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Style 2 Big Ben and Baby Ben Alarm Clock HistoryBig Ben Specs:
Baby Ben Specs:
Starting in 1930 the dials no longer said “DeLuxe” on them, just “Big Ben” or “Baby Ben" as on the style 1 clocks. Polished nickel finish: 1927 - 1932 Style 2 Big Ben and Baby Ben Models and Variations
Style 2 HistoryThe style 2 Bens were put into production around mid-1927, and were first advertised that fall. The movements in the style 2 Bens are identical to those in the style 1 Bens of the same time period. The difference is in the case—a die-cast base replaced the legs, and the ring on top was omitted. (Note that the front of the base is longer than the back – we have often seen clocks with the base installed backward!) Design patent Des. 72,332 issued to H. A. Schierholtz on March 29, 1927 covers the style 2 case design. Max Schlenker was responsible for the design of the base. The first style 2 Bens have a polished nickel finish just like the style 1 Bens. White non-luminous dials or black luminous dials were made, which had the lettering “Big Ben DeLuxe” or “Baby Ben DeLuxe.” (A few white painted metal dials have been seen on Baby Bens.) Crackle painted finishes in green, blue, and pink (“old rose” in Westclox literature) were introduced in 1928. The very first of these crackle finish clocks have white paper dials, but by summer of 1928 gold colored paper non-luminous dials were being used. In fall of 1929 crackle finish Bens with gold color luminous dials were added to the line. The Big Ben luminous dials were gold colored paper while the Baby Ben luminous dials were gold painted metal. Starting in 1930 the dials no longer said “DeLuxe” on them, just “Big Ben” or "Baby Ben" as on the style 1 clocks. Solid color painted finishes were introduced in 1930 and the crackle finish was discontinued. The solid colors were light green, light blue and pink. A fancy dial with raised gold leaf numerals was introduced in 1930, about the same time as the solid case finish. These dials have slight off-white or beige backgrounds (the background colors vary due to differences in how they have aged) with fancy skeleton hands. This dial was used in the solid color painted cases, and in “butler” (brushed) finish nickel cases. At this time, solid color clocks were available with either the standard gold luminous dial or the fancy raised gold numeral non-luminous dial; polished nickel finish clocks were available with the white non-luminous dial or black luminous dial; and butler nickel clocks had the raised gold numeral dial. (More research needs to be done by studying ads and catalogs to determine if the above list is accurate. For example, was there a butler finish clock with luminous dial?) The nickel finish clock was in production through the period in which the painted clocks were produced, but judging by the relative numbers of them we have seen, the painted clocks were far more popular. The style 2 Bens were discontinued in 1932. Style 2 ReproductionsA miniature of the style 2 was made in 1997. It has a quartz movement, and the quantity was limited to 5000 pieces. ReferencesWestclox, An Identification and Price Guide, Gary Biolchini, Schiffer Publishing, 2003. Big Ben and Baby Ben Identification Guide, by Richard Tjarks and Bill Stoddard. |
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