Copal 401

[Johan de Jong]

I'm so happy that I could add this Copal 401 to my collection! I already had a 101 and a 201 and I love the look of these early Copal clocks as well as the quality of their build. The 401 is no different. This wall mounted clock looks like a larger version of the 101. It is about 20cm wide, 13 cm high and 9 cm deep. Surprisingly it does not use the Caslon font but some more antique kind of font.




Mine is in a pretty good condition, but not perfect. The cord has been replaced and five tiles have been repaired in not the best way. All were repaired by glueing a small strip of either plastic or metal to the tile. This in itself maybe not a bad way to repair these tiles, but regretfully someone spilled the glue over the tiles and that messes up the appearance. Still considering how I can tidy it up. For now I just leave it as is.



The Copal 401 is pretty rare, and I wonder why. I can't find many advertisements for it at that time, so maybe it has not been produced for very long. Another reason could be that as a wall mounted clock they often dropped by accident, who knows? ;-)

[RetroFlip]

I like to seeing details like the flap repair someone tried. Thanks.

[Johan de Jong]

The last foto shows two of the repairs. The top 11 flap was repaired with a copper strip, the bottom 11 flap with a plastic strip. Both were glued to the face of the flap. It works but it is quite visible, especially the copper strip.

[Mackey]

Oh Yes!! I am definitely jealous but glad that you got this. It's wonderful.
flipoclock has a NOS one of these in his Etsy shop and I might have to see if he wants to make a deal on it.
(I really need to not do this - see what you've started!).
Again, congrats. I'm a huge Copal fan.

[flipoclock]

They are gorgeous clock and the charcoal grey(ish) looks amazing on it. For some reason they always seem to have broken flaps (at least one or more).

Not sure why these are rare, they might have been expensive?

Mackey of course I can do a deal for you, that is never a problem

[Johan de Jong]

They were indeed a bit more expensive, but not that much. I see in this advertisement that at the time the 101 cost in Germany DM 76, the 201 DM 84 and the 401 DM 98, the same as a 602. This advertisement is from "Synchron-zeit" which I think was an importer of clocks and is aimed at resellers that sell the clocks to the consumers. Note also the ordering form at the bottom left corner. So these prices were not what you an I would pay at the shop.

The right half of the page has a nice sales pitch in German:

"Synchronzeit macht 1971 zum „Jahr der Spring-zahlenuhren". Mit den verkaufsstarken Modellen aus dem Hause Copal. Die Erfolge des vergangen Jahres waren der Anfang. In diesem Jahr wird es zu einem Umsatzhöhepunkt kommen. Denn der Markt langt nach Digitaluhren. Die Nachfrage ist geweckt. Treffen Sie jetzt Ihre Dispositionen! Synchronzeit beliefert Sie schnell und zuverlässig. Mit garantiertem Kundendienst! Damit Sie über ein verkaufsstarkes Angebot verfügen. Mit bewährten und mit neuen Modellen. Die Devise heißt: Sich regen bringt Segen. Auch in Ihre Ladenkasse."

Which translates to:

"Synchronzeit makes 1971 the "year of the jumping number clock". With the best-selling models from Copal. The successes of the past year were the beginning. This year there will be a sales peak. Because the market is reaching for digital clocks. The demand is Awakened. Make your arrangements now! Synchronzeit will supply you quickly and reliably. With guaranteed customer service! So that you have a sales-boosting offer. With proven and new models. The motto is: Getting active brings blessings. Also in your store cash register."

This must have been big business at the time!

[flipoclock]

I might also have some spare flaps for you, not entirely sure, let me know if you're interested.

[Johan de Jong]

Would be great if you have some spares! The five repaired tiles I would like to replace are: 10/11, 11/12, 13/14, 16/17 and 57/58.

[MarcosR]

Hello. Congratulations on the Copal 401. This is one of my favourites!
I think the tiles have problems because they are made of some kind of cardboard. I also have one with damages tiles and some missing ones. I am trying to do the tiles on a 3D printer. Have you tried that approach?

[Johan de Jong]

I have not yet considered 3D printing, but was indeed looking for ways to reproduce the tiles.

I'm not sure what material the tiles are made of. I still think it is plastic rather than cardboard but it for certain has become very brittle. In the meantime I have removed all the repairs that a previous owner made with little strips of metal and plastic. This proved to be a bad method as it made the tiles thicker and this caused the adjacent tiles to break as well. Instead I repaired them using the baking powder and super glue method, but this does not really hold up for these large brittle tiles with relatively small tabs. I have lost count how many times I have repaired the same tiles over and over again

If we can find a way to reproduce these tiles that would be a real winner!

[MarcosR]

[MarcosR]

I finally got the tiles. The ones for Copal 401 are the lowest ones. The upper ones are for french flip clocks (Jaz). Will share photos from the final result

[Johan de Jong]

These look really good!
Can you tell a bit more how you created these? I'm curious how you reproduced the numbers. Are they printed on or did you 3D print with two colours? (I don't have a 3D printer and know little about what is or is not possible).
Also curious how they will perform when used over a long time. Is the material flexible enough to bend past the little tab holding back the tiles? (I think it is called a "tine"). And will it resist to the wear?

Very interesting work! It may be a good solution to reproduce any missing tile.

[MarcosR]

They are flexible enough. Don't know if they will last years like the original ones, but they seem solid. Actually it is not 3D printer, it was cut in laser; the material is thin enough and holds its shape. For the 401 it was more difficult because they have an unusual type of font (it looks Engravers MT in word, but some numbers are different, like in the 7).
Are these the ones that you miss? 10/11, 11/12, 13/14, 16/17 and 57/58? The 57/58 has a side part (is it the tine you mention)...
I can make those if you want. Just send me an email with the details...