From the 1930s to the 1970s, companies such as G.E. (General Electric) Telechron, Warren Telechron, Revere, Westminster, Seth Thomas, General Time Corporation (Corp.), Sessions, Lanshire, Jefferson Electric, Synchron, Spartus, Hammond (and other brands) had several type of electric mantel clock, and westminster chime (chiming) electric mantel clock, on the market.
They were popular and common until about the 1970s. By the late 1970s though, quartz battery clocks had become common, popular, and inexpensive, and for these reasons most manufacturers and consumers preferred quartz battery clocks over the former electric technology. By 1980, the electric clock was, for the most part, no longer available.
During the 1980s and 1990s, most manufacturers of (and parts suppliers for) electric clocks either went out of business, or discontinued production of most of the motors and components that had been offered prior. Hence, today, people want their (or their parents’, or their grandparents’) old electric clocks repaired, motors and replacement parts for most of these clocks are no longer available.
Repair options…..
I do not attempt to repair electric clocks for which new motors, and genuine parts, are not available.
Why? Because I consider it a “gamble” as to whether an old antique electric clock can be made to work properly without installation of a new motor and other replacement parts. Without new motors and genuine replacement parts available, I would have no way of guaranteeing that electric clocks will operate properly, or at all, after any “repairs” I do to them. Hence, I avoid attempting such repairs since I cannot promise you good results.
However…..I can and do repair some electric clocks, including Jefferson Golden Hour Clocks, and some models of Synchron and Lanshire (and certain other) clocks. Please inquire, and I’ll let you know whether or not your electric clock is one that I can repair.
If I cannot repair your electric clock (or if you want to have your old electric clock operate again, but don’t want it to be electric anymore), there IS an alternative…..
Battery Conversions
I offer battery conversion, whereby the original electric motor and mechanism (also known as the “movement”, etc.) are removed from the clock, and a battery powered quartz movement (mechanism) is retrofitted into the clock’s original case.
Converison to battery power will of course displease some “purists”. But it’s a good alternative if you just want your clock to “run” and “tell time”, without regard to “originality”. Battery conversion or battery retrofit preserves a clock’s outer appearance and maintains its functionality and usefulness yet updates the mechanism from the old electric technology to new “quartz” battery technology.
Benefits include: Quality. Your clock would be powered by a brand new, state-of-the-art battery mechanism (movement) that’s the best available on the market today. Continuity. The outer appearance of the clock remains nearly the same; in fact almost unchanged. On the outside, converted clocks have the same face (dial) and either the same (or a similar) pair of hands. Inside, they may have 1/4 hour chimes; or hourly and 1/2 hourly gongs; and/or a swinging pendulum (if the original clock had them). Modernity. Your clock’s interior will be updated with currently available, commercially- made components. No longer will it be powered by an obsolete, non-serviceable type of mechanism from the past for which a repair attempt would be a “gamble”, and for which finding parts would be a “research project”. Ease of maintenance. These clocks only require that the batteries be changed each year, and when a converted clock’s battery mechanism fails after several years’ service, new parts and mechanisms can be installed from my inventory.
I stock nearly every battery quartz mechanism that’s manufactured today, and can, in most cases, retrofit them into electric clocks for which it’s no longer practical, economical, or possible to effect a traditional “repair”. It’s a great option, and a nice alternative, and I invite you to to inquire about it.