Jefferson Golden Secret

By Roger Russell

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Catalog number 580-131. This unusual design has more trickery. The face has no glass at all. Instead, the hands are mounted on a curved tube that has a flexible cable inside to operate the minute and hour hand. The outer frame is mounted on the base A synchronous motor is located in the base. The clock is made of cast metal and is 24k gold plated. See my gold reference page. The bottom cover is also made of cast metal but is painted black. The clock was invented by Jan Walma and assigned to Leendert Prins, also of the Netherlands. In addition, he has recently been awarded a patent for new designs of mystery clocks.

The clock face is 6-11/16" across at the outside. The overall dimensions are 7-3/16" high, 6-11/16" wide and 4-3/32" deep. The curved cable tube is 3/16" outside diameter. The hours are indicated by gold dots that are part of the rim. Two felt strips are under the base on the left and right sides. The clock is UL approved. Weight is 1.25 lbs. Power consumption is 2.5 watts.

The picture at the right shows the rear of the hands and the pear shaped counterweight assembly. The minute hand is located at the front and is attached to the flexible shaft by friction so that it can be easily turned to set to the desired minutes. The hour hand and gear assembly is located on the curved tube and can turn freely. A gear from the flexible shaft engages gears in the counterweight assembly. The counterweight always stays in a vertical location from gravity. It provides a fixed position needed to drive gears that advance the hour hand as the shaft and minute hand turn.

A small counterweight of metal is attached to the rear portion of the hour hand. It's the same shape and can be seen at the right side of the picture. It serves to hold the hour hand in proper position relative to the minute hand. The rear portion of the minute hand is also counterweighted in the same way. It can be seen behind the main counterweight near the bottom of the picture.

The side view shows that the hands actually protrude beyond the frame to avoiding hitting it. The word "holland" is stamped in very small letters at the top of the frame. The familiar Jefferson Electric Co., Bellwood Illinois is in raised letters as part of the cast base. The motor is made in the USA. Dates have been found stamped on the inside of two different clock bases that are 2-14-56 and 6-16-56.

For more information, see my page about Jefferson Golden Secret Repair.

Literature found in a 1956 jeweler's catalog has the following description:

All Jefferson clocks are fully guaranteed...operate on 110-125 volt, 60 cycle AC current.