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. That was the first antique clock I owned myself. The NAWCC has an online forum with a lot of different categories. Was just trying to find out any information on this clock or if you may have ever come across one like it Has the mechanics of the clock been changed/upgraded or could there be another issue at play? 7&a half X 6..desk clock. In-Depth Luminous Dials, What Makes Them Glow, And How To - HODINKEE In 1914, Dr. Sabin Arnold von Sochocky and Dr. George S. Willis founded the Radium Luminous Material Corporation. . I have been searching for one like as the clock went with the house after my Grandmother passed away. Most are in nickel finish cases, but some were made in gold plated cases. Baby Ben and other Westclox clocks and watches have been assigned styles. The movement was mounted to the inner case back. My love is for the style 1 peg leg Big and Baby Bens; mostly Baby Bens. Henry Warren invented a little synchronous motor that could go inside a clock. Radium dials are watch, clock and other instrument dials painted with luminous paint containing radium-226 to produce radioluminescence. By 1930, all dial painters stopped pointing their brushes by mouth. On this Wikipedia the language links are at the top of the page across from the article title. See the top of this page for a current list of 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 clock can still give considerable amounts of radiation about 2-3 inches from the Crystal measured with a Geiger counter. . It is something that we should know before everyone starts throwing away every luminous dial clock they own. Was this done so the alarm could be more easily set on the quarter or half hour? Not to mention theres the Big Bens so that doubles it right there. 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. 1970s Many of these workers developed bone cancer . They were, incredibly enough, instructed to ingest a radioactive poison all day, every day, and never properly warned of any potential hazards. When did Westclox close? 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. Radioactivity in Antiques | US EPA Westclox made an excellent, almost exact, reproduction of the style 1a Big Ben in 1970. There are many Westclox alarm clock models named Big Ben. UHR (CW arrow) knob sets clock time. when did westclox stop using radium; when did westclox stop using radium. 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. I have an antique mantle clock given to my Aunt & Uncle for a wedding gift (approximately 1949) FROM my great grandparents. It started early in the 20th century, around 1910, when some companies began to use radium on watch dials and hands to create a "glow in the dark" effect. Your email address will not be published. The Timeless Appeal of the Westclock Big and Baby Bens My father (Richard Ristau Sr.) worked here for 48.. Omega stopped using radium around 1963. 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 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. 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? 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. 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. Theyre just scattered in different places all over the country, little collections of hands, springs, screws, and things like that. All Rights Reserved. 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. Radium Baby Ben by Westclox ( Still Glows) : r/clocks - reddit This was a wonderful article to read. They had one in Brazil for a while and I think also in Hong Kong. any info would be appreciated. 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. Fortunately, in the years since, theres been a noble effort to retain surviving parts of the building and some of the important local history that the empty factory once represented. Thanks so much Radium was discovered in 1898 by Marie Curie and Pierre Curie. Could you suggest how I could go about finding out this information. 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. Condition is important, but clocks can be restored. How can people be exposed to Radium? 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. Something about them has always been ingrained in me. Matthiessen [pictured below], who owns the powerful Illinois Zinc Company and most other things in Peru / LaSalle, decides to swoop in and save Stahlbergs little clock business, incorporating it as the Western Clock Mfg. I also like some of the older American weight-driven clocks. 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. Copyright Radium Girls - Wikipedia Entertainment & Pop Culture; Geography & Travel; Health & Medicine; Lifestyles & Social Issues; Literature; Philosophy & Religion; Politics, Law & Government Radium was even used in medical applications during the 20th century. It might be the only one in the country, Spayer said. The sound is very good when I compare it with the Howard Miller and the Jauke I just purchases, its loud and resonates very well. Seeking the Big 3 goals of convenience, cleanliness, and cheap production, Dreyfuss rolled out his new-look Big Ben in 1931. It is and Elias Ingraham Brass Clock with a patent stamp of September 30, 1862. Before OSHA was set up, 14,000 people died on the job every year; today, it is just over 4,500. I will be watching for more articles from Bill Stoddard Westcloxs Manual for Employees read, We expect you to work hard, and the pay is accordingly large . According to Chemistry Explained, radium is extracted today from uranium ores in much the same way that Marie and Pierre Curie did in the late 1890s and early 1900s. I took it all apart and asked my dad to help me put it back together, but he cut his finger on the spring. It has a cracked front lens that I would like to replace. 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. Westclox Clock Construction and Quality. Any information would be very helpful. It emits alpha, beta, and gamma radiation. A Big Ben typical of those made from late 1910 to mid-1915. The Canadian Clock Museum (http://www.canclockmuseum.ca/) may have some information. 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. Just remember, old luminous clocks are full of radium! 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. Quite a few who try to get every basic model, but fewer who get into the rarer models and do research. I was about 3ft high and recessed into the wall. I would like to find out about this clock. Nowadays, Super-LumiNova, which is entirely non-radioactive and non-toxic, is the most used lume in watchmaking. I would like to know the value of a #4 black, #321(in original cardboard Christmas box), mint condition, Baby Ben alarm clock is. Credit: pinimg. I recently added the Big Ben Style 1 and Baby Ben Style 1 Dial and Back types. It sits on a small brass stand with Westclox on it. 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. 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. When did the use of radium stop? It is a Medbury-4W #4910. Westclox set up a factory in England in the 1940s and also in Scotland. 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 did clocks stop using radium? 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. Stoddard: Its really hard to say. 1888. This will broaden my view in the clock. Question: Are both 1) and 2) marriages of Style 2 mechanisms put in a Style 1A Big Ben and Style 1 Baby Ben. 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. That batch was in production non-continuously from 1939 to 1946, housed in gunmetal cases with nickel trim. There is a small dial inside of the clock face that has roman numerals like another clock face. When did westclox start making clocks? hi, I have a cocacola square clock. 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 have been purchasing these clocks as and when I got an opportunity. Did westclox stop using radioactive paint by the 1960s? 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. 1968 Who made westclox? The women also left a legacy to science that has been termed invaluable.. 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. Westclox also made about 5000 gold-plated reproductions. His bigger job was to design a system so the power companies could regulate their generator so the clock could keep time. [Left: The first national Big Ben advertisement appears in the. The only problem is a standard size D battery does not fit. Medical researchers extended the use of radium to cure impotence in men and women by creating fertility drugs with the element to "stimulate" reproduction. But the chances that you have a radium clock are slim, unless it is very old. Clocks produced in the early 1900's are particularly concerning in this regard. The story begins with a Connecticut clockmaker named Charles Stahlberg getting a patent for a new alarm clock design in 1885. I would also like photo and more details of his clock, since I intend to write a follow-up article. WECKER (CCW arrow) knob sets alarm time. When did Westclox go out of business? - Ufoscience.org In 1898, the Curies discovered the existence of. The clock is several houndred pounds, and keeps great time. The other thing is reproductions. Before we get to that, though, we have to start with the issue of geography as it concerns the business in question. In 1931 it merged with Seth Thomas Clock Co. and both became divisions of General Time Corp. Similarly, 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. 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. Radium dial - Wikipedia Thank you for your input. Marie and Pierre Curie isolate radium - HISTORY when did westclox stop using radium. Then, on New Years Eve, as 2011 became 2012, the unthinkable happened. According to Periodic. 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. I am reading, studying, and learning more about the Westclox. 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. 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. 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. [5] Indeed, the body treats radium as it does calcium, storing it in bone where it may cause bone degeneration and cancer.[5]. Dave, Your question about a Big Ben containing radium, and in fact about which clocks actually do contain radium, is a good one. These paints were used on the dials of clocks and watches to make them glow-in-the-dark. Geiger counters could pick up readings from pants returned from a dry cleaner and from clothes stored away in a cedar chest. The Radium Girls were female factory workers who contracted radiation poisoning from painting watch dials with self-luminous paint. 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. Frank Baker. Radium paint itself was eventually phased out and has not been used in watches since 1968. 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. 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. Chronic exposure to high levels of radium can result in an increased incidence of bone, liver, or breast cancer. dated:1990 ,decorated :hong cong.made in japan.cocacola tradmark. I'll start with a 19j Bunn, Looking for Somebody with Some Bandwidth to do a Repair. 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. Store - The WestClox Source The massive success of the Big Ben design wasnt just about function and style. Art and Mary Ann Windy [pictured] have been married for 49 years, met as Westclox employees and were present for the open house. Never underestimate the value of an alarm clock when yours broke two years ago and nobody has manufactured a new one since. The Evolution Behind Rolex Luminous Material | Bob's Watches The Westclox Big Ben Alarm Clock Vintage is an iconic timepiece that has been around since the early 1900s. She was 18. From that point on I really liked those. [citation needed] After about 20minutes this delivers the equivalent of one whole day's worth of normal background radiation. 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.. How did I get interested in clocks? 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. Despite Westcloxs deep German roots, the Illinois factory was a huge contributor to the U.S. military again during World War II, supplying upwards of a billion small parts for use in various defense products. The work involved using luminous radium paint to make the numbers on clocks, watches and aeronautic dials glow in the dark. Many thanks. I think it is a clock made by Sessions. I love the Hamiltons in particular, probably some of the best watches made in America. Westclox 0.9" LED Plasma Screen Alarm Clock with USB Charging Port 71014X. The movement is a windup almost identical to the original. Company in 1888 and installing another talented German, Ernst Roth, as the general manager. 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. Eventually we became best friends and started researching together. We are very proud to be living in this building and would love to know more about this specific site. When I went home and washed my hands in a dark bathroom, they would appear luminous and ghostly, an original Ghost Girl named Catherine Donohue (nee Wolfe) later testified. "[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 am sure I can give Mr. Shields further information about his clock. When Did They Stop Using Radium On Clock Hands?