I hung it on my wall and we tried to get it fixed but the repairman couldnt fix it. The movement was then used with minor changes in Loud Alarm models until 1956. July 17th, 2008. Clocks produced in the early 1900's are particularly concerning in this regard. Im trying to determine if it is a legit or reproduction that someone made. Some years ago I intended to do a write-up on my collection and started researching on the internet and found the Westclox history site with a wealth of info. Style 5 dial design]. [Left: The first national Big Ben advertisement appears in the. I also like some of the older American weight-driven clocks. The end of the Great War began what was, in many respects, a halcyon time for Westclox, now arguably the best-known timekeeping brand in the world. Thank you. Question: Are both 1) and 2) marriages of Style 2 mechanisms put in a Style 1A Big Ben and Style 1 Baby Ben. I have looked high and low in my attempts to find out how any of these resproduction style 1A were produced. I recently wrote an article on Hong Kong Watch and Clockmakers for the Antiquarian Horology Society Journal. We would like to redo the entrances and lobby areas and show the history of the building right on site but have not found much anywhere. A pair of teenage boys broke into the abandoned factory and set a fire that quickly spread and enveloped much of the central complex. Your email (will not be published) (required), The Timeless Appeal of the Westclock Big and BabyBens, The National Association of Watch and Clock Collectors, Not Your Grandmas Cuckoo: Decapitating, Rat-Eating Clocks of the Black Forest, The Care and Repair of 19th-Century American Clocks. lds missionary clothing stores; June 24, 2022 . In its place, he ironically dubbed the little bedside clock Big Ben (apparently not copyrighted by the British Parliament), and introduced it to the public in early ads as a gendered he instead of an it., Big Ben is a handsome, well built, refined and bright looking fellow with a clean-cut open face and a deep cheerful voice, one ad read. She was 18. Their Scottish factory was a full manufacturing plant, at which all their clocks were assembled from start to finish with only the basic raw materials being brought in by outside suppliers. After several changes of ownership, it became . However, there`s no easy way for you to tell; there were no labeling requirements then as we have now. The center is in the shape of the world map. Dates Stamped on Big Ben and Baby Ben Clock Movements Dates were stamped on a movement plate of most Big Ben and Baby Ben alarm clocks made up until mid-1970's. Numbers are used for the month, day and year; or just the month and year (e.g. The style 8 Big and Baby Bens were introduced in 1964. It has a cracked front lens that I would like to replace. I would also like photo and more details of his clock, since I intend to write a follow-up article. They were, incredibly enough, instructed to ingest a radioactive poison all day, every day, and never properly warned of any potential hazards. Can anyone direct me on how to find this clock? The only marking I can find are the letters ST in old english style inside of a diamond thats inside of a circle, on the clock works. Am I missing something here? The magical glow, as was widely understood by everyone involved, was created by radiuma radioactive element discovered by Marie Curie in 1898. You must log in or register to reply here. With alarm clocks, they were so common that when people repaired them they did whatever they could to get them going. Its hard to fathom in retrospect, but in the early 20th century, it was generally believed that small amounts of radium were perfectly harmless to humans, and thus, the substances natural, long-lasting glow actually made it something of an attractive novelty of the time periodnot just on clock dials, but in the worlds of quack medicine, fashion, cosmetics, and even a proto version of energy water, called Radithor.. Thanks, Paula. Thank you The style 1a can be distinguished from style 1 in several ways: The movement was changed for style 1a so that the mounting nuts were on the back. As seen below, the company made something of a symbolic gesture out of honoring the last Big Ben to roll off the assembly line on July 31, 1942, the day when all production shifted to government contracts for the duration of the war. I worked here for 28 years. The standard operating procedure of their daily work involved literally placing radium flecked paint brushes between their lips to create a finer point before application. Stoddard: I was pretty much on my own until college. The whole clock seems to be origional and was maintained by my grandfather who was a watch/clock repairman. I have been purchasing these clocks as and when I got an opportunity. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. So, rather than having the classic oversized bell or double-bell on top of the unit (to smash with your palm at 6am), the ringing mechanism was housed inside the back of the case, and a big winding key occupied the summit. The Canadian Clock Museum (http://www.canclockmuseum.ca/) may have some information. But the chances that you have a radium clock are slim, unless it is very old. Sep 6, 2008. potz said: Afaik Radium was used right up to the 1950's. Some sources even say it was used up to 1968 in watches and 1978 in clocks. It has a patent June 18-1882 and says Dakota on the back,can you tell me more? They typically have a round brass base with a glass dome over them; they were made in Germany from the 1890s up through the 1970s, and a lot of people collect them. I cannot date it. In clocks, as in all other lines of goods, there are two classes of consumersthe millions and the millionaires. The phosphor deterioration means you can't see a glow anymore, but . Created with WordPress. [citation needed] This rate probably only represents the dose rate from gamma emission, as the alpha emission will be stopped by the lacquer, or crystal, or case; hence, the dose rate following ingestion or inhalation of the dust could be much higher. Thank you, i have a pocket watch that says (inscribed inside) g. falconer ,,,rona & london or kona & london i dont know its in old english and says kona or hona it has 1243 all inscribed on the inside where when u open it u can see the gears, looks like an a8 and a crown with a 18 on the middle inside cover (that covers the gears) and also a 1243 and what looks like an 8 or an infinite symbol (sideways 8)then again on the part that clasps over everything on the inside an A3 or A8? We pay his railroad fare on all orders for a dozen or more, we brand him with your name in lots of 24., unconsciously characterized the manunaffected, direct, devoted to his cause., Radiums luminosity was part of its allure,, The dial painters soon became known as the ghost girls because by the time they finished their shifts, they themselves would glow in the dark. Any information would be very helpful. The standard operating procedure of their daily work involved literally placing radium flecked paint brushes between their lips to create a finer point before application. Theyll take an old Big Ben from 1930 and make a new dial that says Indian Motorcycle or Victola, and put it on eBay. Similarly, They made them with wooden works until about 1840, then with brass gears and I like some of the early brass-geared American clocks. I like to find the ones before that and study their history. From that time on, Baby Bens first and then Big Bens were available with either the plain or luminous dial. At the top was a clock covered with a glass door. I would like to find out about this clock. Ive been trying to compare lots of different clocks to find out what original parts go together. From 1942 to 1945, Westclox ceased all production intended for domestic civilian sale and dedicated its production resources to the war effort. WECKER (CCW arrow) knob sets alarm time. Soon, he was running the Western Clock Co. advertising department, and proving his worth with some clever marketing strategies. . One time a friend and I were down there behind the factory and we got talking to a man who was leasing the back half of the factory to make machinery for bakeries. Big Ben style 1a continued in production until its discontinuation in 1935. For at least four generations, the Western Clock Manufacturing Company, aka Westclox, was the lifeblood and largest employer in the small town of Peru, Illinois (with a mailing address in its twin city of LaSalle). Is Westclox a good brand? A lot of the American Shelf clocks from the 1820s up to 1900 have reverse paintings in the door, on the backside of the glass. when did westclox stop using radium old restaurants in lawrence, ma . Style 1 has three screws through the bezel visible from the front, style 1a doesnt (compare figures 3 and 7); Style 1 has two screws holding the bell back, style 1a has three. the clock face is 16, ca 1900. the clock belonged to pheobe appersons family at their ranch in sunol california. US radium dial painting factory. Same as the nickel version but in a gold-plated case. when did westclox stop using radium; when did westclox stop using radium. So I brought it home and left it hanging and would wind it up every once in a while. The disease, radium-induced osteonecrosis, was recognized as an occupational disease in 1925 after a group of radium painters, known as the Radium Girls, from the United States Radium Corporation sued. Henry Warren invented a little synchronous motor that could go inside a clock. But it had always just been a matter of time (pun less intended) before industrial mass production made a wide-scale phenomenon like the Big Ben possible. There are some blemishes on the wood on the right side. There are also some specialty chapters, like an alarm clock chapter and a 400-day clock chapter, one that specializes in wristwatches and one on early American pocket watches. Radium was also used until the early 1970s in "glow-in-the-dark" paints, e.g., for dials on clocks, and in other industrial applications such as instrument calibration. . When he made his first clock and plugged it into the wall it worked fine except it wasnt accurate, it was off by plus or minus a half hour a day, because the 60 cycles were not regulated at that time, so it could vary quite a bit. hi, I have a cocacola square clock. credit: Northern Illinois University], According to a 1909 article in Commercial America, In clocks, as in all other lines of goods, there are two classes of consumersthe millions and the millionaires. CAN SOMEONE TELL ME HOW TO RELEASE THE CLICK ON A WESTCLOX MANS WRISTWATCH MODEL A-201? In the production of ordinary clocks adapted to the needs and means of the millions, America produces results of remarkable excellence. This end has been achieved by what is known as the Western Processa process in which the component parts of a clock are cast, or, so to speak, cemented together with an alloy, instead of staked, and in which all hand labor is replaced by automatic machinery., [Automatic machinery certainly sped up the manufacturing process, by plenty of human skill and attention was still required to make the Big Ben. Once I was winding it and one of the main springs broke, so I decided to take it all apart and fix the main spring. styles to organize them Based in Flora, Indiana, Bill can be reached via his website, clockhistory.com, which is a member of our Hall of Fame. Also Telechron, which was a big maker of electric clocks. These folks here that are responsible for this are doing a marvelous job, Ristau said. I have a collection of alarm clocks, but slowly selling many. It is in the manufacture of alarm and one-day clocks that these results are the most noticeable, because in this field the quality of the product had always been subordinated to the market value, and the general feeling was one of let good enough alone., [Automatic machinery certainly sped up the manufacturing process, by plenty of human skill and attention was still required to make the Big Ben. Westclox Clock Construction and Quality. Baby Ben and other Westclox clocks and watches have been assigned styles. [7], Ingestion of radium has been linked to anemia, cataracts, broken teeth, and reduced bone growth.[8]. While most of our Big Ben dials are black with luminous numbers, there were also white dials with black numerals in production at the same time. 226RA has a half life of about 1600 years and the glow of the paint used on dials and hands decreases because of the damage the alpha particles emitted by the Radium do to the ZnS . When did Westclox close? It led to life-saving regulations and, ultimately, to the establishment of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, which now operates nationally in the United States to protect workers. In fact, one of their designs for the military, the terrifying sounding "WarAlarm," spurred a small shopping riot in Chicago in 1944 when a small batch of the clocks was made available for commercial purchase at a downtown store. They were sold in a very attractive hexagonal box which has pictures of antique items on the sides (tricycle, telephone, carriage, etc.) Beginning in the 1910s, the girls instructed to put radium in their mouths didn't bat an eyelash. When did westclox start making clocks? Theres a clock that came down the family, my great great granddad bought it used in about 1885, it was actually sold new in about 1839, one of the first of the weight-driven brass clocks. For the town of Peruwhich had tied much of its identity to Westclox for the better part of a centurythe damage went beyond financial. This eye is horizontally elliptical in general shape, about 4 3/4 long and 1 3/4 tall with a circle in the middle making it look like a single eye. When did westclox stop using radium? Its basically all forward momentum from here. When did they stop using radium for watches? A Westclox Museum has been opened within the original facility, showing off rare collections from the millions of timepieces once manufactured there. Something about them has always been ingrained in me. Recently Ive seen people taking an old Baby Ben thats worth a few bucks or so and gluing rhinestones around the bezel on the clock. See the top of this page for a current list of They were officially Americas preferred wake-up call provider. I first saw the clock in 1957. The dial painters soon became known as the ghost girls because by the time they finished their shifts, they themselves would glow in the dark. The alpha particles emitted by the radium, which is taken up in bone, will kill off surrounding bone tissue, resulting in a condition loosely referred to as radium jaw. It is 3 diameter with Westclox on the back and PAT.APLOFOR. 0 Comments; Uncategorized newark advertiser obituaries 2021 . My Grandmother had a Westclox in her house. 5 17 15 is May 17, 1915 . I know that it is electric and it requires a dime deposit to set the alarm on it. I cant find out anything about him or any other clocks by him. Radiums luminosity was part of its allure, Moore writes. . Instrument dials painted with radium-based paint, United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission, "WWII Military Watches 'Potentially Pose Serious Cancer Risk,', "Health Effects of Radium Radiation Exposure,", "How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love Radium Dials,", "Lume 101: Watch Luminescence Explained,", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Radium_dial&oldid=1123475907, Articles with unsourced statements from May 2022, Articles with unsourced statements from February 2022, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, Jane Brickman, "Radium Girls: Women and Industrial Health Reform, 19101935,", This page was last edited on 23 November 2022, at 23:30. 1919 - 1920 on a small proportion of clocks, "Westclox" in Roman text, Wide lettering at bottom: 1923, "Westclox" in Roman text, Narrow lettering at bottom:1924 to 1927, "Westclox" in Roman text, Projection on the "x": 1928 - 1935, Luminous, "Westclox" in italics: ca. For example, Big Ben Style 1 and Style 1a are the leg model, and Style 2 is the first base model. Within in another ten years, the workforce had tripled again, powered by employee George Kerns 1908 invention of the first Big Benthe sleek, iconic model that basically set the template for the 20th century wind-up alarm clock. It might be the only one in the country, Spayer said. Handle on top: down alarm off; up alarm on. Eventually we became best friends and started researching together. Leg model with ring on top, dustproof case. The women also left a legacy to science that has been termed invaluable., shifting from serif to sans-serif typefaces and from slightly ornate to more streamlined minute and second hands, all of which eased legibility; setting the clock face closer to the glass, reducing shadows; and creating a slightly smaller form overall., three women fainted, several clerks were trampled, and four showcase windows were shattered before police untangled a jam of 2,500 women and a few stout-hearted men who converged on the store., For That Healthy Glow, Drink Radiation . When did the use of radium stop? Westclox Big Ben Alarm Clock Vintage. Junghans, Kienzle,Mauthe,Kaiser, Peter, (all from Germany) Veglia (Italy), CNIS ( France), Ingersoll (UK) as well as some Hong Kong made items. Good old fashioned branding played a major role, as well. Im always interested in the history and the variations of clocks and how they fit in the scheme of things, what came before and what came after. A radium dial clock from the 1930s. I was told it was long ago before even my aged family was servicing watches. The trademark "Westclox" which had appeared on their Big Ben alarm clocks as early as 1910 was officially registered in January 1916. its a Gold coloring and the bottom is well worn like it was slid into something regularily. I am looking to get an approxmiate value of this clock. Were finally at a point, where were ready to do more than just sit here, said Ruth Spayer, curator for the museum. When radium was discovered in the early 1900s, people were fascinated by its mysterious glow and it was added to many everyday products, including paints. The Windys said their union confirms an old Westclox employee rumor about the long-lasting nature of a relationship struck up near a certain fountain. Stoddard: Pay attention to quality. The radium isotope (226Ra) used has a half-life of about 1,600years,[6] so radium dials remain essentially just as radioactive as when originally painted 50 or 100 years ago, whether or not they remain luminous. Gary Biolchini added more style series in his book They have meetings every two months, and educational programs, so thats a really great way to meet collectors and get all kinds of advice. Big Ben Style Series. Nowadays, Super-LumiNova, which is entirely non-radioactive and non-toxic, is the most used lume in watchmaking. "[5] However, radium is highly radioactive, emitting alpha, beta, and gamma radiation the effects of which are particularly deleterious if inhaled or ingested since there is no shielding within the body. Going back further in time, here is a pretty hypnotizing silent film released by Westclox in the early 1920s to promote the Big Ben and other products. A lot of American clocks have veneer over the base wood so if thats starting to peel it can be really expensive to get fixed. Instead, it would be better to take the box outside and remove the lid there, which would allow any built-up gas to rapidly dissipate." The watches tested were produced from the 1920s through the '60s, and are a mix of British, Swiss, and American origin. [5] Indeed, the body treats radium as it does calcium, storing it in bone where it may cause bone degeneration and cancer.[5]. If you do not expect to work hard and carefully, you are in the wrong place. credit: Northern Illinois University]. I always wondered why the dial of my Baby Ben clock, which I have had from late 60s, was marked off in 48ths of an hour instead of minutes. 1978. When did Westclox stop using radium? Sep 23, 2011 It is something that we should know before everyone starts throwing away every luminous dial clock they own. Like many East Coasters, he decides to pursue his fortune out West, but unlike many of his peers, he skips the bustling Second City in favor of a promising river & railroad region downstate; where the towns of Peru, LaSalle and Ottawa intersect. Radium was discovered by Marie and Pierre Curie in 1898[1] and was soon combined with paint to make luminescent paint, which was applied to clocks, airplane instruments, and the like, to be able to read them in the dark.[2].