The History of Westclox Big Ben, Baby Ben and Related Clocks

The Big Ben alarm clock was first sold in 1909 and has evolved through many case style and movement changes. The Baby Ben was first sold in 1910 and has evolved in a similar way.

The pictures below illustrate the 10 “mainstream” case styles of windup Big and Baby Bens and the years in which they were made. Style 1 was the first model made and style 10 is the last model. To identify a Ben, find out which of the case styles it matches. Pay particular attention to the shapes of the cases since various case colors were available in styles 2 through 10, and the dial on your clock might be different. For more exact dating, look on the movement - a date will be found on almost any Big Ben or Baby Ben made up until mid-1970's. The Big and Baby Bens up through style 9 were made in USA (and some some other countries). The style 10 is made in China. In 2001, General Time (owner of Westclox) decal red bankruptcy and sold the Westclox name to Salton, Inc. Style 10 Bens are available online from Salton. and Alarm Clocks Online.

Reproductions of some of the earlier styles are being made in China.

Also shown below are some relatives of the Bens: Clock of Tomorrow, Dura Case (LaSalle series) , and the Seth Thomas “Baby Bens”.

Big Ben Style 1 1909 - 1918 Big Ben Style 1a 1918 - 1935 (style 1 has three screws through the front, style 1a does not) Baby Ben Style 1 1912 - 1930	Baby Ben with 2 Inch Movement 1910 - 1912	Style 2 Big Ben and Baby Ben Nickel finish 1927 - 1932 Crackle finish 1928 - 1930 Solid finish 1930 - 1932	Style 3 (concave curves on base) Big Ben Style 3 Chime alarm 1931 - 1934 Baby Ben Style 3 1932 - 1934
Style 4 (convex curves on base) Big Ben Style 4 Chime alarm 1934 - 1939 Big Ben Style 4a Loud Alarm 1935 - 1939 Baby Ben Style 4 1934 - 1939	Style 5 Big Ben Style 5 Chime Alarm 1939 - 1949 Big Ben Style 5a Loud Alarm 1939 - 1946 Big Ben Style 5 Loud Alarm 1946 - 1949 Baby Ben Style 5 1939 - 1949 (Style 5 is thinner than style 5a)	Style 6 Big Ben and Baby Ben 1949 - 1956	Style 7 Big Ben and Baby Ben 1956 - 1964
Style 8 Big Ben and Baby Ben 1964 - 1981	Style 9 Big Ben and Baby Ben 1980 - 2000	Style 10 Big Ben and Baby Ben Starting in 2001 Made in China
George Kern designed the style 1 Big Ben including the case. The style 2 Ben case was designed by August Schierholtz, and Max Schlenker was responsible for the design of the base. The style 3, 5 and 6 Ben cases were designed by Henry Dreyfuss. The style 4 is a modification of style 3 and may also have been designed by Dreyfuss. The Style 7, 8 and 9 Ben cases and the Clock of Tomorrow case were designed by Ellworth Danz.
Clock of Tomorrow 1955 - 1959 Made with white case and white dial, and black case with black dial		Non-luminous Dura Case series 1930 - 1934   Luminous Dura Case Series 1931 - 1934

Seth Thomas “Baby Bens” These clocks are labeled Seth Thomas on the dial and use the same movement as the Westclox Baby Ben alarm clock. They were made from the 1930’s through the 1950’s. Here are some examples. For larger photos and more details, see our Seth Thomas Baby Ben web page.

Westclox Big Ben and Baby Ben Advertising History

An overview of the history of the Big Ben and Baby Ben alarm clocks using original magazine advertisements starting with the September 24, 1910 Saturday Evening Post. This series of ads shows you the various styles of Bens that were made.

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