Hi, I thought I would weigh in on this topic. This notion of a C gem being re-painted and turned into a D is not going to fly. First, the Serial Number has the model designation....and second, the castings are significantly different. Have you ever noticed that a Red GEM looks shorter that the earlier models? It isn't, but it is an optical illusion as the angle of the sides is steeper. I just went and measured my model D and model C castings. The D and C have the same height ...3 5/16 inch... and footprint at the base of the casting....7 5/8 x 5 3/16 inch. However, the dimensions at the top are different. The C measures 6 7/8 by 5 inches and the D is 7 1/8 by 5 5/8 inches. The result is a casting that looks nearly rectangular on the D...and trapezoidal on the C. A re-painted C would never look right. The larger top dimensions also explains why the D and E lids have a slot routed out of the inside to accommodate the speed control on/off knob as it extends past the dimension of the base. A model B or C lid will not fit on a D or E machine.....
As for the GEM horn painted maroon... I have one of these horns and do not see any witness of black paint underneath. However it is 100% original with original decals. Edison was one to never let anything go to waste. If he had extra GEM horns and needed a Maroon horn for a GEM D or E...He would have re-painted what he had rather than have new ones made. If they have original decals ...They came from the Factory that way. From my perspective, A error or aberration from the factory is a rare occurrence, and as such should be very desirable to collect. I would display the error along with a correct one. Obviously a much Rarer item, It is up to personal preference if the error makes it more or less desirable. What would be interesting to see is a Gem D casting with a factory Black paint job....Does anyone know if this has ever occurred??? Gregg Cline -----Original Message----- From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of Steven Medved Sent: Monday, November 27, 2006 6:11 PM To: Antique Phonograph List Subject: RE: [Phono-L] Which one? And why? I posted a maroon Gem for sale a couple of weeks ago. Several of the parties interested in the machinequestioned whether it was worth more or less becauseboth the horn and machine have original maroon overoriginal black paint. I always thought the Gem shouldbe worth a little more because of the abnormality. Hi, I agree it would be worth more because of the abnormality. Edison made the C and D at the same time and a machine that started out as a C and ended up as a D would have more appeal to me, was this the one with the earlier style of Gem Decal that says GEM? Steve_______________________________________________ Phono-L mailing list [email protected] Phono-L Archive http://phono-l.oldcrank.org/archive/ Support Phono-L http://www.cafepress.com/oldcrank
