Has the mechanics of the clock been changed/upgraded or could there be another issue at play? I know it was purchased in 1937 because it belonged to my elderly friends who were married in 1938. However, there`s no easy way for you to tell; there were no labeling requirements then as we have now. var today = new Date() Big Ben Style Series. Within two decades she had lost all her teeth. My moms father had a small collection of antique clocks and when I was a little boy he showed me how to wind them and regulate them. Accueil; Services; Ralisations; Annie Moussin; Mdias; 514-569-8476 By the 1960s production went offshore to achieve economies of scale . theres the problem, there were two gears that were in backwards. I was told it was an antique at that time. It was passed on to my sister and for years it was on their mantle along time until it stopped. The Westclox Big Ben Alarm Clock Vintage is an iconic timepiece that has been around since the early 1900s. But this is not how the story of Westclox began. Many thanks. 1978. For a better experience, please enable JavaScript in your browser before proceeding. It is 3 diameter with Westclox on the back and PAT.APLOFOR. There is a small dial inside of the clock face that has roman numerals like another clock face. I worked here for 28 years. When I walked along the street, Iwas aglow from the radium powder., [Mrs. Charlotte Purcell, like Catherine Donohue, was one of 15 former workers at the Radium Dial Company who contracted cancer and sought justice in the late 1930s]. We are very proud to be living in this building and would love to know more about this specific site. I cannot date it. [7], Ingestion of radium has been linked to anemia, cataracts, broken teeth, and reduced bone growth.[8]. Am I missing something here? Based in Flora, Indiana, Bill can be reached via his website, clockhistory.com, which is a member of our Hall of Fame. when did westclox stop using radium - Dev.decourbaine.com Stoddard: Pay attention to quality. In clocks, as in all other lines of goods, there are two classes of consumersthe millions and the millionaires. Both the Big and Baby Bens were housed in a newly refined bell-back clock case. thanks for your time, was doing research.. Appears from search engine a conversation about D batteries but cant find it in the text.. Can anyone inform me of the different size of D? [3] The Radiolite series, made in various sizes and models, became a signature of the Connecticut-based company. [7] A 2018 study by researchers from the University of Northampton found that a collection of 30 vintage military watches with radium dials kept in an small, unventilated room produced a radon concentration 134 times greater than the UK's recommended "safe" level. It is in working order and chimes on the hour and half hour. 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. I would like to know the value of a #4 black, #321(in original cardboard Christmas box), mint condition, Baby Ben alarm clock is. As the dark cloud of fear and suspicion grew over the small town of Ottawa into the 30s, the Radium Dial Company itself refused to take any responsibility, claiming innocence and ignorance. During the early 1900's, the effects of radiation exposure were not well understood, and radium was frequently . I have been searching for one like as the clock went with the house after my Grandmother passed away. Unbelievable true story of the 'radium girls' - NZ Herald This will broaden my view in the clock. Because it was one degree removed from the radium business itself, Westclox seems to have largely dodged the controversy and lawsuits altogether. I have been purchasing these clocks as and when I got an opportunity. With George Kerns new alarm clock, specifically, Le Roy decided it would be wise to craft a new brand name, and to leave the Western name off of the clock face entirely, since the company was overly associated with cheap goods at the time. Clocks produced in the early 1900's are particularly concerning in this regard. and again 1243 is this an antique its gold but looks brand new but also an antique at the same time does anyone know what kind of pocket watch this is or if its gold or a replica of something or what it might be worth?? Style 5 dial design]. Immediately after, substances like promethium and tritium were used as a luminous material, and they're still being used today. The pioneering spirit is there, but the business skills soon appear lacking. In the production of ordinary clocks adapted to the needs and means of the millions, America produces results of remarkable excellence. This has probably been discussed before but my search turned up nothingdo the luminous hands on a Big Ben alarm clock contain painted radium? It is too large (wide). What You Want To Know About Watch Luminant - aBlogtoWatch 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. WECKER (CCW arrow) knob sets alarm time. Next to the original Westcloxes I have an interesting collection of European copies by a.o. I was pained to learn how the girls had suffered while working here and sacrificed their lives to give the name of the company which it has today. I know very little about clocks in general. They made the most of the perk, wearing their good dresses to the plant so theyd shine in the dance halls at night, and even painting radium onto their teeth for a smile that would knock their suitors dead.. Dozens of radium dial painters around the country developed similar symptoms, although the effects could take years to manifest, making it more difficult to pinpoint the phenomenon from its first cases in the early 1920s. Another thing people do is make fake advertising clocks. The Ingersoll Watch division of the Waterbury Clock Company, a nationally-known maker of low-cost pocket and wristwatches, was a leading popularizer of the use of radium for watch hands and indices through the introduction of their "Radiolite" watches in 1916. For example, Big Ben Style 1 and Style 1a are the leg model, and Style 2 is the first base model. 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. It is stamped on the back of the casing DRP&GM. Sometimes extensive casework can be more time consuming than getting the movement running. If you do not expect to work hard and carefully, you are in the wrong place., Big Ben is a handsome, well built, refined and bright looking fellow with a clean-cut open face and a deep cheerful voice,, A well-dressed, steady and punctual chap, up to the minute and always on the job., Big Ben always comes to you straight from home, LaSalle, Illinois,, But he only comes upon receipt of signed price agreement. 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. Dreyfuss revised his changes at the end of the decade, designing the Style 5 and 5a Big Bens in 1938including the featured Loud Alarm dials from our museum collection. [9] The element was phased out of use by industry acting under its own volition as superior and safer luminous materials entered the marketplace. After several changes of ownership, it became . You just cant imagine the size of this factory its just gigantic. The greater surprise, though, is that they didnt abandon the use of radium in the years that followed. They make alarm and one-day lever clocks only, and with practically two different articles, known as the 4-inch and 2-inch movements, they have an output of in their factory at LaSalle, Ill., of nearly two million clocks a year. Purchased from a man who claimed to have salvaged them from the backroom of an unnamed Chicago watch repair shop, each round and weathered face represents the lasting work of an international manufacturing giant at the peak of its powers. The Westclox building remained there in all its glory well into the 21st century, as plans were tossed around for some sort of repurposing of the huge, historic facility. [9] Prior to that date, "the federal government had a limited role, if any, in ensuring the safe use of radium," according to the NRC. Some people just want one or two that they remember from childhood in good condition, so thats just the thing for them. My love is for the style 1 peg leg Big and Baby Bens; mostly Baby Bens. The Canadian Clock Museum (http://www.canclockmuseum.ca/) may have some information. Westclox set up a factory in England in the 1940s and also in Scotland. Just remember, old luminous clocks are full of radium! Geiger counters could pick up readings from pants returned from a dry cleaner and from clothes stored away in a cedar chest. If you want to identify an item, try posting it in our Show & Tell gallery. Eventually, scientists and medical professionals realized that these workers' illnesses were being caused by internal contamination from the radium they ingested. At the end of one hand is a star and the other hand is the moon. I have purchased 1) Style 1 Baby and Big Ben with the Gold Leaf dial (seller stated raised letters); and, 2) a Style 1 Baby Ben with Baby Ben De Luxe on the dial. [citation needed] After about 20minutes this delivers the equivalent of one whole day's worth of normal background radiation. Through it all, Peru remained the companys home base, as over 3,000 employees now enjoyed the rapidly expanding space of the factory and its attached campus, with gardens, tennis courts, a bowling alley, and other things worthy of a Matthiessen estate. I like to find the ones before that and study their history. 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. Good old fashioned branding played a major role, as well. Westclox Big Ben Style 1a Alarm Clock Date Summary: 1918 - 1935 (and a reproduction was made in 1970) Characteristics: Ring on top, two legs in front, no screws through the front of the bezel. I think it is a clock made by Sessions. Westclox made an excellent, almost exact, reproduction of the style 1a Big Ben in 1970. I took it back and the repairman told me it was like a large Timex watch and just not worth being fixed. We thought it was 1890 or older. Radium is highly radioactive. 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. When did the use of radium stop? I cant find out anything about him or any other clocks by him. He also recalled playing in the factory. JavaScript is disabled. Radium - a key element in early cancer treatment - RSC Education The front is in Roman Numerals with a dome shaped raised glass. It still works. [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. Are Watches With Radium Dials Safe? New Study Offers Warning All the rods in my clocks are verticle that is from top to bottom of the case, four on each side at the back of the movement. 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. Unfortunately, they also hint at a tragic chapter in American industrial history, when the appeal of a luminous new kind of paint wound up putting hundreds of workersmostly young womenat great personal risk. 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. The clock is several houndred pounds, and keeps great time. I have a Seth Thomas Mantle clock that my older sisters husbands Aunt had on her mantle for years. Also, its not just Americans who collect, its worldwide. T. tkarter Registered User. The clock is shielded From the glass crystal. On March 31, 1980, the Peru-LaSalle plant was officially closed, narrowly missing its 100-year anniversary. During World War II they had some fantastic ads that you can see on my website like, Victory Wont Wait for the Nation Thats Late, and Guard Your Big Ben where they show a bulldog and a soldier with a gun guarding a Big Ben because during the war they stopped making clocks for the consumer market and totally switched over to military work. A clock without hands might seem indifferent to the passage of time, but these old Big Ben and Baby Ben dials have some serious stories to tell. Ref comment #10 from Frank Baker. It is made by The Sessions Clock movement, appears to be brass, a bucking horse with cowboy riderjudgeing from the clothes design of the cowboy it is quite old. American manufacturers were quick to see that the millionaires are a negligible quantity as consumers, and that, not chronometersnot marvels of intricacy and originalitywere needed, but timepieces within the reach and want of all. Is a Glow-in-the-dark Clock Any Cause for Alarm? Was just trying to find out any information on this clock or if you may have ever come across one like it So you find clocks where parts have been switched, so thats one challenge, determining originality. Radium paint itself was eventually phased out and has not been used in watches since 1968. They are just gorgeous watches and very well made. 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. The story begins with a Connecticut clockmaker named Charles Stahlberg getting a patent for a new alarm clock design in 1885. I recently wrote an article on Hong Kong Watch and Clockmakers for the Antiquarian Horology Society Journal. By 1930, all dial painters stopped pointing their brushes by mouth. All I really want to know is about the raised horizontal single eye type decoration on this top removable piece. How old is my Westclox? - Rampfesthudson.com I believed it was manufacturing tag. Theyll take an old Big Ben from 1930 and make a new dial that says Indian Motorcycle or Victola, and put it on eBay. Westclox began as the United Clock Company in Peru, Illinois in 1885. American manufacturers were quick to see that the millionaires are a negligible quantity as consumers, and that, not chronometersnot marvels of intricacy and originalitywere needed, but timepieces within the reach and want of all. It sits on a small brass stand with Westclox on it. While promoting Westclox products in Europe, the breakout of World War I and the laws of mandatory military service in his native France forced Le Roy to get his affairs in order and head for the front in 1914. The movement is a windup almost identical to the original. Stopping this practice drastically reduced the amount of radium ingested and therefore, the incidence of malignancy. Posted on 1 second ago; June 24, 2022 . The thing I remember most is working with the people, Ristau said. 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. I will be watching for more articles from Bill Stoddard Medical researchers extended the use of radium to cure impotence in men and women by creating fertility drugs with the element to "stimulate" reproduction. Technically speaking, though, Westclox did still produce clocks during the gap years that followed. The NAWCC is dedicated to providing association services, promoting interest in and encouraging the collecting of clocks and watches including disseminating knowledge of the same. On 3rd January 2099, Terry Shields asked if anyone had information regarding his clock signed G .Falconer, Hong Kong. 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. [5] Indeed, the body treats radium as it does calcium, storing it in bone where it may cause bone degeneration and cancer.[5]. Here you can see production dates, original retail prices and other knowledge about vintage and antique Westclox clocks and watches. I have been collecting, repairing, and restoring mostly Westclox Big Bens for several years. After the discovery of radioactivity in 1896 by French physicist and Nobel Prize winner, Antoine Henri Becquerel, many other scientists began to search for uses of radioactivity. . Stoddard: Ive been there several times. Located at 41.3275 N, 89.1290 W on the map, the companys former plant is admittedly on the absolute fringes of what would typically be designated Chicagoland turf. The only thing I found is the word Germny engraved on the back. Just as pilots in World War II had radium on the dials in their cockpits for all-condition visibility, many people who purchased Big Ben alarm clocks during the same periodincluding the very style in our museum collection (made from 1939-1946)went to bed each night sleeping next to a tiny box of radioactivity. What is Radium Used For? - WorldAtlas Omega stopped using radium around 1963. In the early 1920s, when the company introduced a new series of Big Ben and Baby Ben clocks with luminous dials, the work of painting on this special, glow-in-the-dark element was outsourced to the Radium Dial Companyan independent business located just up the road in the neighboring town of Ottawa, IL. Your email address will not be published. On this Wikipedia the language links are at the top of the page across from the article title. Quite a few who try to get every basic model, but fewer who get into the rarer models and do research. Debbie Blake, I have a small Westclox wind up clock dating around 1937. 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. . Ristau said he remembered when the Westclox factory was the heart of the city, and recalled enjoying his time with Westclox. Before OSHA was set up, 14,000 people died on the job every year; today, it is just over 4,500. This Christmas (1930) ad illustrates 61-F Dura Case, style 2 crackle finish Big Ben and Baby Ben, Auto Clock, Pocket Ben and Country Club pocket watches. Then, on New Years Eve, as 2011 became 2012, the unthinkable happened. Facts About Radium | Live Science So I swapped them, and its worked perfectly ever since. [Former Westclox workers Art and Mary Ann Windy (standing), 2015], This is amazing, Art said. 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. 5 17 15 is May 17, 1915 . Yet Mrs. Keane was a survivor who later conquered colon and breast cancer. Over time, she contracted terrible cancerous tumors, lost most of her teeth, and suffered countless other health problems. Westclox Model 66 Movement Series Welcome to the Westclox Clock and Watch History Database. One of the objects on display in the Benton County Historical Society's Corvallis Museum is this Westclox Radium Dial Clock. It is battery operated and takes a D battery. The first style 1a cases had double-hexagon legs, but after about a year they were changed to standard single hex form. [Westclox advertisements from WWII period, ft. Is this a product that the company would have made or something someone created? [Workers assembling Big Ben alarm clocks at the Westclox plant, 1910s. Never underestimate the value of an alarm clock when yours broke two years ago and nobody has manufactured a new one since. I never realized, even working here, they made so many different models.. Was this done so the alarm could be more easily set on the quarter or half hour? Welcome to the Westclox Clock and Watch History Database. The clock can still give considerable amounts of radiation about 2-3 inches from the Crystal measured with a Geiger counter. 2023 by Andrew Clayman. when did westclox stop using radiumcapricorn and virgo flirting. Radium dials usually lose their ability to glow in the dark in a period ranging anywhere from a few years to several decades, but all will cease to glow at some point. I hung it on my wall and we tried to get it fixed but the repairman couldnt fix it. Radium dials are watch, clock and other instrument dials painted with luminous paint containing radium-226 to produce radioluminescence. hi, I have a cocacola square clock. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. From 1917 to 1926, the United States Radium Corporation used radium to produce wristwatches and clocks. When Did Glow In The Dark Watches Stop Using Radium? WHAT IS A Moonbeam clock? - Thecrucibleonscreen.com when did westclox stop using radium old restaurants in lawrence, ma . Theres a seller on eBay now whos doing some really outstanding restorations of Big Bens. This 1964 Westclox Christmas ad describes their features. Above all else, though, the rise and fall of Westcloxand the deeper history of these Big Ben clocks, in particularis simply far too intriguing to dismiss just because of a long-distance commute. When I got out of college I started going to the watch and clock conventions and met a man who was giving a program about the history of Big Bens and Baby Bens. Ironically, the war that had cost them Gaston Le Roy had also stifled much of the companys European competition, opening up an even bigger share of the world marketplace in the 1920s. 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. While studying the types of Big Ben style 1 and 1A in WestcloxHistory.com, I noticed the reproduction style 1A, and have acquired about 5 of them. Stahlberg knows that no other noteworthy clock company has ever succeeded west of the Hudson, let alone smalltown Illinois, but he dives into the challenge, establishing his first factory. As stated it is working and keeps time. Sep 23, 2011 Not to mention theres the Big Bens so that doubles it right there. Thank you. The whole clock seems to be origional and was maintained by my grandfather who was a watch/clock repairman. You do not want to open them up, lest you breath radioactive dust from old paint or spread it around. I bought a 1970s Westclox pocket watch with a Hotwheels face that says authorized seller on it. can anybody tell me about this piece? Westclox Clock Construction and Quality. A 2015 article by Ben Hohenstatt in the Illinois Valleys News Tribune included interviews with a few former Westclox workers who returned to see the museum and remember old times. Buy Now. With alarm clocks, they were so common that when people repaired them they did whatever they could to get them going. Credit: pinimg. I was given an Elias Ingraham Clock many years ago and would like to know a bit more about it and its value. . Is Radium Lume Really That Dangerous? - WahaWatches 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. 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. The next month, Roth got a cablegram from London; his friend and valued co-worker Le Roy had died for his country. Those simple words, Roth later wrote in the November 1914 issue of the company newsletter, Tick Talk, unconsciously characterized the manunaffected, direct, devoted to his cause., [Images from a 1922 issue of the Westclox company newsletter, the very cleverly titled Tick Talk]. Phone: 717-684-8261. . When did Bulova stop using radium? Is radium still used on watches? I wonder if the younger generations are as interested in the older things as we are, although there are some younger collectors out there learning how to do clock repair. Stahlbergs company goes bankrupt not once, but twice, within its first several years. The factory contained a bowling alley, and Ristau said his father was an excellent bowler. Condition is important, but clocks can be restored. into groups of similar models. Stoddard: The National Association of Watch and Clock Collectors (NAWCC) is headquartered in Pennsylvania but has chapters throughout the country. They had one in Brazil for a while and I think also in Hong Kong. Stoddard: The main thing is the originality of the dial and if its a wooden shelf clock, having the original painting in the door would be really important. knowledge about vintage and antique Westclox clocks and watches. That way I got myself another Baby Ben, bringing my collection to three by age 12. Radium paint can be ingested by inhaling flaking paint particles. They can be identified by having the modern type of flat head screws Westclox - An Identification and Price Guide, The Westclox Big Ben and Baby Ben Identification Guide, Clock Repair and Hermle Chime, Mantel and Wall Clocks for Sale at Bill's Clockworks. When did Junghans stop manufacturing Westminster Chimes, and when did Keinzle stop manufacturing Westminster chimes. Im trying to determine if it is a legit or reproduction that someone made. By the 1970s, radium was no . Stoddard: The prices for larger wall clocks, three feet tall and up, have increased dramatically, while prices on some of the more common clocks have remained the same for the past 20 years. Early in the 20th century there was a medical practice that revolved around a new treatment involving the radioactive material called radium. In this interview Bill Stoddard talks about collecting antique Westclox Big Ben and Baby Ben alarm clocks, and discusses clock collecting in general. It would be greatly appreciated. Annie Moussin designer intrieur. Question: Are both 1) and 2) marriages of Style 2 mechanisms put in a Style 1A Big Ben and Style 1 Baby Ben. 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.

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