Telechron was an American company that manufactured electric clocks between 1912 and 1992. "Telechron" is derived from the Greek words tele, meaning "far off," and chronos, "time," thus referring to the transmission of time over long distances. Founded by Henry Ellis Warren, Telechron introduced the synchronous electric clock, which keeps time by the oscillations of the alternating current electricity that powers it from the electric power grid. Telechron had its heyday between 1925 and 1955, when it sold millions of electric clocks to American consumers.
Henry Warren: the synchronous motor and the master clock
Henry E. Warren established the company in 1912 in Ashland, Massachusetts. Initially, it was called "The Warren Clock Company," producing battery-powered clocks. These proved unreliable, however, since batteries weakened quickly, which resulted in inaccurate time-keeping. Warren saw electric motors as the solution to this problem. In 1915, he invented a self-starting synchronous motor consisting of a rotor and a coil, which was patented in 1918. A synchronous motor spins at the same rate as the cycle of the alternating current driving it. Synchronous electric clocks had been available previously, but had to be started manually. In later years, Telechron would advertise its clocks as "bringing true time," because power plants had begun to maintain frequency of the alternating current very close to an average of 60 Hz. But such constancy did not yet exist when Warren first experimented with his synchronous motors. Irregularities in the frequency of the alternating current led not only to inaccurate time-keeping but, more seriously, to incompatible power grids in the United States, as power could not readily be transferred from one grid to another. In order to overcome these problems, Warren invented a "master clock," which he installed at the Boston Edison Company in 1916. This master clock had two movements, one driven by a synchronous motor connected to the current produced by the power plant, the other driven by a traditional spring and pendulum. The pendulum was adjusted twice a day in accordance with time signals received from the Naval Observatory. As long as the hands of the electric clock, powered by a 60 Hz synchronous motor, moved along perfectly with those of the "traditional" clock, the power produced by the electric company was uniform. In Electrifying Time, Jim Linz writes that "in 1947, Warren Master Clocks regulated over 95 percent of the electric lines in the United States." It is interesting to note, then, that the uniformity of alternating current in the United States, which was necessary in order to build large power grids, was initially ensured by a very traditional clock system. Furthermore, Henry Warren invented his master clock at first simply in order to guarantee that his synchronous clock motor would provide accurate time.
Telechron and Art Deco The Telechron company's success from the 1920s into the 1950s was not solely due to the technical advantages of their clocks, although all Telechron clocks were powered by successive versions of Henry Warren's synchronous motor. Rather, the Telechron company sought to produce clocks whose designs reflected one of the fundamental principles of the Art Deco movement: to combine modern engineering (including mass-production) with the beauty of simple geometric shapes. Thus, Telechron clocks are often considered genuine pieces of art—but art affordable by all, as thousands of them were made. The company employed some of the finest designers of the time, such as Leo Ivan Bruce (1911–1973) and John P. Rainbault. In the evolution of their designs, Telechron clocks were a faithful mirror of their own time. Just as a clock like the "Administrator" (designed by Leo Ivan Bruce) reflected thirties aesthetics, so the "Dimension" had 1950s lines. Telechrons were relatively expensive compared to other clocks. In 1941, their most inexpensive alarm clock was the model 7H117 "Reporter," and it sold for $2.95, the equivalent of $30.00 in 2008 funds. But their beautiful design and amazing reliability assured a brisk market for them throughout the company's most prosperous years.
History As noted above, Henry Warren initially named his company "The Warren Clock Company." It became "Warren Telechron" in 1926. As early as 1917, General Electric acquired a strong interest in Telechron, realizing the economic potential of Warren's invention. When Warren retired in 1943, General Electric gradually absorbed Telechron into its operations. The clocks labeled "Telechron" on the dial, as well as those labeled "General Electric" (or both "General Electric" and "Telechron" on the dials) were both made in the Ashland, Massachusetts, factory. GE clocks had their own case, dial and hand designs, as well as model names and numbers, but the internal workings of both brands of clock were always the same Telechron type of movement.
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