A brief history of the Seth Thomas wall clock will take it from their humble beginning in 1814 to their demise in 1988. The original founder, Seth Thomas, began making clocks around 1814, and continued on under this type of ownership until May 3, 1853. At this time, Mr. Thomas was 68 years of age, and decided to incorporate the business. Six years later, he died, and was succeeded by his son Aaron as the president of The Seth Thomas Clock Company.

Up to the time of Seth Thomas’ passing, the company had maintained a rather conservative line of products, primarily the Seth Thomas wall clock. However, when Aaron assumed the leadership, he purchased the patents of two other competitors in Ithaca, New York, and added several new model clocks to the production line. There are three patent dates on the dials of the earliest of these clocks – September 19, 1854, November 17, 1857 and January 31, 1860. There is a final date of March 1, 1862 that appears on the calendar wall clocks that were in production until 1876.

In 1876, a relative of Seth Thomas, who also was an employee in the factory, obtained a patent on a much improved clock mechanism that was quickly put into all of the perpetual calendar clock models. This continued until 1917 when the last calendar clock model was discontinued. The Seth Thomas Clock Company produced a fine line of clocks over the years and became known as the “Tiffanys” of all clock manufacturers in Connecticut. Their customers and competitors alike all agreed that the Seth Thomas clocks were the best.

During the period 1865 to 1879, they operated a wholly owned subsidiary known as Seth Thomas Sons & Company that manufactured a high grade mantle clock with a 15 day movement. They also diversified their operations by manufacturing street and tower clocks, and eventually jeweled watches. The company was doing well financially until 1931 when they were acquired by General Time Instruments. Over the next several decades, Seth Thomas went through several acquisitions, and made various types of clocks for the military in WWII. Due to a severe flood in Connecticut, they moved the operations to Georgia. Finally, in 2001 the company had a new beginning when they joined the Colibri Group, a very well known and prominent name in various luxury brands. This allowed them to rely on the financial strength of Colibri to take the name of Seth Thomas to even greater heights.

There are many factors that make the Seth Thomas wall clock, as well as antique Seth Thomas clocks in general, highly collectible today. There is no question that sentimentality has a lot to do with it, but the extraordinary craftsmanship as well as the internal clock mechanism, makes these clocks a favorite among collectors. The antique Seth Thomas wall clock and the Seth Thomas mantle clock are the most desired of all the clocks. They seem to never go out of style and a purchase of a Seth Thomas clock is an investment in this timeless classic. If you are considering starting a collection of antique clocks, the Seth Thomas wall clock and the mantle clock is the place to begin.