First made in black and white finishes. Later made in "Fashion Brite" colors of shaded woodtone, shaded avocado, shaded wedgewood and shaded flame. Other varieties were made as well, including sweep second hand models, Chime Alarm models and Repeater models.
Reproduced in China starting ca. 2003
There are 25 Models of Westclox Big Ben Style 8 Alarm Clock in the database
The style 8 Big Ben was made from 1964 to 1981. Design patent Des. 201,895 issued to Ellworth Danz on Aug. 10, 1965 covers the style 8 case design. Standard case colors were white with brass trim, and black with nickel trim. White clocks have a white dial with brown numerals or a brown dial with luminous numerals. Black clocks have a white dial with black numerals or a black dial with luminous numerals.
The “Fashion Brite” series of Big Bens in Blue, Flame, Avocado and Woodtone were made from 1970 – 1975. They used the same movement as the standard Big Ben.
In 1971 the “Big Ben Sweep” was introduced. They have sweep second hands, and the case and dial colors were blue, green and brown. Also introduced in 1971 were “Big Ben Repeater” in avocado and bronze.
“Big Ben Sculptura” on a tall pedestal base was first made in England, then the LaSalle factory began to make it too. It is shown in US catalogs starting with the 1975 – 76 issue and was made in “stardust blue”, “field green” and “radiant red”.
A Big Ben Chime Alarm in white or gold mist case was made from 1967 – 1971.
The style 8 Ben Electric was made from 1964 – ca. 1987. It has a medium size case (smaller than
keywind Big Ben, bigger than Baby Ben). Some say “Ben Electric” and some say “Big Ben Dialite”
above the center of the dial. The back is labeled “S12V” and the bases have several different
numbers. Made in colors including avocado green, blue, and white. Height 4 1/4”. These clocks use the M5 motor with sealed rotor unit which is detachable from the field coil.
The style 8 design continued through 1980 selling along with the style 9. In 1981, its last year, it was made only as a sweep seconds hand model.
Style 8 Reproductions
Since ca. 2006, key wind reproductions of the style 8 Big Ben and Baby Ben have been available. They can be identified because they are made in China. These clocks have a plastic back and an internal alarm bell.
In November 2016, I no longer see the Big Ben style 8 reproduction for sale, except at one overstock website.
Pictures of the Westclox Big Ben Style 8 Alarm Clock:
