Clocks · Clock radio
Clock by Bestone; Hammond, United States, 1937; 1980
- Maker / attribution
- Bestone; Hammond (maker)
- Date
- 1937; 1980
- Historical period
- Modern Mechanical Horology (1945 – 1969)
- Country of origin
- United States
- Place
- United States; United Kingdom, United States, United Kingdom
- Object type
- Clock radio
- Holding institution
- Science Museum Group, London
- Accession / object no.
- 1990-4
- Credit line
- Peverett, A.
- Catalogue title (original)
- Bestone Hammond B698 ornamental clock with three-valve radio, 1937, restored 1980
Record summary
Held and catalogued by Science Museum Group, London (object number 1990-4), this is a clock radio by Bestone; Hammond, made in United States; United Kingdom, United States, United Kingdom, dated 1937; 1980. The Atlas places it in the Modern Mechanical Horology period (1945 – 1969) of its Clocks collection. The record is illustrated with 1 photograph.
Assembled from the source record's structured fields. Dates and attributions are given as the source states them; where a field is missing the Atlas leaves it blank rather than estimating.
Catalogue description
Science Museum Group description
1937 wooden ornamental clock with three-valve medium-wave domestic radio receiver hidden inside the clock body. With electric clock mechanism using a Hammond Synchronous movement.
Historical context
Modern Mechanical Horology (1945 – 1969)
Tool watches for divers, pilots and astronauts; electric watches anticipate the electronic age.
Post-war clocks combined new materials and industrial design: plastic and metal cases, battery-powered transistor movements from the late 1950s, and design classics by George Nelson, Max Bill and others. The first caesium atomic clock (1955) moved the definition of time from astronomy to physics.
Read the period in the timelineMore clocks from this periodEarlier: Golden Age of Mechanical Watchmaking
Atlas type guide
Quartz, digital and designer clocks
Transistors, integrated circuits and quartz crystals brought precise timekeeping into every household after the 1960s. Quartz clocks divide the 32,768 Hz vibration of a tuning-fork crystal down to one pulse per second to drive a stepping motor or a digital display. Digital clocks with flip cards, nixie tubes, LEDs and LCDs, and clock radios became emblems of modern design.
Designers such as George Nelson, Max Bill, Dieter Rams and Richard Sapper treated the clock as a field for industrial design; manufacturers including Junghans, Kienzle, Braun, Seiko, Citizen and Sony produced landmark models now collected and held by design museums.
What to look for
- Battery compartments and quartz movement labels.
- Display technology: split-flap cards, LED, LCD, vacuum fluorescent.
- Designer names and model numbers on the base or back.
Dating clues
- Transistorised clocks: from the late 1950s.
- Consumer quartz clocks: from the early 1970s.
- Radio-controlled clocks: from the mid-1980s.
General guidance written by the Atlas editors about this kind of object. It is not a statement about this particular piece; for that, rely on the source record above and on physical examination.
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