Telechron - A Brief History of The Telechron Company

A Brief History of The Telechron Company

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" 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.

In addition to its association with GE, Telechron cooperated closely with one of America's most famous makers of traditional clocks, the Herschede company. Walter Herschede became interested in synchronous clocks in the 1920s, but did not want to risk the good name of his company by associating it too quickly with the new technology. Thus, he founded the Revere Clock Company as a division of Herschede that would market clocks driven by Telechron motors. These motors, however, were housed in the elegant cases of mantel and grandfather clocks for which Herschede was known; moreover, these clocks were equipped with chimes.

Telechron—now the "Clock and Timer Division" of GE—declined in the 1950s, mainly because batteries had become much more long-lived and reliable. Battery-powered clocks have the obvious advantage of not depending on the proximity of a power outlet, and do not require the often somewhat unattractive electric cable. Furthermore, the accuracy of the quartz clock superseded the principles of the synchronous motor. GE tried to respond to the declining market for Warren's technology by producing cheaper, less solidly manufactured clocks. Thus, plastic replaced bakelite or wood as the material for the cases; glass crystals were phased out in favor of plastic ones; and the much less durable S rotor took the place of the H rotor. Nevertheless, the decline of the synchronous clock could not be stopped. GE sold the last of its former Telechron plants in 1979. After successive attempts to revive the business remained fruitless, it closed permanently in 1992.

Nonetheless, even if Telechron's original operations have ceased, Telechron continues to exist as a brand: Telechron is the name used by a manufacturer of electric timers in Leland, North Carolina. Moreover, a company that spun off from one of Telechron's research labs in 1928 is still flourishing: Electric Time Company, manufactures custom tower and post clocks in Medfield, Massachusetts. Electric Time is the only such company in the US that still makes its own clock movements.