SETH THOMAS CLOCKS- THE OLDEST CLOCKMAKER IN THE UNITED STATES

Seth Thomas is a clock manufacturer that began in 1813 and is the oldest clockmaker in the United States of America. Seth Thomas Clocks are famous for public tower clocks throughout the US, with the most famous being at the center of Grand Central Station in New York City. Seth Thomas Clocks was started by Mr Thomas, who was born in 1785 and by 1807 had begun working for Eli Terry. By 1810, he had purchased the business from Eli Terry, along with a partner and had also begun aquiring other clock companies. He had such a profound impact on the clock world that after his death in 1859 Plymouth Hallow, the town in which his business was set up was renamed to Thomaston (in his honor). Although Seth Thomas Clocks began as wooden movement shelf clocks, in 1842 with the introduction of brass movements came the O.G Case which was manufactured by Seth Thomas Clocks until 1913. Due to the fact that Seth Thomas was very specialized in what he manufactured, when he passed way and his sons took over the business they began to expand their product line. The new additions included: Regulator Clocks Perpetual Calendar Clocks Marble Clocks Iron Case Clocks- made of black enameled iron Kitchen Clocks- made of Oak Tambour Clocks Chime Clocks Another huge inovation for the Seth Thomas clock Company came in 1928 when they first introduced their electric powered clocks. The history of the company is a storied one that includes floods, mergers and buyouts during which the manufacturing of the actual movements has been outsourced to companies in Germany. As recently as 2001 the compnay was acquired by The Colibri Group, and a historical organization has take ownership of all the historical artifacts relating to the company. In 2009, once again the company has hit hard times and Colibri (which owns the Seth Thomas Clock Company) has laid off almost 300 employees. Later in 2009, the company is yet again acquired by another company, along with other Colibri Holdings. The new owener of Seth Thomas Clocks is, Alliance Time, which is a New York based company that specializes in not only clocks but also jewelry watches and accessories. Cool fact:
A Seth Thomas Clock was used in the The movie High Noon, starring legendary actor Gary Cooper.
How to:
Reset a Seth Thomas Clock:
You will need to have the 2 original keys that came with your clock. If these are not available they can be purchased from a number of online clock companies. If you are not sure what size your keys are, the most common sizes are 3.5 mm and 3.75 mm.
Once you have the correct keys, you will need to put 1 key into each keyhole. Next, turn each key slowly to determine which way the clock winds. This will be easy as they will only go in one direction, not both. There is a slight chance that each key will go in a different direction as well, so keep that in mind.
Continue to gently turn the keys until you feel resistance, which signals you that the clock is fully wound.