I’m very happy that I could get hold of this very nice “Flash” flip clock! “Flash” is a sub-brand of the French “Vedette” clock corporation. This model sold by both brand names and in several color combinations. I guess it originates from around 1970. In Europe they are quite common, but also in high demand, so I feel lucky that I could buy one at a friendly price
It is fairly large clock, about 25 cm wide. It can be mounted on the wall or stand on a table/desk/shelf using a small flip out support at the bottom. Behind the back cover you will find the compartment for the C type battery, a thumb wheel to adjust the time and a lever to “kickstart” the motor after replacing the battery. Here also a seconds wheel is visible so you can see whether the clock is actually running (other than that it does not have much use as it is normally enclosed in the cabinet).
The clock is driven by a Japanese Jeco tuning fork movement, the same that is also used in some Copal clocks. When I just got this one it was stopping frequently. A tiny bit of oil at all the smaller fast moving axles did the trick: it has not stopped since then and keeps perfect time (thanks flipoclock for that suggestion!). The tuning fork movement has one considerable drawback: it’s a hummer! (the sound, not the car). The core of the mechanism is already mounted in rubber supports, but nevertheless, it produces a continuous hum. I did find a post of someone who replaced it with a quartz mechanism (why he also replaced the case I do not understand as I quite like the looks of this clock).
The mechanism is very well built, mostly metal and very little plastic. Interestingly the hours wheel has only 24 tiles and is thus smaller than the minutes wheel with 60 tiles. The axis are of both wheels are offset to compensate for the different diameter and thus at the front you do not see any difference (the tiles are the same size). For me this is the first time that I see a clock that is built this way.
I did a bit of research on the history of the Vedette corporation and did find some interesting background in these links (both in French):
https://jazheure.com/lheure-couleur/...loges-vedette/
What I learned there is that Vedette started in 1920 and spawned the Flash brand in 1957 and started making flip clocks in 1968. Today the company still exists and makes a wide range of clocks and watches (but no flip clocks): https://www.vedette-europe.com
It is fairly large clock, about 25 cm wide. It can be mounted on the wall or stand on a table/desk/shelf using a small flip out support at the bottom. Behind the back cover you will find the compartment for the C type battery, a thumb wheel to adjust the time and a lever to “kickstart” the motor after replacing the battery. Here also a seconds wheel is visible so you can see whether the clock is actually running (other than that it does not have much use as it is normally enclosed in the cabinet).
The clock is driven by a Japanese Jeco tuning fork movement, the same that is also used in some Copal clocks. When I just got this one it was stopping frequently. A tiny bit of oil at all the smaller fast moving axles did the trick: it has not stopped since then and keeps perfect time (thanks flipoclock for that suggestion!). The tuning fork movement has one considerable drawback: it’s a hummer! (the sound, not the car). The core of the mechanism is already mounted in rubber supports, but nevertheless, it produces a continuous hum. I did find a post of someone who replaced it with a quartz mechanism (why he also replaced the case I do not understand as I quite like the looks of this clock).
The mechanism is very well built, mostly metal and very little plastic. Interestingly the hours wheel has only 24 tiles and is thus smaller than the minutes wheel with 60 tiles. The axis are of both wheels are offset to compensate for the different diameter and thus at the front you do not see any difference (the tiles are the same size). For me this is the first time that I see a clock that is built this way.
I did a bit of research on the history of the Vedette corporation and did find some interesting background in these links (both in French):
https://jazheure.com/lheure-couleur/...loges-vedette/
What I learned there is that Vedette started in 1920 and spawned the Flash brand in 1957 and started making flip clocks in 1968. Today the company still exists and makes a wide range of clocks and watches (but no flip clocks): https://www.vedette-europe.com
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