It would be very interesting if you could provide me with some pictures of the clock. My dad was one of the top bowlers here, Ristau said. This particular clock is made in China while other similar Westclox alarm clocks at the time were made in Taiwan. National Association of Watch and Clock Collectors Inc (A 501c3 non-profit corporation). Without a crystal poses a serious Health risk because the Radium paint flakes off and can become airborne. Radium paint itself was eventually phased out and has not been used in watches since 1968. Lynda Hinshaw, At this moment I am research a clock by Falconer& co HongKong. German: WECKER (alarm); UHR (clock). So I swapped them, and its worked perfectly ever since. its a Gold coloring and the bottom is well worn like it was slid into something regularily. You do not want to open them up, lest you breath radioactive dust from old paint or spread it around. Sep 23, 2011 T. tkarter Registered User. 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. 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. When I was 11 or 12, I started mowing lawns for money and paid another man to repair it for me, but when it came back it would run for a while and then stop, pretty erratic. I know that it is electric and it requires a dime deposit to set the alarm on it. Omega stopped using radium around 1963. Thanks. I bought a 1970s Westclox pocket watch with a Hotwheels face that says authorized seller on it. I hope to document Style 5 Baby Bens this winter. This site uses cookies to help personalise content, tailor your experience and to keep you logged in if you register. Leg model with ring on top, dustproof case. In this interview Bill Stoddard talks about collecting antique Westclox Big Ben and Baby Ben alarm clocks, and discusses clock collecting in general. when did westclox stop using radium. If you do not expect to work hard and carefully, you are in the wrong place. credit: Northern Illinois University]. Not everyone involved with the manufacturing of Westclox products was employed directly by Westclox, however. Chronic exposure to high levels of radium can result in an increased incidence of bone, liver, or breast cancer. I have a Seth Thomas Mantle clock that my older sisters husbands Aunt had on her mantle for years. Some people just want one or two that they remember from childhood in good condition, so thats just the thing for them. Is this a product that the company would have made or something someone created? Stoddard: Its really hard to say. It is a Medbury-4W #4910. In all my research I can not confirm that The Style 1 models every had 1) and 2) above. . $25.99. I have a small westclox alarm clock. 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. The first Big Bens and Baby Bens in 1910 were wind ups.. Thank to several professionals who Ive met on Ebay, I have become quite skilled with my restorations plus making dials and alarm function indicators. It was only with the passage of the Energy Policy Act of 2005 that the United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) was given oversight of the use of radium. 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. Read more about "Radium Girls" here. Within two decades she had lost all her teeth. Because it was one degree removed from the radium business itself, Westclox seems to have largely dodged the controversy and lawsuits altogether. Technically speaking, though, Westclox did still produce clocks during the gap years that followed. 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. 1980 By the early 1950s, Westclox employed thousands of LaSalle-Peru residents. These styles constitute the They are just gorgeous watches and very well made. 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. But for years the majority were wind ups, they were so popular. It is 3 diameter with Westclox on the back and PAT.APLOFOR. Has the mechanics of the clock been changed/upgraded or could there be another issue at play? Safety Matthiessen, 1904 Western Clock MFG Co. catalog cover, and the original Peru factory in 1905]. [citation needed] The use of radium to provide luminescence for hands and indices on watches soon followed. Would you please direct me to someone that can do this for me? 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? Westclox began as the United Clock Company of Peru, Illinois in 1885. 2023 by Andrew Clayman. That was the first antique clock I owned myself. With a half-life of only 3.8 days, radon "seeds" (Rn gas contained in thin walled gold tubing, crimped and cut into units up to 1cm in length) could be left permanently implanted in the body. 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. Was this done so the alarm could be more easily set on the quarter or half hour? As stated it is working and keeps time. It sits on a small brass stand with Westclox on it. At the top was a clock covered with a glass door. I cant find out anything about him or any other clocks by him. I also need it repaired so that it will be functional and need to find someone that will do that for me. 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. I have an Pine State Ice Cream Milk clock that I would like to find out how much it may be worth. [6] Decaying radium also produces the gas radon, recognized as the second leading cause of lung cancer in the United States[6] and the United Kingdom. The clock is several houndred pounds, and keeps great time. In 2006 I started collecting vintage advertisements. On March 31, 1980, the Peru-LaSalle plant was officially closed, narrowly missing its 100-year anniversary. The clock is shielded From the glass crystal. You just cant imagine the size of this factory its just gigantic. Richard Tjarks introduced It is too large (wide). Thats another story. 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 Girls were female factory workers who contracted radiation poisoning from painting watch dials with self-luminous paint. Thanks, Teri. 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. . My father (Richard Ristau Sr.) worked here for 48.. Patton, had joined Charles Stahlbergs original start-up back in 1886 at the age of just 13, and he was still on board in 1936, 50 years later. Ristau said he remembered when the Westclox factory was the heart of the city, and recalled enjoying his time with Westclox. Gordon Goodrum Here you can see production dates, original retail prices and other knowledge about vintage and antique Westclox clocks and watches. The company later changed its name to the United States Radium Corporation. WECKER (CCW arrow) knob sets alarm time. 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?? 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. This fall, the museum will be open more frequently and for more events. Were finally at a point, where were ready to do more than just sit here, said Ruth Spayer, curator for the museum. Your email address will not be published. This classic clock is known for its loud and distinct bell-like . My Grandmother had a Westclox in her house. Thanks, Paula. 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. I was looking at it and said, aha! This will broaden my view in the clock. 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. In some respects, the early rise of the Western Clock MFG Co. is even more impressive considering the company didnt have all the resources of an established, major metropolis to draw from. The movement is a windup almost identical to the original. Radium paint can be ingested by inhaling flaking paint particles. The aim of the Western Clock MFG Co. in entering the manufacture of alarms was to apply to nickel clocks, features which were previously found only in high-priced timepieces, and prohibited in low-priced lever clocks by the high cost of production involved. Henry Warren invented a little synchronous motor that could go inside a clock. into groups of similar models. [Left: The first national Big Ben advertisement appears in the. Similarly, The phosphor deterioration means you can't see a glow anymore, but . We pay his railroad fare on all orders for a dozen or more, we brand him with your name in lots of 24.. Luckily for Charles, however, he is living in the same small town as Frederick William Matthiessena fellow German, but one with a hell of a lot more money and business experience. 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. I tend to be a nitty gritty detail kind of guy. . Created with WordPress. The Canadian Clock Museum (http://www.canclockmuseum.ca/) may have some information. People will still look for a good wind up but the quality declined in the later years just because the companies tried so hard to keep the prices low. 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. In 1919 the company was incorporated as Western Clock Company, Ltd. Stoddard: I was pretty much on my own until college. 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.