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Electric Clock
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here to see our selection of Electric Clock.
 Pendulum
clocks and other such clocks have been around for centuries, but
the electric clock was never even a thought in a person’s
mind the mid 1800s. Benjamin Franklin flew is kite during a thunderstorm
way back in 1752, but the idea of electric clocks did not enter
peoples’ minds until the mid 1800s. Why? Probably greatly
in part to the fact that electrical technology did not start advancing
rapidly until the late 1800s and early 1900s. Most homes did not
even have electricity in the mid 1800s, let alone need an electric
clock.
It was only around beginning of the 20th century that electric
clocks started to make their way in large numbers into the market.
The first popular electric clock to be manufactured in large numbers
and also different versions was the “Eureka.” The Eureka
is an electrical clock with a rather large balance wheel. The balance
wheel is on ball bearings - the Eureka is the first known
instance of ball bearings in not just electric clocks, but any clock.
The “Brillie” electric clock also became popular and
common around 1910. This wall clock is a central timepiece which
generates switching pulses for secondary clocks. The drive principal
of this type of electric clock is one that still exists to this
day. In a Brillie clock, a contact system controls the current in
the coil so that the pendulum receives a drive pulse in the right
momentum.
The Brillie and the Eureka are both great electric clocks, but
the most common sort of early electric clock is probably the “Bulle”
clock. This clock was founded by Mr. Favre-Bulle around 1915 or
1920. The Bulle clock was a popular electric clock that came in
many different versions and as a table or wall clock - the
Bulle clock was manufactured up until 1970. The main difference
between the workings of the Bulle electric clock and the Brillie
electric clock is that the Bulle electric clock has a a fixed magnet
and the coil is mounted on the pendulum. It is overall a more complicated
arrangement, but it worked quite well.
One of the great things about electric clocks is that they do not
need winding up. There are also electric clocks of many different
styles and variations - each have an interesting history attached
to them. Anyone who is a fan of clocks or who collects them as a
hobby should have at least one electric clock.
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