Misplaced Pages

#542457

49-422: A patented clock mechanism automatically rewinds the main spring each hour by the small electric motor. A contact switch mounted on the clock's center shaft is activated after the clock has run for one hour and the main spring is rewound one revolution. This rewinding occurs each hour. The power for the motor is supplied by batteries and the batteries last about one year. The Self Winding Clock Company clock movement

98-858: A $ 6 billion transaction. After acquiring the company, First Data Corporation made the decision to relaunch telegraphy services under the Western Union brand, but sold this to International Telegram in 2006. On January 26, 2006, First Data announced its intention to spin off Western Union into independent publicly traded financial services company focused on money transfers through a tax-free spin-off to First Data shareholders . The spin off occurred as planned on September 29, 2006. The next day Western Union announced that it would cease offering telegram transmission and delivery. In May 2009, Western Union announced its plan to acquire Canada-based Custom House from Peter Gustavson. The deal closed in September 2009 for

147-401: A complete strategic, operational and balance sheet restructuring of the company over the next six years. Amman executed a strategy of redirecting Western Union from being an asset-based provider of communications services, with a money transfer business as a large but less important part of the business, into being a provider of consumer-based money transfer financial services . Thus, Amman ran

196-585: A lawsuit settlement, WU purchased all the rental clocks from SWCC. By the late 1960s, the time-service business had run its course and ceased to be profitable. Most of the clocks were simply abandoned. The SWCC clock's were usually used in synchronized time systems. Time systems that consisted of many clocks linked electrically to a master clock. The majority of the systems were installed in businesses, factories, banks, schools, and universities. Many railroads also relied on SWCC synchronized clock systems. Some clocks were sold as individual timepieces but most clocks were

245-526: A mechanical lever attached to the clock movement. This correction attachment would move the clock hands precisely to the hour (Patent No. 339,688). If the clock is not absolutely accurate, it would be corrected when receiving the hourly time signal over a telegraph line from a master clock calibrated to the US Naval Observatory . This correction was referred to as synchronizing, and many SWCC clocks were fitted with this option. The original SWCC factory

294-771: A mobile money-transfer service with the GSM Association , a global trade association representing more than 700 mobile operators in 218 countries and covering 2.5 billion mobile subscribers. The proliferation of mobile phones in developed and developing economies provides a widely accessible consumer device capable of delivering mobile financial services ranging from text notifications associated with Western Union cash delivery services to phone-based remittance options. Western Union's mobile money transfer service offering will connect its core money-transfer platform to m-bank or m-wallet platforms provided by mobile operators and/or locally regulated financial institutions. The company launched

343-429: A part of time systems. SWCC offered many very elegant designs for their clocks and the clocks could be purchased to match any decor. These were essentially catalog items. There were however many special one-of-a-kind clocks and clock systems that were installed by SWCC. These were intended to be very important architectural statements. Two of the most significant installations were the clocks at Grand Central Terminal and

392-595: A publicly traded company on the New York Stock Exchange . WUI was acquired by Xerox for $ 207 million in stock in 1979 and subsequently sold for $ 185 million in cash to MCI Communications in 1981. MCI renamed WUI to MCI International, ceasing the use of Western Union branding. Western Union purchased the TWX system from AT&T in January 1969, the only major competitor to its own telex network. Western Union became

441-509: A purchase price of US$ 371 million. This acquisition led the company to be re-branded as Western Union Business Solutions. In January 2011, Western Union acquired Angelo Costa, a group active in money transfer and services to immigrants. Angelo Costa has a network of 7,500 points of sale throughout Europe. The agreement was signed for US$ 200 million. In July 2011, Western Union acquired Travelex 's Global Business Payments division for £ 606 million. In October 2011, Western Union completed

490-581: A shared network of main lines. After the creation of the 'Six Nations' system, Western Union continued to acquire both larger & smaller telegraph companies and by 1864 had transformed from a regional monopoly into a national oligopolist with its only serious competitors being the American Telegraph Company and the United States Telegraph Company. Western Union completed the first transcontinental telegraph in 1861. Notably,

539-516: A special advisor who oversaw the divestiture of the four non-strategic telecommunications assets for about $ 280 million. Most of the company's business services unit including the Easylink electronic mail and Telex businesses were sold to AT&T for $ 180 million in Dec 1990. Western Union Priority Services including Mailgram, Priority Letter and Custom Letter services were not included in the deal. This marked

SECTION 10

#1732851744543

588-512: A time gaining a virtual monopoly over the American telegraphy industry. The company also began to develop new telegraphy-related services beyond the transmission and delivery of telegrams, launching the first stock ticker in 1866, a standardized time service in 1870 and wire money transfer in 1871. In the 1870s, the company faced increased competition from newly formed rival telegraphy conglomerate Atlantic and Pacific Telegraph Company and from

637-513: The Dow Jones Railroad Average stock market index for the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) was created in 1884, Western Union was one of the original eleven companies to be included. By 1900, Western Union operated a million miles of telegraph lines and two international undersea cables . AT&T gained control of Western Union in 1909, acquiring a 30% stake in the company. However, in 1913 AT&T , under indictment for violating

686-589: The E. Howard & Co. The most expensive clocks could be equipped with the higher grade movement made by E. Howard. SWCC then fitted their motor-winding components and synchronizing apparatus to the movements. The movements were mounted in cases of various designs, often in case styles similar to those of companies like Seth Thomas and E. Howard. The SWCC appears to have been manufacturing their own clock movements by 1892, for they are all stamped "Self Winding Clock Co". Earlier movements were stamped with Seth Thomas or E. Howard markings. The unique feature of SWCC clocks

735-787: The New York and Mississippi Valley Printing Telegraph Company in Rochester, New York , the company changed its name to the Western Union Telegraph Company in 1856 after merging with several other telegraph companies. It dominated the American telegraphy industry from the 1860s to the 1980s, pioneering technology such as telex and developing a range of telegraph-related services, including wire money transfer , in addition to its core business of transmitting and delivering telegram messages. After experiencing financial difficulties, it began to move its business away from communications in

784-630: The No Way Out 1998 and Slamboree 2000 . They sponsored UEFA Europa League from 2012 until 2015. During the 2003–04 season, Western Union served as the title sponsor for the Senior Division Football League in Dhaka, Bangladesh. The First Data Western Union Foundation donates money to charitable causes globally. After the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami , the Foundation donated US$ 1,000,000 to

833-470: The Russian invasion of Ukraine . Money can be sent online or in-person at Western Union agent locations. Cash can be collected in person at any other Western Union agent location worldwide by providing the 10-digit MTCN (Money Transfer Control Number) and identification. In some cases, a secret question and answer can be used instead of identification. In October 2007, Western Union announced plans to introduce

882-482: The Sherman Antitrust Act of 1890 , was forced to sell its shares in the company which once again became independent. Western Union acquired its only major competitor in the American telegraphy sector Postal Telegraph, Inc. in 1945, effectively giving the company monopoly power over the industry. After 1945 the telegraphy industry began to experience a decline as the use of telephones increased, especially in

931-558: The first transcontinental telegraph in 1861, being a part of U.S. industry's investments into developing American communications between the coasts of the Atlantic Ocean and the Pacific Ocean . The first messages went to then President of the U.S. Abraham Lincoln . The New York and Mississippi Valley Printing Telegraph Company was founded in Rochester, New York by Samuel L. Selden , Hiram Sibley , and others in 1851. In 1856

980-639: The 1950s, to apparently make room for expansion at the Pratt Institute. In addition to doing the clock manufacturing in Brooklyn, SWCC had business offices at various locations in New York City throughout its long history. When Self Winding Clock Company started producing clocks, the vast majority of the actual clock movements were made by the Seth Thomas Clock Company and the remainder were made by

1029-422: The 1980s and increasingly focused on its money-transfer services. It ceased its communications operations completely in 2006, at which time The New York Times described it as "the world's largest money-transfer business" and added that the company would remain as such due to the large number of immigrants wiring money home . From the perspective of the history of technology , Western Union notably completed

SECTION 20

#1732851744543

1078-527: The 33,000 range and the highest is in the 402,000 range. There were large numbering gaps and it has been calculated that probably around 200,000 movements were produced. The relationship of the Self Winding Clock Company with Western Union (WU) began with an agreement between the companies of June 1889. Its subject matter was for the transmission of time signals over Western Union telegraph lines to synchronize clocks made by SWCC. The company owned

1127-505: The Candygram, a box of chocolates accompanying a telegram that was featured in a commercial with the famously rotund radio announcer Don Wilson . In 1963, Western Union organized its international cable system properties and its right-of-way for connecting international telegraph lines into a separate company called Western Union International (WUI), which it sold that year to American Securities . In 1967, American Securities listed WUI as

1176-667: The Westar satellites launched) in 1988 after Western Union suffered financial losses with their telecommunications assets starting in the early 1980s. In 1981, Western Union purchased a 50% interest in Airfone . It sold Airfone to GTE in 1986 for $ 39 million in cash. From 1982, as a result of financial services deregulation , Western Union began offering wire money transfer services globally. In 1984, after years of declining profits and mounting debts, Western Union began to negotiate with its creditors regarding debt restructuring. The restructuring

1225-611: The Western Union Connect service in October 2015, following partnership agreements with major instant messaging apps WeChat and Viber . The partnership allows users of WeChat to send up to $ 100 to China , the US and 200 other countries, while Viber users can send up to $ 100 for $ 3.99 plus exchange rate fees , with that fixed fee increasing the more money is sent up a limit of $ 499. Along with satellite telecommunications, Western Union

1274-647: The acquisition of Finint S.r.l., one of Western Union's leading money transfer network agents in Europe, with more than 10,000 subagent locations across Italy, Spain, and the United Kingdom. In May 2015, rumors emerged over a proposed merger of Western Union and competitor MoneyGram , at a time when both companies’ revenue were declining. Western Union denied this was the case. In January 2017, Ant Financial , Alibaba ’s financial technology firm instead unsuccessfully attempted to acquire MoneyGram for $ 880 million, but this

1323-495: The case of long-distance calls, with total telegraph messages almost halving from 1945 to 1960. In 1958, Western Union began offering telex services to customers in New York City. Teleprinter equipment for the telex network was originally provided by Siemens & Halske AG and later by Teletype Corporation . Direct international telex services commenced in the summer of 1960, with limited service to London and Paris. In honor of Valentine's Day 1959, Western Union introduced

1372-418: The clocks and WU installed and maintained them for a monthly fee, ranging from $ 1.25 to $ 2.00 per clock. SWCC was paid a percentage of the rental fee for providing clocks for WU customers. If the clock movements required major repairs, they were sent to a SWCC repair facility and a replacement movement was installed by WU at the customer location. The partnership between SWCC and WU ended in 1963 when, as part of

1421-465: The company as two separate companies. One business consisted of the money transfer business, which was funded and operated to take advantage of the significant growth opportunity. The second unit consisted of all the non-strategic communications assets such as the long-distance analog voice network, satellite business and undersea cable assets. In the three-year period through 1990 Amman was supported by Robert A. Schriesheim , also installed by LeBow, as

1470-474: The company merged with its competitor the Erie and Michigan Telegraph Company , controlled by John James Speed , Francis Ormand Jonathan Smith and Ezra Cornell and, at Cornell's insistence, changed its name to Western Union Telegraph Company. In 1857, Western Union participated in the 'Treaty of Six Nations', an attempt by six of the largest telegraph firms to create a system of regional telegraphy monopolies with

1519-404: The end of Western Union's telecommunications carrier business. The official name of the corporation was changed to New Valley Corporation in 1991, as part of the company's move to seek bankruptcy protection to eliminate the firm's overleveraged balance sheet while continuing to grow the money transfer business. The name change was used to shield the Western Union name from being dragged through

Self Winding Clock Company - Misplaced Pages Continue

1568-672: The enormous four-dial clock and lighting system for the Metropolitan Life Insurance Company Tower . The two pictured clocks of the Grand Central Terminal and the outside clocks on the Metropolitan Life Insurance Tower were just part of each property's very complex synchronized time systems. Grand Central Terminal had a master clock that controlled all the clocks at the terminal. Metropolitan Life had two separate master clocks. One controlled

1617-631: The first American telecommunications corporation to maintain its own fleet of geosynchronous communications satellites , starting in 1974. The fleet of satellites, called Westar , carried communications within the Western Union company for telegram and mailgram message data to Western Union bureaus nationwide. It also handled traffic for its telex and TWX services. The Westar satellites ' transponders were also leased by other companies for relaying video , voice , data , and facsimile (fax) transmissions. The Westar fleet of satellites and ground stations were sold to Hughes (who originally built all of

1666-537: The first messages went to then President of the U.S. Abraham Lincoln . The firm additionally formed the Russian–American Telegraph Company in an attempt to link America to Europe, via Alaska , into Siberia , to Moscow – a project abandoned in 1867 following the successful laying of a transatlantic cable in 1866. In 1866, Western Union acquired the American Telegraph Company and the United States Telegraph Company, its two main competitors, for

1715-413: The mainspring. SWCC imprinted all of their movements with serial numbers. The serial numbers were used for inventory purposes and were assigned in ascending order. It is possible to approximately date the time of manufacture of a movement based on the serial number. The first "F" movements were made in 1898 and were made into the 1940s. However, it is not possible to automatically date a particular clock by

1764-549: The motors for the four outside clocks, rang the bells in the bell tower and controlled the spectacular and very complex outside lighting system. Another SWCC master clock controlled 184 slave clocks throughout the original building. Complex SWCC synchronized systems were also installed in the London Underground . The underground installation started in 1905 and eventually included about 600 SWCC clocks. Chester H. Pond Chester H. Pond (March 26, 1844 – June 11, 1912)

1813-465: The movement serial number. SWCC had a practice of exchanging clock movements rather than servicing a movement and then returning it to the same clock. This results in rarely finding a SWCC clock with its original movement. Identification tag numbers also often do not match movement serial numbers because the tags were not changed when the movement was exchanged. The total number of "F" movements manufactured could be confusing. The lowest serial numbers are in

1862-537: The nascent telephony industry led by the Bell Telephone Company . Western Union instead attempted to launch a rival telephony system before settling a patent lawsuit with Bell and leaving the telephone business completely in 1879. Financier Jay Gould orchestrated a merger of the Atlantic and Pacific Telegraph Company with Western Union in 1881, giving him a controlling share of the merged company. When

1911-502: The proceedings (and the resulting bad PR). Under the day to day leadership of Amman and the backing of LeBow , the company's value increased dramatically through its years operating under chapter 11. Following various restructurings, including negotiations with Carl Icahn who became a large bond holder, New Valley Corporation was sold in a bankruptcy auction to First Financial Management Corporation in 1994 for $ 1.2 billion. In 1995, First Financial merged with First Data Corporation in

1960-507: The winding motor added to the SWCC movement. The final design, termed the "F" movement or Vibrator movement, was a major improvement. This movement, with minor modifications, was used for the next 60 plus years. In this design, the motor proved to be much more reliable and was now an integral part of the movement rather than added on below the clock works. The "F" movement motor employed a vibrating up and down motion rather than rotary motion to re-wind

2009-447: Was also active in other forms of telecommunication services: Most of these services were discontinued by Western Union in the late 1980s due to a lack of profitability, with the company's divisions providing said services being divested and sold to other companies, such as the 1988 sale of WU's satellite fleet and services to Hughes Space and Communications , and the sale of WU's Airfone service to GTE in 1986. In 1914, Western Union

Self Winding Clock Company - Misplaced Pages Continue

2058-450: Was an American inventor. He invented many devices used in telegraphy . In later life he was a railroad developer. He also founded the town of Moorhead, Mississippi . Pond died at Moorhead on June 11, 1912. Western Union The Western Union Company is an American multinational financial services corporation headquartered in Denver, Colorado . Founded in 1851 as

2107-550: Was blocked by the U.S. government citing national security concerns. In 2018, the company moved its headquarters from Englewood, Colorado to the Denver Tech Center . The Englewood office complex was sold in 2020 for $ 40 million. In November 2020, Western Union acquired a 15% stake in the digital payments unit of Saudi Telecom Company for $ 200 million. In 2022, Western Union suspended operations in Russia and Belarus due to

2156-433: Was completed in 1987 when investor Bennett S. LeBow acquired control of Western Union through an outside of chapter 11 process that was a complex leveraged recapitalization. The transaction was backed by a total of $ 900 million in high-yield bonds and preferred stock underwritten by Michael Milken 's group at Drexel Burnham Lambert as part of an exchange offer. LeBow installed Robert J. Amman as president and CEO who led

2205-508: Was later discontinued by CyberSource effective December 31, 2007. Western Union was a major shirt-sponsor of the Sydney Roosters NRL team from 2002 to 2003. The company still sponsors the team, but not as a shirt-sponsor. Globally Western Union sponsors numerous community events that help support the diaspora communities that use the global Money Transfer service. They also sponsored numerous WWE and WCW pay-per-view events such as

2254-467: Was located at 205 Willoughby Avenue in Brooklyn, New York. This site was across from the Pratt Institute , and now is part of the Pratt Institute campus. Charles Pratt (1830–1891), the founder of Pratt Institute, was also one of SWCC's original founders and the company started business in his buildings. The SWCC factory remained in Brooklyn until they moved to 75 Varick Street, New York at some time in

2303-528: Was patented by one of the company founders, Chester Henry Pond (1844–1912) in 1884 (Patent No. 308,521). Pond was also a principal in the Gamewell Fire Alarm-Telegraph Company. He was an accomplished instrument maker and a pioneer in the developing field of electricity. He designed a small electric motor and matched it with a conventional clock mechanism. In 1886, Pond patented a correction device that used an electric current to activate

2352-400: Was that the clocks were wound electrically. The success of SWCC depended upon the clocks being reliably wound every hour without failure. The hourly winding motor was the one element of the clock that was most likely to fail. Over a span of about 15 years, the design of the SWCC movements went through a series of modifications aimed at improving reliability. The first six different styles all had

2401-533: Was the first to issue a charge card. As the Internet became an arena for commerce at the turn of the millennium, Western Union started its online services. BidPay was renamed "Western Union Auction Payments" in 2004 before being renamed back to BidPay. BidPay ceased operations on December 31, 2005, and was purchased for US$ 1.8 million in March 2006 by CyberSource Corp. who announced their intention to re-launch BidPay. BidPay

#542457