Chelsea Clock Patriot Deck Tide Clock 85 Dial Review

Chelsea "Message Centre" Clock

Boston, Mass

The earliest clockmaker in Massachusetts was Simon Willard who, in 1802, invented his famous Willard Banjo Clock with which nigh collectors are familiar. Willard's clocks were pendulum clocks and were splendid timekeepers. He made his movements out of cast contumely and the dazzler of his cases was known and admired. His techniques in clock making are still used today. It still remains a mystery every bit to where Willard learned his unique skills.

Edward Howard was an apprentice of Aaron Willard Jr., nephew of Simon Willard. Howard started in business for himself in 1840. Ten years later on he and a newly acquired partner started making watches and at that time moved to Waltham. In 1857 Edward Howard returned to Roxbury and started another manufacturing plant known as the Due east. Howard Clock Visitor, which is still in operation but is not located in Waltham. One of Howard'south apprentices was a Joseph Eastman. Eastman started the business that is now the Chelsea Clock Company in 1886.

During this time watchmaking avant-garde to its present excellence. While the lookout man escapement blazon of clock had been fabricated in a express way for utilize aboard ships, it was Eastman's idea to put the watch escapement in a high quality hit clock for home use. He argued that information technology could make an splendid timekeeper, that it would run in any position, and that it would not accept to be set plum on the mantle every bit pendulum clocks did. Information technology would exist small and compact and lend itself to small cases. In 1886 Eastman congenital a factory on Everett Avenue in Chelsea MA, and called it the Eastman Clock Company. Later experiencing operating difficulties, the name of the visitor became the Boston Clock Company and the business was bought past Charles H. Pearson of Brookline in 1897. At this time he changed the proper noun however again to the Chelsea Clock Company.

While the early on days of the company were somewhat stormy, the same devotion to the idea of making the finest quality clock has always been maintained. There is not a clock company in the world whose product even approaches the quality of the clocks produced by Chelsea today.

Early on developments...
One of the early developments of the Chelsea Clock Company was the the Send'southward Bell clock. This particular item proved to be a very popular one, not only for use at body of water, but also for dwelling apply. Chelsea's Ship's Bell clock and not-striking clocks are found in every port in the world. In improver to the use of Chelsea clocks in the domicile and at bounding main, they are used in a great variety of instruments for recording purposes. In h2o stage-recorders they are used in Russian federation, Nippon, Bharat, New Zealand, Australia, Mexico and many other places. Many of these clocks are used in the measuring of h2o supply in the cities of New York, Chicago, Boston and a dozen other cities. Practically every hydroelectric development in the country, such as TVA, is based on information gathered by instruments over a catamenia of ten years which are operated by Chelsea clocks. They also measure out the amount of water taken out of the Great Lakes for the sewage disposal of the Urban center of Chicago.

The uses for Chelsea recording clocks, which are generally built to customers' specifications, are quite varied and sometimes rather unique. For instance, Chelsea clocks are used in measurment of electricity generated by Niagara Falls. Being around a Chelsea clock tin can also be quite a shocking experience. A rather unique application of Chelsea technology was in one era the timing of electrocutions at the Atlanta Penitentiary; 10, 9, 8... zap!

The time spent in the air by the "Question Mark", the start endurance airplane, was captured by a recording barograph operated by a Chelsea movement. The standard distance barograph used by the Army, Navy and practically all the air lines, is operated by a Chelsea motion. In this period, these movements accept plant their mode to many airports the world over. Each one of the pilots who accept attempted high- altitude records for airplane flights carried with him a sealed mechanism that automatically recorded their altitude. This mechanism was of course a Chelsea movement.

Macmillan used a number of Chelsea clocks to record the magnetism at the North Pole during his famous Arctic Trek of 1922. Both these clock and the clocks used by Admiral Byrd for recording temperature, pressure level and humidity on his South Pole expedition were particularly oiled with low temperature oil before these explorers set out on their adventures.

War and Peace (or) Requite u.s.a. this day our daily bread...
The Clock Guy, America's Antique Brokerage, uses Chelsea clocks to earn the meager breadstuff required to proceed food on the table and shoes on the kids. Timekeeping is a reality in our family, which has a standing offering to collectors to locate Chelsea clocks for their collections, or assist in sale of Chelsea clocks they own. In addition, we tin can lodge new Chelsea clocks on behalf of our clients.

During Earth War I and II Chelsea furnished thousands of clocks to the armed forced for use aboard Liberty ships, submarines, destroyers, cruisers, battleships and aircraft carriers. Whatsoever number of Chelsea special movements were used in connection with burn control mechanisms on battleships and also with dead reckoning tracers. The U.S. Army still uses many Chelsea clocks in all of its fields of functioning to tape messages through a message center. Chelsea was called upon to develop movements that operate under h2o to record the depth of cable cutters, besides every bit movements which tin be dropped from an airplane at several chiliad feet and still operate after striking the h2o.

Today, Chelsea carries on a rather extensive program of development both in its movements, machinery and operations. Quite a few of the machines used in the Chelsea plant were developed and built correct in that location.

More History of Timekeeping
Measurement of fourth dimension has been accomplishment by diverse ways for many centuries. The first periods of division were day and night caused by the revolutions of the earth upon its axis. The sun dial was one of the primeval type of timekeepers. It was used as early on as the year 2000 B.C. and for several hundred years was the only blazon of timekeeper in existence. Sunday dials were simply practical during the hours of the day when the sun was shining. The desire to mark the hours of the night led to the adoption of the h2o clock which measured the time past the amount of h2o which passed through a small pigsty from ane vessel to another. By keeping the h2o in the vessel from which the water flowed at a constant level to maintain the same pressure, a adequately accurate indication of the passing hours was given.

Sand spectacles, or 60 minutes glasses as they are commonly known, were beginning used to measure time in the latter part of the 9th century. They were fabricated in practically the same form as the 60 minutes glass today. These glasses were used for all sorts of purposes from speechmaking to cooking. They were also used at sea for it was important in the early days of navigation to know the speed at which a vessel was proceeding in society so its position could be calculated.

The earliest clock worthy of our modern definition was made by an English monk around the yr 1335. From the 14th century on clocks were made in principle like the clocks of today merely they did not have any dials or easily, but were made to strike the hours on a bell.

Early clockmakers were smashing artists but very poor mechanics. The timekeepers of three to four centuries agone were masterpieces of design. The makers spent years decorating their cases, just these clock were not very accurate in comparison to the standards of today. Every bit soon as Galileo had discovered the law of the pendulum in the year 1580, he gear up to work on a timepiece that could make use of his discovery, however it would be most 100 years before this principle was applied to clocks.

Clockmaking challenges...
One problem that faced the clockmakers of this era was the lengthening and shortening of the pendulum rod by the expansion caused by the oestrus and the contraction due to cold.

The immense importance of accurate timekeepers for ascertaining the position of a ship at ocean was apparent very early. In 1598, over 100 years after the discovery of America, the rex of Kingdom of spain offered a advantage of 100,000 crowns for the invention of such a timepiece since a pendulum was impractical at sea. It was more than 175 years subsequently that the kickoff chronometer was invented, and the nowadays type of escapement used in watches and loftier form clock was made.

Placing jewels in the begetting of clocks was the invention of the Swiss in 1700, and today the Swiss still replenish nearly of the jewels used in watches and high-class clocks. These jewels were by and large sapphires from India and Australia, although today they are almost entirely synthetically made.

The earliest American clockmaker was Thomas Harland, who came to this country from England on the ship that carried the tea that was thrown overboard in Boston Harbor in 1773. He settled in Norwich, CT, and had as one of his apprentices Eli Terry who was later called "the father of American clockmaking." Clocks during this period were almost entirely pendulum floor clocks, the movements were fabricated of cast brass and bandage iron. Terry made his first clock in 1792 and it is now owned by his descendants and is in good running order. Fortunately for Terry, Paul Revere had made great strides in the rolling of brass and copper sheets nearly this time.

Meanwhile, back in Boston...
Today, Chelsea Clock Company has passed its 100th Anniversary of fine American clockmaking. Their products are sold throughout the world in marine and nautical stores, fine jewelry stores and through promotional products distributors. The company has seen the production line expand from marine fashion clocks to beautiful jewelry pieces which are used more and more than for corporate awards, recognition gifts and incentive items. This is the new Chelsea and as it celebrates its Centennial; a visitor that eagerly anticipates serving a new generation that appreciates the tradition of fine American craftsmanship.

viii.5" Diameter Ship's Bell, c.1975

Chelsea Clock Company Series Numbers

Period	Beginning	Ending
1897-1899	001	3,937
1900-1904	3,938	16,459
1905-1909	16,460	59,641
1910-1914	59,642	97,528
1915-1919	97,529	136,237
1920-1924	136,238	159,719
1925-1929	159,720	194,237
1930-1934	194,238	213,894
1935-1939	213,895	256,235
1940-1944	256,236	472,765
1945-1949	472,766	559,240
1950-1954	559,241	598,659
1955-1959	598,660	638,906
1960-1964	638,907	673,459
1965-1969	673,460	743,137
1970-1974	743,138	786,288
1975-1979	786,289	827,760
1980-1984	827,761	857,063
1985-1989	857,064	868,171
1990-	868,172

Notable Chelsea Clock Owners

James Arness

Leonid Brezhnev

Bing Crosby

Thomas E. Dewey

Barry Goldwater

Louis Gossett Jr

Bob Hope

Billy Joel

Rocky Marciano

Aristotle Onassis

David Letterman

James Taylor

John Wayne

Gene Sarazen

Mrs. Arthur Fiedler

Full general Douglas MacArthur

Rear Admiral R.H. Hillenkoetter

Grateful Expressionless  (each fellow member)

Elvis Presley (purchased 100 equally Christmas presents)

Phil Rizzuto

Richard Oliver, The Clock Guy

Admiral Thomas H. Moorer,

David Taylor, President, Boston Globe

Admiral Chester R. Bender

Your name hither: ______________

Chelsea Clocks in the Movies

The Hunt for Red October

Patriot Games

Clear and  Present Danger

Cherry Tide

You've Got Mail service

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For farther information about the Chelsea Clock Company,
including early on catalogues, visit the Chelsea Clock Museum.

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Source: https://www.clockguy.com/SiteRelated/SiteReferencePages/ChelseaHistory.html

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