchewan.

" I been hangin' around grain elevators
I been learnin' ' bout food
I been talkin' to soil farmers
I been workin' on land

Moose Jaw, Broadview, Moosomin too
Runnin' back to Saskatoon
Red Deer, Terrace and a Medicine Hat
Sing another prairie tune
Sing another prairie tune"*

*The Guess Who

Hamilton Grade #924 Serial No. 1402956, movement marked "17 jewels, 924" Sunk seconds, Arabic numeral 24-hour dial inscribed "W. A. Ferguson,Kindersley Sask." Silverode swing ring case, maker American Watch Case Company, Toronto, Ontario. Manufactured circa 1920.

Kindersley Station 1911.

B.C. Crichton, Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan #940

We will now continue eastward out of Calgary on the CPR's mainline 176 miles across the prairie's to the city of Medicine Hat, Alberta from Medicine Hat we continue across another 147 miles of prairie grassland to Swift Current, Saskatchewan (nicknamed Speedy Creek) for another crew change then it is off to the next divisional point 110 miles away at Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan.

B.C. Creighton #940 movement date finished August 30, 1906 and sold to Montréal Watch Case Company on September 1, 1906

B.C. Creighton Longines dial

B.C. Creighton Longines Express Monarch movement