The Calson 201 by Copal Japan
My interest in the Caslon Model 201 flip clock began I was researching early appearance of flip clocks in the newpapers. Before there was the internet ... there were newspapers! While advertisements for flip clocks and especially flip clock radios exploded between 1970 and 1975, there were almost none prior to the 70s. None except for this little, simple yet elegant flip clock called the Caslon 201.
While there were other first tries (the Caslon 101) it was the model 201 that seems to have made the first appearance in newspapers as early as 1966! This was the same year that the famous Solari Udine Cifra 3 was released! This surprised me, as I didn't think the Japanese invasion of flip clocks happened until the 1970s.
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Video of the Review and Disassembly of the 201
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The Caslon 201 - Perhaps the first commercially successful flip clock
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The Caslon 201 - Perhaps the first commercially successful flip clock
Last edited by Mackey; June 4, 2017, 11:52 PM.~ Mackey Site Administrator
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Its funny that there's no official history of flip clocks. It took me a while to piece together the history of this clock. It even made the pages of the prestigious "Horological Journal" in 1966 (which was probably the last time a flip clock was mentioned in the rest of the Journal's history). It was clearly a big deal in the day.
It can't be emphasized more how different things were before the internet. Many people who saw this clock never heard of the other earlier flip clocks and this was probably the first "digital clock" they had ever seen.
The clock is very study. But I'm wondering if they're not around because of the glass face. I would imagine that since there would be no replacement glass for these, most were thrown away after the glass was broken. It's all speculation, but it makes sense. If you like you can get a broken faced Caslon 201 now on eBay!
eBay item
Last edited by Mackey; June 14, 2017, 08:25 PM.~ Mackey Site Administrator
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3/22/2020:Note: I previously had been lead to believe that the Copal 201 had been discussed in "The Horological Journal" (the journal of the British Horological Institute) in the April 1966 issue. However, I was fortunate enough to finally obtain a copy of this journal. The article goes into great detail regarding the dimensions and operation of a Caslon Clock. It seems clear to me that this clock must have been a prototype. The basic features more closely match the Copal Caslon 101, but the overall configuration of the clock motor is clearly different than a standard Copal 101.
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Transparent one on ebay right now, looks like a 201. Haven't seen it in clear before.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Transparent-Copal/
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Originally posted by RetroFlip View Post
Transparent one on ebay right now, looks like a 201. Haven't seen it in clear before.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Transparent-Copal/~ Mackey Site Administrator
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Well. ..... I'll be making a video of this clock in the near future. Yes, it's mine now.~ Mackey Site Administrator
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Kind of sucks that we were bidding against each other. I just had to see what it was all about. though that I was going to let it pass, but on a whim I bid at the last minute (and I was bidding to win ... I won't tell you my max). Maybe after I get my fill of it I'll resell it.
I was thinking the same thing, that it was a salesman thing or something of the sort. I've dug around on newspapers.com and can't see that "clear" or "transparent" was an option.
I'm also wanting to know if the transparency can be restore using the hydrogen peroxide treatment.
Finally, I'm also wondering if those tiles can be whitened.
~ Mackey Site Administrator
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We are knuckle heads.~ Mackey Site Administrator
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haha, oh well, these things happen :-)
The whitening of the tiles would be interesting to know, al though it would be a LOT of work.
The tiles of the 101 and the 201 are made of a special kind of material, different from the later clocks. Unfortunately, at the moment I have no spares-clock of this type or spare flaps of this type, other wise I would have tried. The thought of whitening them has come to mind indeed.
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Originally posted by flipclock_nl View Post
The whitening of the tiles would be interesting to know, al though it would be a LOT of work.
The tiles of the 101 and the 201 are made of a special kind of material, different from the later clocks. Unfortunately, at the moment I have no spares-clock of this type or spare flaps of this type, other wise I would have tried. The thought of whitening them has come to mind indeed.
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Ok ... the tiles of the Caslon 201 do not like to be bent. The tabs break away easily and the tile begins to crack in the middle. I actually have a junk 201 that I'm working on (I bought the cracked one that was on eBay a while back). I'm in the process of trying the Salon Care hydrogen peroxide treatment on one tile. I'll let you know.
Update: The hydrogen peroxide seems to have no effect on reducing the yellowing.
Gasoline might work.
Last edited by Mackey; June 29, 2017, 09:16 AM.~ Mackey Site Administrator
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Originally posted by flipclock_nl View PostFor some reason I'm not surprised that the hydrogen peroxide does not work..... I'm curious to know whether the gasoline will affect the 'print' on the tile.~ Mackey Site Administrator
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