Chelsea
T
he Chelsea Clock Company has been making clocks
for home dwellers and seafarers alike since 1897. The
company had existed in two prior incarnations as the
Harvard Clock Company and then the Boston Clock
Company. Charles Pearson took the helm in 1897, and it has been
the Chelsea Clock Company ever since.
The clockmaker recently moved to new digs in Chelsea, Massachusetts. The facility that now houses Chelsea Clock is a beautifully converted historic building that retains the look of its former
self, while the interior has been painstakingly remodeled to provide
a modern work space for both manufacturing and administration.
It is important to understand the historical significance of Chelsea
Clock and how remarkable it is that the company is still making
mechanical (and now quartz) clocks in the city it has called home
for such a long time.
If the Vulcain Cricket could be referred to as the “Watch of
the Presidents”, then truly the Chelsea Clock is the “Clock of the
Presidents”. Previous as well as the current office holder (President Obama) have selected Chelsea clocks as official gifts of state
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to present to foreign dignitaries.
The production and assembly of the clocks themselves take
place in the first two floors of the facility.
And while the machinery used to craft the clock cases are modern and computer programmed, the machines used to fashion the
gear wheels and other components are very much of an earlier time.
And they still produce flawless parts.
No doubt it would be easier to outsource this to a foreign entity,
but that is not how things are done at Chelsea Clock. These clocks
are assembled the old-fashioned way, by hand, of course.
During my recent tour of Chelsea Clock I discovered something
else truly interesting. In fact, it was revelatory! For the most part,
Chelsea Clock does not hire already qualified clock makers. No,
in many cases Chelsea Clock trains its own clock makers. While
there is one recently joined member who trained at the watchmaking
school in Lititz, Pennsylvania, and another very senior clock maker
who trained in the United Kingdom, by and large, new clock makers
come in and are apprenticed to a senior clock maker. And in this
manner Chelsea Clock ensures that every clock will be made in