The Evolution Behind Rolex Luminous Material | Bob's Watches The policy of the company is one of highly specialized production. Debbie Blake, I have a small Westclox wind up clock dating around 1937. Is this a product that the company would have made or something someone created? At this moment I study horology at West Dean College in the UK. This was a wonderful article to read. But for years the majority were wind ups, they were so popular. styles to organize them Selling for $2.50 in the years before World War I (or about $60 in modern money), the 5-inch diameter Big Ben and its half-pint cousin the Baby Ben combined to move over 900,000 units in just 1913 alone, and the Western Clock MFG Companynot yet officially known as Westcloxwas producing more than twice that many clocks annually in total. This fall, the museum will be open more frequently and for more events. 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., When I went home and washed my hands in a dark bathroom, they would appear luminous and ghostly,, My clothes, hanging in a dark closet, gave off a phosphorescent glare. I am reading, studying, and learning more about the Westclox. I am pleased that I came across your article. The new features, according to a synopsis from the Cooper Hewitt Design Museum, included: 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.. I am looking to get an approxmiate value of this clock. 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]. We pay his railroad fare on all orders for a dozen or more, we brand him with your name in lots of 24.. The story begins with a Connecticut clockmaker named Charles Stahlberg getting a patent for a new alarm clock design in 1885.
Radium Baby Ben by Westclox ( Still Glows) : r/clocks - reddit 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. 1968 Who made westclox? . I never realized, even working here, they made so many different models.. This particular clock is made in China while other similar Westclox alarm clocks at the time were made in Taiwan. Don Spayer, volunteer and former Westclox employee, said the bulk of the museums collection was built through donations. I cant find out anything about him or any other clocks by him. Inhaled or ingested particles may deposit a high local dose with a risk of radiation-caused lung or gastrointestinal cancer. "[4], According to the United States Environmental Protection Agency, "radioactive antiques [including watches] are usually not a health risk as long as they are intact and in good condition. The movement was then used with minor changes in Loud Alarm models until 1956. 0 Comments; Uncategorized newark advertiser obituaries 2021 . any info would be appreciated. When did they stop using radium for watches? 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. It has a removable bottom decorative piece as well as a top rounded top flat piece of wood with a verticle wooden slat on the back extending to become a peg-like extension to fit and secure the decorative piece into the top of the clock. A pair of teenage boys broke into the abandoned factory and set a fire that quickly spread and enveloped much of the central complex. The lume used on vintage Rolex watches was radium-based, and radium remained the standard for nearly all Rolex lume until 1963, when growing health concerns forced a shift away from it. The company later changed its name to the United States Radium Corporation. Thats another story. In a few short years, thanks to Dr. Douglas's efforts, the amount of radium available in the US more than quintupled. They worked in unvented rooms, they wore smocks that they laundered at home. My love is for the style 1 peg leg Big and Baby Bens; mostly Baby Bens. As the 1960s began, over 50 million Big Ben clocks had been produced in total, and additional Westclox plants were now in operation everywhere from Athens, Georgia, and Ontario, Canada, to Scotland and Australia. Westclox did make a couple of documented advertising clocks, but very few. The movement was mounted to the inner case back. My clothes, hanging in a dark closet, gave off a phosphorescent glare. lds missionary clothing stores; June 24, 2022 . I have been purchasing these clocks as and when I got an opportunity. 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. I would like to find out about this clock. The phosphor deterioration means you can't see a glow anymore, but . It also says that the patent was re-issued March 31, 1868. About 1920 the luminous dial using radium paint was introduced. then 4 symbols a crown an 18 and to unkown symbols in a square patern but on its side square pattern. As Kate Moore explains it, The radium girls case was one of the first in which an employer was made responsible for the health of the companys employees. First, if your clock is for display only, I think it is harmless if the paint on the hands is not disturbed. CAN SOMEONE TELL ME HOW TO RELEASE THE CLICK ON A WESTCLOX MANS WRISTWATCH MODEL A-201? Your email address will not be published. I tend to be a nitty gritty detail kind of guy. Radium dials held near the face have been shown to produce radiation doses in excess of 10Sv / hour. Radium paint can be ingested by inhaling flaking paint particles. I thought, oh boy, I just need four more and Ill have them all!
What is Radium Used For? - WorldAtlas 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. How can people be exposed to Radium? Eventually, safer options were discovered, and the use of radium was discontinued in the 1960s. I will be watching for more articles from Bill Stoddard 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? On 3rd January 2099, Terry Shields asked if anyone had information regarding his clock signed G .Falconer, Hong Kong. Westclox closed its Peru factory 35 years ago. I have an Pine State Ice Cream Milk clock that I would like to find out how much it may be worth. After several changes of ownership, it became . I live in Scotland but my clock was made in USA.
when did westclox stop using radium - Fashionexclusiveuae.com 1888. It is in good condition and has the original pendulum and key. . It is 3 diameter with Westclox on the back and PAT.APLOFOR. He corresponded with Westclox General Manager Ernst Roth over the weeks that followed, but after a final letter that September, he went silent. I recently wrote an article on Hong Kong Watch and Clockmakers for the Antiquarian Horology Society Journal. AD x Stoddard: I was pretty much on my own until college. The use of radium was discontinued since the 1960s. I know it was purchased in 1937 because it belonged to my elderly friends who were married in 1938. Sometimes extensive casework can be more time consuming than getting the movement running. Handle on top: down alarm off; up alarm on. 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. They have meetings every two months, and educational programs, so thats a really great way to meet collectors and get all kinds of advice. Thanks for any info you may be able to supply
Marie and Pierre Curie isolate radium - HISTORY I have a collection of alarm clocks, but slowly selling many. Can you confirm? Thank to several professionals who Ive met on Ebay, I have become quite skilled with my restorations plus making dials and alarm function indicators. Has the mechanics of the clock been changed/upgraded or could there be another issue at play? A Big Ben typical of those made from late 1910 to mid-1915. [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. Was just trying to find out any information on this clock or if you may have ever come across one like it Thanks very mutch, I just acquired a sir w.h.
Store - The WestClox Source 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.
Is Radium Lume Really That Dangerous? - WahaWatches 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. WECKER (CCW arrow) knob sets alarm time. [Left: The first national Big Ben advertisement appears in the Saturday Evening Post in 1910: Big Ben is a thin, beautiful and punctual sleepmeter with a silent motor that will not annoy you on your lie-awake nights and a deep musical voice that will call you on your sleepiest mornings. Right and Below: A style 1A Big Ben from our museum collection, circa 1920s.]. His bigger job was to design a system so the power companies could regulate their generator so the clock could keep time. I hope to document Style 5 Baby Bens this winter. When Did They Stop Using Radium On Clock Hands? Theyre making some really nice reproductions of it in China and if you dont know what youre looking for you could be fooled easily. 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. 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. Origin of the eye, forklore or legends surrounding????? Based in Flora, Indiana, Bill can be reached via his website, clockhistory.com, which is a member of our Hall of Fame. It had beneath that four long tubes and they were the chimes for the door bell. I Have a small brass alarm clock,which is 1-3/4 Hieght Length & Width.
Is Westclox still in business? - Quick-Advice.com [Westclox advertisements from WWII period, ft. Theyll take an old Big Ben from 1930 and make a new dial that says Indian Motorcycle or Victola, and put it on eBay. Even so, our case-less dials are certainly best left behind glass and out of reach, a sad reminder of a terrible and preventable episode in industrial history, the effects of which continued to plague the town of Ottawa for many years afterward. Ive been trying to compare lots of different clocks to find out what original parts go together.
How We Realized Putting Radium in Everything Was Not the Answer Stoddard: My grandma gave me an old Baby Ben alarm clock that didnt work when I was seven. The first style 1a cases had double-hexagon legs, but after about a year they were changed to standard single hex form. She was 107 when she died on March 1 in Middlebury, Conn . It is something that we should know before everyone starts throwing away every luminous dial clock they own. In 1919 the company was incorporated as Western Clock Company, Ltd. 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. In the comprehensive Big Ben & Baby Ben Identification Guide, organized by researchers Richard Tjarks and Bill Stoddard, they credit the original brilliant marketing of these little wonders almost entirely to one mana 28 year-old French immigrant named Gaston Le Roy. They were sold in a very attractive hexagonal box which has pictures of antique items on the sides (tricycle, telephone, carriage, etc.) For a better experience, please enable JavaScript in your browser before proceeding. I know the site informs readers the amount of Big Bens produced in any one year, but does NOT for the reproduction model produced in 1970. Westclox began as the United Clock Company in Peru, Illinois in 1885. 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. 514 Poplar Street 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. [3] The Radiolite series, made in various sizes and models, became a signature of the Connecticut-based company. These clocks were produced in the thousands and many can be bought on eBay for under $10. One employee, R.D. Only reason I can think of and it looks pretty odd not to have minutes on a clock face. The women also left a legacy to science that has been termed invaluable.. This has probably been discussed before but my search turned up nothingdo the luminous hands on a Big Ben alarm clock contain painted radium? Stoddard: The first Big Bens and Baby Bens went on the market in 1910 and they were wind ups. 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. I have been searching for one like as the clock went with the house after my Grandmother passed away. When did Bulova stop using radium? We are very proud to be living in this building and would love to know more about this specific site. I met somebody then who told me about the National Association of Watch and Clock Collectors and then I joined that and in their bi-monthly magazine I found a man looking for early Westclox information, he is now one of the foremost Westclox researchers. The new company tripled in size by the turn of the century, employing 232 people at its growing Peru plant (145 men, 73 women, 14 children) and producing 500,000 clocks annually. Entertainment & Pop Culture; Geography & Travel; Health & Medicine; Lifestyles & Social Issues; Literature; Philosophy & Religion; Politics, Law & Government 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. For my 14th birthday I got a book called The Treasury of American Clocks and there was a picture showing the seven types of Baby Bens. Frank Baker. document.write(year) Another thing people do is make fake advertising clocks. He invited us in to look around, so we got to go up and down the big freight elevator and he found some old music boxes that were never used that he gave to us (Westclox made one or two little clocks with a music box in them).
Westclox Big Ben Luminous Hands | NAWCC Forums 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. In 1931 it merged with Seth Thomas Clock Co. and both became divisions of General Time Corp. When I was eight we moved to a new house and my mom and I were looking in the attic and found an old octagon wall clock made by Waterbury, probably dated about 1880. [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. They made them with wooden works until about 1840, then with brass gears and I like some of the early brass-geared American clocks. Westclox Model 66 Movement Series Welcome to the Westclox Clock and Watch History Database. its a Gold coloring and the bottom is well worn like it was slid into something regularily. I worked here for 28 years. I would like to know the value of a #4 black, #321(in original cardboard Christmas box), mint condition, Baby Ben alarm clock is. 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. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. Safety Can someone get back to me as to what it is and possibe age of it. I was looking at it and said, aha! About the only. 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. $25.99. It would be greatly appreciated. In 1918 the Big Ben case was improved to make it dustproof, as described in patent #1,300,278 issued to Kern on April 15, 1919. 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. into groups of similar models. Donohue, like many of her young peers in the radium industry, eventually realized that her amusing glow had been a warning of severe exposure to a radioactive substance. Importantly, the health risks tied to these old clocks is generally believed to be quite minimal, so long as one avoids long-term exposure or directly ingesting the paint as the Ghost Girls had. They were told that eliminating lip-pointing had ended earlier problems. Read more about "Radium Girls" here. 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. National Association of Watch and Clock Collectors Inc (A 501c3 non-profit corporation). Sometimes Ive seen them for 300 to 600 dollars. July 17th, 2008. In 1898, the Curies discovered the existence of. Because it was one degree removed from the radium business itself, Westclox seems to have largely dodged the controversy and lawsuits altogether. Would you please direct me to someone that can do this for me? They arent hurting it permanently, its just kind of weird. they played a deep rich tone. Was this done so the alarm could be more easily set on the quarter or half hour? 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. 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. By Dave Margulius It still works. Welcome to the Westclox Clock and Watch History Database. 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. Helen.
hamilton radiation | NAWCC Forums It is a wind up. Required fields are marked *. I just had it repaired & it works & looks great. All Rights Reserved. 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]. The drinking fountain worked.. 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??
Radioactivity in Antiques | US EPA That summer at an antique store I came across one that wasnt even in the book, and I thought that was exciting. These efforts, combined with an ahead-of-its-time factory welfare department and employee benefits packages, led to a lot of workers spending their whole lives with Westclox. So I swapped them, and its worked perfectly ever since. You must log in or register to reply here. From 1917 to 1926, the United States Radium Corporation used radium to produce wristwatches and clocks. "[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. I have a sessions mantle clock duet#1. The style 7 Big Ben and Baby Ben (1956 to 1964, the first Bens with concentric alarm hand) has minute markings. 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. 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. On this Wikipedia the language links are at the top of the page across from the article title.
How old is my Westclox? - Rampfesthudson.com 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, read another. 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. Any help would be appreciated.
The other thing is reproductions. Big Ben: butler nickel case, gold leaf numeral dial 1930 1932. Former employees showed up to view a collection of watches, clocks, tools, photographs of the old factory, a short black and white film of the factory in action and remember working for Westclox. It is stamped on the back of the casing DRP&GM. Radium is highly radioactive. Could you suggest how I could go about finding out this information. I have looked high and low in my attempts to find out how any of these resproduction style 1A were produced. These folks here that are responsible for this are doing a marvelous job, Ristau said. Do you have an archival dept who could give us an idea of our Western Clock which we recently acquired? Ruth Spayer at the Westclox Museum tracked down a newspaper story from the Daily Post-Tribune on March 21, 1944, describing a scene in which 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.. Accueil; Services; Ralisations; Annie Moussin; Mdias; 514-569-8476 You do not want to open them up, lest you breath radioactive dust from old paint or spread it around. I have an antique mantle clock given to my Aunt & Uncle for a wedding gift (approximately 1949) FROM my great grandparents. The thing I remember most is working with the people, Ristau said. I have a collection of clocks, and amongst my collection are Westminster chime wall clocks, I have two Keinzle and two Junghans. I know that it is electric and it requires a dime deposit to set the alarm on it. It is battery operated and takes a D battery. Any suggestions of where to get a replacement preferably in Canada? Dave, Your question about a Big Ben containing radium, and in fact about which clocks actually do contain radium, is a good one. I first saw the clock in 1957. 1980 By the early 1950s, Westclox employed thousands of LaSalle-Peru residents. A Westclox Museum has been opened within the original facility, showing off rare collections from the millions of timepieces once manufactured there.
Western Clock MFG Co. (Westclox), est. 1888 - Made-in-Chicago Museum Radiums luminosity was part of its allure, Moore writes. Junghans, Kienzle,Mauthe,Kaiser, Peter, (all from Germany) Veglia (Italy), CNIS ( France), Ingersoll (UK) as well as some Hong Kong made items. 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. Sometimes getting parts is tough, too, although it turns out Westclox made lots and lots of spare parts. [citation needed] The use of radium to provide luminescence for hands and indices on watches soon followed. Well, the company certainly maintained some major salesrooms here, and many of their employees came from the city and its suburbs. [9] The element was phased out of use by industry acting under its own volition as superior and safer luminous materials entered the marketplace. We have photos of all the employees between 1927-1945 at the Peterborough Ontario Location but not much else.