when did westclox stop using radium when did westclox stop using radium

The use of radium was discontinued since the 1960s. 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. Westclox began as the United Clock Company in Peru, Illinois in 1885. At this moment I study horology at West Dean College in the UK. Stoddard: Ive been there several times. 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. A Big Ben typical of those made from late 1910 to mid-1915. Westclox Clock Construction and Quality. It was discovered by Marie and Pierre Curie in 1898. Theres a seller on eBay now whos doing some really outstanding restorations of Big Bens. Apr 14, 2011 501 1 18. 514 Poplar Street Behind the light, theyd been left in the dark. Were finally at a point, where were ready to do more than just sit here, said Ruth Spayer, curator for the museum. 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. All the aforementioned to ask you if you know how many of the 1970 style 1As were made. Theyll take an old Big Ben from 1930 and make a new dial that says Indian Motorcycle or Victola, and put it on eBay. A Westclox Museum has been opened within the original facility, showing off rare collections from the millions of timepieces once manufactured there. Accueil; Services; Ralisations; Annie Moussin; Mdias; 514-569-8476 Sometimes extensive casework can be more time consuming than getting the movement running. It has ingraved on it 2-20-31. I have a mantel clock,its floral in color,made by Ansonia Cock Co.USA.New York. 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. Site of the Old Westclox factory 211-201 Hunter Street, Peterborough Ontario. Any information would be very helpful. All I really want to know is about the raised horizontal single eye type decoration on this top removable piece. when did westclox stop using radium. Westclox Big Bens and Baby Bens are full of the stuff. It is something that we should know before everyone starts throwing away every luminous dial clock they own. 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. I have a small westclox alarm clock. When Westclox changed over to the style 8 Big Ben and Baby Ben in 1964, they used 4 divisions per 5 minutes, I believe to make the alarm easier to set. 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. 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. 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. Big Ben: butler nickel case, gold leaf numeral dial 1930 1932. I have been collecting, repairing, and restoring mostly Westclox Big Bens for several years. . 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. The NAWCC has an online forum with a lot of different categories. $38.00. 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. 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. I spent many an evening here, watching him bowl.. In a few short years, thanks to Dr. Douglas's efforts, the amount of radium available in the US more than quintupled. Here you can see production dates, original retail prices and other 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]. I would like to find the value of it. Stoddard: The National Association of Watch and Clock Collectors (NAWCC) is headquartered in Pennsylvania but has chapters throughout the country. The clock can still give considerable amounts of radiation about 2-3 inches from the Crystal measured with a Geiger counter. Omega stopped using radium around 1963. From that time on, Baby Bens first and then Big Bens were available with either the plain or luminous dial. As my first name is Ben, I started to collect these alarmclocks since about 1970. Theyre making some really nice reproductions of it in China and if you dont know what youre looking for you could be fooled easily. They were officially Americas preferred wake-up call provider. I know it was purchased in 1937 because it belonged to my elderly friends who were married in 1938. One employee, R.D. i use a 1980s I believe westclox pocket ben sweep 2nd hand, I actually had a westclox bullseye from the early 1990s when I was in elementary school. I was looking at it and said, aha! It is stamped on the back of the casing DRP&GM. It would be greatly appreciated. The incidents occurred at three different factories in United States: one in Orange, New Jersey, beginning around 1917; one in Ottawa, Illinois, beginning in the early 1920s; and a third facility in Waterbury, Connecticut, also in the 1920s. 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. Thanks for any info you may be able to supply Seeking the Big 3 goals of convenience, cleanliness, and cheap production, Dreyfuss rolled out his new-look Big Ben in 1931. 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. 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. When did they stop using radium for watches? 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. Theres a clock called a Crystal Regulator which is about a foot tall with a brass case and glass on all four sides. 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. Some people just want one or two that they remember from childhood in good condition, so thats just the thing for them. 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. Soon, he was running the Western Clock Co. advertising department, and proving his worth with some clever marketing strategies. Before OSHA was set up, 14,000 people died on the job every year; today, it is just over 4,500. Frank Baker. [left to right: F.W. My dad was one of the top bowlers here, Ristau said. Which is interesting because many of the electrics are scarcer but people just arent into collecting electric clocks. Quite a few who try to get every basic model, but fewer who get into the rarer models and do research. Hi I need the face plate for a black face big ben with the alarm dial on its face do you have any you could sell me alonf with the radio dials, it was probably outsourced meaning westclox sold some watches to hot wheels, I had a westclox electric dialite like that. I tend to be a nitty gritty detail kind of guy. At the top was a clock covered with a glass door. 0 Comments; Uncategorized newark advertiser obituaries 2021 . Radium paint itself was eventually phased out and has not been used in watches since 1968. There are also some other makers clocks Ive gotten into, like the Seth Thomas 30 hour ogee, which is a weight-driven shelf clock. Ref comment #10 from Frank Baker. In her 2017 book, The Radium Girls: The Dark Story of Americas Shining Women, author Kate Moore notes that many of the new girls at the Radium Dial factory started out painting the famous Westclox Big Ben clocks before moving on to the smaller and more challenging Baby Ben, and finally the Pocket Ben and Scotty pocket watches, all produced at the Westclox Works. Sometimes Ive seen them for 300 to 600 dollars. . If you want to identify an item, try posting it in our Show & Tell gallery. For a better experience, please enable JavaScript in your browser before proceeding. After several changes of ownership, it became . My clothes, hanging in a dark closet, gave off a phosphorescent glare. Origin of the eye, forklore or legends surrounding????? Would you please direct me to someone that can do this for me? Their factory in LaSalle, Illinois closed down in about 1980 when they moved all their production down south, but the building is still there. George Kern died on July 27, 1918 from a ruptured appendix, but his basic clock design lived on for years. The whole clock seems to be origional and was maintained by my grandfather who was a watch/clock repairman. 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.. It had beneath that four long tubes and they were the chimes for the door bell. I know Bill Stoddards name from other publications on Westclox. Well, the company certainly maintained some major salesrooms here, and many of their employees came from the city and its suburbs. That way I got myself another Baby Ben, bringing my collection to three by age 12. This practice resulted in the ingestion of radium, which caused serious jaw-bone degeneration and malignancy and other dental diseases. A radium dial clock from the 1930s. I have a Westclox Bachelor alarm clock from probably the 50s as it was always there when I was growing up. Even if the Western Clock Co. wasnt born in Chicago or headquartered here, the immediate aftershocks of the companys cultural and industrial impact certainly reached our shores in a hurry, no interstate required. I just had it repaired & it works & looks great. Is radium still used on watches? In 1898, the Curies discovered the existence of. [5] Indeed, the body treats radium as it does calcium, storing it in bone where it may cause bone degeneration and cancer.[5]. These paints were used on the dials of clocks and watches to make them glow-in-the-dark. Im trying to determine if it is a legit or reproduction that someone made. You do not want to open them up, lest you breath radioactive dust from old paint or spread it around. In this interview Bill Stoddard talks about collecting antique Westclox Big Ben and Baby Ben alarm clocks, and discusses clock collecting in general. As stated it is working and keeps time. [Workers assembling Big Ben alarm clocks at the Westclox plant, 1910s. 400-day clocks are also known as anniversary clocks, they would run 400 days on one winding. When did Bulova stop using radium? There are variations in the lettering on the dial and back. CAN SOMEONE TELL ME HOW TO RELEASE THE CLICK ON A WESTCLOX MANS WRISTWATCH MODEL A-201? In the United States there does not seem to have ever been prohibitory legislation passed banning the use of radium in clocks and watches. Its basically all forward momentum from here. Gary Biolchini added more style series in his book Westclox Wrought Iron Look Wall Clock 12" 32021A. I have a sessions mantle clock duet#1. I recently added the Big Ben Style 1 and Baby Ben Style 1 Dial and Back types. Clocks produced in the early 1900's are particularly concerning in this regard. 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. The story begins with a Connecticut clockmaker named Charles Stahlberg getting a patent for a new alarm clock design in 1885. Among the rarities on display is a Westclox-made National Emergency Alarm Repeater. Penetrating gamma radiation produced by some dials also represents a significant health risk. Leg model with ring on top, dustproof case. So yes. Question: Are both 1) and 2) marriages of Style 2 mechanisms put in a Style 1A Big Ben and Style 1 Baby Ben. Westclox Model 66 Movement Series Welcome to the Westclox Clock and Watch History Database. We have photos of all the employees between 1927-1945 at the Peterborough Ontario Location but not much else. I was told it was an antique at that time. I took it back and the repairman told me it was like a large Timex watch and just not worth being fixed. var today = new Date() I would like to find out about this clock. It can be found with some other clocks in a case in the second floor hallway. For example, Big Ben Style 1 and Style 1a are the leg model, and Style 2 is the first base model. A key point to bear in mind is this: the dial is still highly radioactive. 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 Radium Dial Clock. Based in Flora, Indiana, Bill can be reached via his website, clockhistory.com, which is a member of our Hall of Fame. 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. 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. Richard Tjarks introduced Big Ben style, and there are other styles with names instead of numbers. 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. For me its kind of an inexpensive hobby because as a boy I could find them for about a dollar a piece, sometimes in good condition. I am pleased that I came across your article. var year = today.getFullYear() 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. Sep 23, 2011 Without a crystal poses a serious Health risk because the Radium paint flakes off and can become airborne. The precise, delicate skill of painting clock dials with radium powder promised a much higher salary than most factory jobs available to women at the time (upwards of $18 a week), and the company soon employed as many as 200 female workers in its Ottawa plant. Big Ben style 1a continued in production until its discontinuation in 1935. The drinking fountain worked.. I'll start with a 19j Bunn, Looking for Somebody with Some Bandwidth to do a Repair. Thanks. This site uses cookies to help personalise content, tailor your experience and to keep you logged in if you register. Am I missing something here? Could you suggest how I could go about finding out this information. It emits alpha, beta, and gamma radiation. 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. I have been searching for one like as the clock went with the house after my Grandmother passed away. It was passed on to my sister and for years it was on their mantle along time until it stopped. 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. On April 20, 1902, Marie and Pierre Curie successfully isolate radioactive radium salts from the mineral pitchblende in their laboratory in Paris. The Radium Girls were female factory workers who contracted radiation poisoning from painting watch dials with self-luminous paint. Similarly, When did Junghans stop manufacturing Westminster Chimes, and when did Keinzle stop manufacturing Westminster chimes. 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? Westclox - An Identification and Price Guide, and I added even more in 2012. 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. 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. While the painting technique of the Ghost Girls was replaced with supposedly safer methods like silk screening, traces of radium were still used by many companies to get that desired glow effect throughout the 1940s and even as late as the 60s. Charles Stahlberg headed a group from Waterbury, Connecticut, who came to Peru in 1884 to build clocks based on a new idea by Stahlberg. 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? When many of these early Big Ben advertisements were still running, Gaston Le Roys life took a sudden and dramatic turn. the clock face is 16, ca 1900. the clock belonged to pheobe appersons family at their ranch in sunol california. knowledge about vintage and antique Westclox clocks and watches. On the Style 9, they went back to actual minute markings. . [3] The Radiolite series, made in various sizes and models, became a signature of the Connecticut-based company. When did they stop using radium on clocks? It is and Elias Ingraham Brass Clock with a patent stamp of September 30, 1862. When the Radium Dial Company moved to Ottawa in the 20s to better serve its number one client, Westclox, they were welcomed with enthusiasm, particularly by the young, working class women in the town. The first Big Bens and Baby Bens in 1910 were wind ups.. It might be the only one in the country, Spayer said. 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. There are some blemishes on the wood on the right side. Westclox closed its Peru factory 35 years ago. Westclox Big Ben Alarm Clock Vintage. The greater surprise, though, is that they didnt abandon the use of radium in the years that followed. The company made luminescent paint. 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. These clocks were produced in the thousands and many can be bought on eBay for under $10. [Former Westclox workers Art and Mary Ann Windy (standing), 2015], This is amazing, Art said. So I swapped them, and its worked perfectly ever since. Read more about "Radium Girls" here. . Radium dials held near the face have been shown to produce radiation doses in excess of 10Sv / hour. 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. it has a picture of a huck finn type boy,carying 2 bottles of coke& a fishing pole,with his dog. They were sold in a very attractive hexagonal box which has pictures of antique items on the sides (tricycle, telephone, carriage, etc.) AD x Stoddard: I was pretty much on my own until college. Your email address will not be published. Thank you. 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. My love is for the style 1 peg leg Big and Baby Bens; mostly Baby Bens. In the 1970s, radium was phased out of wristwatches and clockdials. Thanks so much It is a wind up. Thanks, I have come across a mantle clock that has been in my husbands family for as long as he can remember He estimates his bother purchased the clock around 1950. Also Telechron, which was a big maker of electric clocks. That summer at an antique store I came across one that wasnt even in the book, and I thought that was exciting. Just remember, old luminous clocks are full of radium! I tried selling some of my surplus electric Big Bens on eBay and they just didnt go, you could get only about $0.99 for them. Henry Warren invented a little synchronous motor that could go inside a clock. Beginning in the 1910s, the girls instructed to put radium in their mouths didn't bat an eyelash. Thanks, Paula. The thing I remember most is working with the people, Ristau said.