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20 September 2018, 01:49 PM | #1 |
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My Grail Clock
So...... As many of you know, I collect antique clocks, specifically from a company called Telechron and all pre-WW2. Why? I just think it’s cool... call me a Dorklehead. Anyway, a model that really got me in to it is a novelty, called the “Monitor Top”. In the mid 20s, General Electric purchased Telechron, and for many years the name GE-Telechron appeared on the dial. Finally, in the 50s, it was changed to just GE. To celebrate this union, a specialty clock was created in the form of the successful GE refrigerator, called the Monitor top. This clock was never sold in stores, instead it was given to customers that purchased a refrigerator, as a free add-on. This went on for four years, 1928, 29, 30 and 31.
The first model, I’ll just call the 28, is the first one pictured below. GE-Telechron made around 5,000 of these, and this model was given away in 28 and 29. On Ebay, and other sites, you can find these anywhere from $200 up to $600, depending on their condition. I fully restored this one. In 1930, a new model was introduced that had some obvious changes. A second hand was added, the dial was slightly different, and the number of rings on the top was reduced from 16 to 14. It also used a model J or C Rotor, where the earlier model used the now phased-out B Rotor. Telechron made 16,000 of these and being more common, you can find them for anywhere from $150 to $300. The second picture is my model 30. Well..... Ever since I started collecting these clocks, there was a RUMOR going around about a model that even pre-dated the 28. The STORY is, that a very limited number of this model were produced, I have heard anywhere from 40 to 100, and they were strictly given to the executives of GE from the executives of Telechron, as a gift celebrating the purchase. Again, the STORY (none of this has ever been proved to my knowledge) is that the GE execs liked them so much, they had more built and started the give-away program. The story was, this looked exactly like a standard 28 model, but was actually produced in 1927, and the only difference is the General Electric plaque on top was much larger, slightly over three inches long. I searched and spoke with my clock club members, looked, but I had never even seen a picture of one. Even the book that is considered the bible for Telechron collectors, written by Jim Linz, talks about the long emblem, but does not have a picture of it. Five years ago I started a quest to find and obtain one of these “Rumored” clocks. About a month ago... I visited a fellow collector, an elderly gentleman that had devoted an entire section of his house to a truly impressive display. I was in awe. Anyway, I brought up the 27, jokingly. He stared at me for a moment and said: “Follow me.” We went to a room with a walk in safe, and.... There it was. (Introduce Angel-heaven music here). I touched it, held it, I think I kissed it. Anyway, I (again jokingly) asked if he would sell it to me. To my incredible suprise, he said... sure. I have heard (again rumors) that IF you could find one they would sell for two to three thousand dollars. I was prepared to pay that much but he said: “No, that’s too much, I’m getting old, I want it to go to someone that will cherish it as much as I did, so you’ll give me. ... ...”. At first I argued with him, but he was adamant. Let’s just say I got it for the preverbal steal; (I never did believe that Porsche in the barn story until now). I don’t remember the rest of the day, except that I put it in the passager seat of my car with the seat belt strapped over and talked to it all the way home.... at 20 MPH. I immediately sent it off to an expert, to be serviced and authenticated; (again, there were more stories about collectors making up the longer emblem and putting them on a standard 28). I received it back a few days ago, it is running perfect, authentic, and in MY living room. So.... my five year quest has come to an end. I am sure I will find something else to lust after, but having this clock, something I have searched for and coveted for so long..... it’s ... just cool. If you ever see these clocks, look for the long emblem. Hope you enjoyed my story. |
20 September 2018, 02:25 PM | #2 |
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Very cool!! I read your whole post and then looked at the photos, for some reason I expected the clocks to be bigger.
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20 September 2018, 02:26 PM | #3 |
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20 September 2018, 02:50 PM | #4 |
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Fabulous story and HUGE CONGRATS Paul!!!!
Cool looking clock.
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20 September 2018, 03:42 PM | #5 |
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That is a fantastic story! I am very glad you found this one. So... not wear it in good health ... but look at it in good health
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20 September 2018, 04:57 PM | #6 |
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Interesting reading about how the pre quartz clocks worked and even in turn helped to regulate the grid system.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Telechron I look forward to getting the Electrifying Time book. One of my favourite clocks is an early quartz clock from 1944 made by the Post Office and on display the Greenwich museum. http://collections.rmg.co.uk/collect...cts/79394.html |
20 September 2018, 08:07 PM | #7 |
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Paul I love it!
I saved the pic just in case in our travels to different antique shops I ever come across one. Congratulations on attaining your grail, great story!
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20 September 2018, 08:16 PM | #8 |
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Congrats Paul, and great story to go with it
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20 September 2018, 08:16 PM | #9 |
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Congrats Paul
Good for you and good on the gentleman collector who passed it on into good hands. That '27 is quite impressive, in beautiful condition and very rare. Used to be my grail clock, too . . . . . . . . . until I came across the '26
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20 September 2018, 08:40 PM | #10 |
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Congratulations.
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20 September 2018, 09:06 PM | #11 |
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Great story Paul, thank you for sharing. I love the passion you have for all things (including Tumi).
Congratulations on your grail brother |
20 September 2018, 09:07 PM | #12 | |
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My Grail Clock
Quote:
Ha........ And then there is the ‘25 1/2. Paul, two questions. 1. Are these metal cabinets? 2. What is the circle in the dial below the 12 o’clock marker? Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro |
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20 September 2018, 10:42 PM | #13 |
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I think we all dream of finding the grail of our various hobbies. Congratulations on getting yours.
A good sanding and some spray paint will make that baby sparkle! |
20 September 2018, 10:48 PM | #14 |
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Congrats Paul...Enjoy! Kudos to the elderly gentleman who passed it on.
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21 September 2018, 01:02 AM | #15 |
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Congrats Paul! It looks great. You need Tumi to create a travel case for that clock so you can take it anywhere! Lol
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21 September 2018, 01:43 AM | #16 |
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I love this kind of stuff.
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21 September 2018, 02:01 AM | #17 |
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I'm into key wound clocks. They require some devotion to keep them working and to keep relatively good time but I like that about them. Even moving the clock from one spot on the wall to another required tinkering with the timing again to get it to be fairly accurate.
Plus, if the power goes out I can still tell time by them. ;) My grail clock is a grandfather clock of some sort. |
21 September 2018, 02:40 AM | #18 |
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That’s pretty cool Paul and a great story.
Congratulations!
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21 September 2018, 02:54 AM | #19 | ||
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Quote:
Quote:
And I love to talk about Telechron clocks, so thanks for the questions Brandon Yes, they are metal and quite heavy, each clock weighs about seven pounds. I assumed they were cast iron, but the expert explained they were an alloy of some other metals, zinc... and.. something or other. The circle in the middle is an interesting story and a signature feature of Telechron. In the early days of AC electric powered clocks, they would not run when you first plugged them in, you had to spin a knob on the back to actually start the clock. Telechron was one of the first to introduce the “self starter” I.e., plug in the power cord and the clock starts up. Ironically, this introduced an issue that customers complained about. Electricity in the early days was not as reliable as it is today, and from what I read, it was not uncommon to have frequent but short outages to homes. With the manual-start electric clock, you come home, see the clock stopped and know you would have to reset it to the correct time. With the self starter, the clock would start up again as soon as the power came back on and the owner would not even know the power had gone out, and the clock was showing incorrect time. So Telechron introduced the “Red Dot” you see on almost all models. If the power is interupted, the red dot shows up in that circle and you know it is not on the correct time. You actually have to manually reset the dot. I unplugged my 28 to demonstrate. All in all a cool product |
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21 September 2018, 03:01 AM | #20 |
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Congrats! Great story!
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21 September 2018, 03:08 AM | #21 | |
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Quote:
And while I am showing this, the 1933 Telechron clock that Trace (RolexKingofLV) was so gracious to gift me is on the wall above them. |
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21 September 2018, 03:43 AM | #22 | |
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Quote:
I should probably take it in and have it serviced just to keep it in tip top shape. It will go to my son at some point in his life. I also have a Howard Miller wall clock that is not old at all. That's the one I keep wound as I enjoy watching the pendulum swing and listening to the chimes. It has a much deeper tone than the mantle clock which I prefer. My sister has an old hand crank Edison phonograph that belonged to my dad. It is pretty cool and it still works. I think I posted this link before but this is the actual phonograph my sister has. This thing is probably from the 1920s or 30s. I don't think it is worth more than a few hundred dollars but it is definitely cool. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BHFzLkqbWQ0&t=1s |
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21 September 2018, 04:01 AM | #23 | |
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Quote:
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21 September 2018, 05:15 AM | #24 |
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I have a mantle clock that my ancestors bought in 1885 according to the note on the back. It still keeps great time. I wish every product lasted 133 years.
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21 September 2018, 05:21 AM | #25 |
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Very cool Paul, Congrats!
It is definitely one of the most interesting collections one can find on these forums, these clocks carry so much history. It makes me happy to see how passionate you are about collecting them |
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