# Chelsea Clock Co. Mk2 Message Center Clock with box and Leather Strap



## SC-Texas

I have been wanting one of these for awhile.

Chelsea Clock Co. M2 Message Center Clock

I picked this up at the Houston NWACC meeting on Saturday. 

From what little I have been able to gather on the Internet, this is what I know:

It is a US Army message center clock made by the chelsea clock company. A mark 2. 

This model was first produced in 1943. It has a 12 jewel, 8 day chelsea 12E movement with a 11 jewel detachable lever escapement, sweep second hand. 

Wind it and it ticks for 8 days. 

It is mounted in a dust proof and moisture proof black phenolic case with a 6" dial.

It has an hour, minute and second hand. 

It has another hand for a second time zone. This is slaved to the hour hand.

The time is set by moving the hands forward with you finger. You should not move them backward as that will damage the movement.

These are mounted in wood carrying box's. The boxes have a leather strap.

The US Army used these from WW2 to the Vietnam War. The M-2 model was made until 1970. These were used in the field to mark the time when a message was received.

This one also has it's Box for easy movement when the unit moved to protect the clock.

Did I miss anything? Any comments? Thoughts!


----------



## SC-Texas

Some photos













































Sent from my SM-N900V using Tapatalk


----------



## SC-Texas

riverRat's thread: https://www.watchuseek.com/f7/us-army-message-center-clock-mark-2-a-196722.html

This is the only other thread on the forum that talks about this clock.


----------



## SC-Texas

Another photo

I need to check if the serial number of the clock matches the box.

Anyone know where I would find the serial number on the clock?














































Sent from my SM-N900V using Tapatalk


----------



## StufflerMike

Interesting, I like it.


----------



## John MS

Nice military clock that appears to be in excellent condition. It will look nice on a desk.


----------



## SC-Texas

It's actually interesting. Funny thing is the kids haven't noticed it

Sent from my SM-N900V using Tapatalk


----------



## 124Spider

All my Chelsea clocks have their serial number on the back of the case, and on the back plate of the movement. And almost all of them run for much longer than 8 days (although they nominally are 8-day clocks).


----------



## SC-Texas

How easy is it to remove the clock from the wood case? Screws?

Sent from my SM-N900V using Tapatalk


----------



## 124Spider

SC-Texas said:


> How easy is it to remove the clock from the wood case? Screws?
> 
> Sent from my SM-N900V using Tapatalk


Typically, yes. There should be three screws holding the clock case onto the wood case.


----------



## jimmy_c

Hi guys my names jim and this is my first post.
I recently came across one of these clocks while cleaning out my fathers old house he said I could keep it., unfortunately it came without its box or key I had a #4 Key but it doesn't fit it.it appears a #5 key is correct.I have just ordered one an original Chelsea key,I got the clock back from my clock guy Ross he cleaned and lubed it he says it keeps good time and that the red hand keeps with the hour hand, so I will use this in my radio shack with the red hand set for UTC time and use it for logging ham radio contacts. It will look right at home amongst all my military radios I have on display.If any of you guys may know of an original wooden box someone might have for sale? I would be appreciative.Thanks


----------



## SC-Texas

Awesome. Welcome to the club!

Sent from my SM-N920V using Tapatalk


----------



## SC-Texas

Post some photos

Sent from my SM-N920V using Tapatalk


----------



## river rat

Congrats nice clock here is a shot of the two I have in the collection


~[/URL
This is a model you don't see much has a smaller case and the nob on the side of the case moves the hands still got to unscrew the bezel to wind it the one I got like yours the M2 and this smaller one the M1. I also got one of these the M1 at a NAWCC mart I use to go to in Calf every other month only good thing about moving out of Calf to MT no NAWCC there so it saves me money.


----------



## SC-Texas

Sent from my SM-N920V using Tapatalk


----------



## Moondancer

Nice clock.
I recently inherited a US Navy Chelsea Clock from my uncle. From the serial number, it appears to have been manufactured sometime between 1915 and 1920. It actually keeps good time. I have no idea if it has ever been serviced. The case seems to be made of nickel steel and the diameter of the face is 10 inches.


----------



## rationaltime

It looks good. I wouldn't run it dry. Even if not serviced,
I would have it lubricated.


Thanks,
rationaltime


----------



## Moondancer

rationaltime said:


> It looks good. I wouldn't run it dry. Even if not serviced,
> I would have it lubricated.
> 
> Thanks,
> rationaltime


 I think you are right. I have had it running for about 10 days since I received it and have started looking for an experienced clock person to help me do this. I can see how to get inside the clock, but am a bit reluctant to undertake this myself. This clock is really heavy and getting it out of this case may be a bit tricky. It appears these thing were built to take some real abuse.

If you know someone in the Southeast who does this kind of thing, please give me their name and phone number.

The Navy ships I served on in the 60's and 70's all had several Chelsea Clocks, but they were a lot lighter and in black cabinets like the Army Message Center Clock previously pictured. They were very accurate and reliable. As I recall, it was the duty of the Ship's Quartermaster to keep them wound and set to the correct time. In the radio room, we tuned an HF receiver to WWV or WWVH and used the radio broadcast time tick to set ours.


----------



## rationaltime

Thank you for the history. Can you tell us a little more? Like,
how many clocks were there on one ship? Did someone carry
all the clocks to the radio room to be set? Was there a regular
time of day when the clocks were checked against WWV?


Thanks,
rationaltime


----------



## Moondancer

rationaltime said:


> Thank you for the history. Can you tell us a little more? Like,
> how many clocks were there on one ship? Did someone carry
> all the clocks to the radio room to be set? Was there a regular
> time of day when the clocks were checked against WWV?
> 
> Thanks,
> rationaltime


There were typically several clocks on the Navy Ships I served on, and on a Carrier the total number could be quite large. They would always be found in the Officer's Wardroom, the Bridge, Combat Information Center, the Enlisted Mess (Dining Room), Chief's Quarters (The Goat Locker) and the Larger Enlisted Berthing Compartments. These were all firmly mounted to the bulkhead would typically be taken care of during rounds by the Quartermaster. The clock in the Radio Room was set and wound by the Radiomen and accuracy was very important to maintaining communications schedules and synchronizing equipment. I vaguely remember them checking it against WWV and making a log entry every day. The time of day that they tuned to WWV varied depending on High Frequency Radio propagation and signal strength. WWV transmitted a time tick every 5 minutes, and on very accurate frequencies that were 5 MegaHertz apart from 5 MHz to 30MHz. The radio room clock, and the frequency calibration of the ships HF receivers and transmitters also used this signal. HF broadcast signals from WWV or WWVH (Hawaii) were generally solid and could be heard on one or more of the broadcast frequencies (sometimes ground wave, but generally sky wave), .... except for the Indian Ocean or the Southern Atlantic where signal strength was often too weak.

The Quartermaster routinely checked his clock against the one in Radio as accuracy was important to Celestial Navigation which was another of his tasks.

There were additional clocks in various working spaces (ships admin, etc) that would have been attended to by the Sailors/Marines who worked in those compartments. The methods used to keep us aware of the time included the Ship's Bell, and the Boatswain's Pipe (Whistle) that marked the start of most evolution's: reveille, chow call, and a host of other items. We really didn't need to wear a watch.

The clocks were built to hold up to the hard jarring and vibration of the ships batteries which could be heavy. Even 5 inch batteries produce quite a shock and I can only imagine what the main batteries on cruisers and battleships could produce.

I reread this and realized that I am guilty of having a runaway keyboard.


----------



## rationaltime

I think clock collectors and people who have a few clocks
like to know when they were made and how they were used.
So, thank you for the detailed report.


Thanks,
rationaltime


----------



## David Woo

Moondancer said:


> I have had it running for about 10 days since I received it and have started looking for an experienced clock person to help me do this. I can see how to get inside the clock, but am a bit reluctant to undertake this myself.


the company still exists and they do repair work:
Clock Repair & Clock Restoration | Chelsea Clock


----------

