Help with GEM Identity

[The Soph Gent]

I know that the last photo is a 1912 "Ever Ready" USA. The other is a GEM Micromatic (TTO) and the 2nd is a G Bar. IS there a way to determine the year of the first two?

I came across this thread but not much help to me.
http://badgerandblade.com/vb/showthread.php/168078-GEM-SE-Razor-Pat-1912-vs-Ever-Ready-SE-Razor-Pat-1912

[Mike H]

According to shavewiki (http://wiki.badgerandblade.com/Gem)

The 1912 was manufactured from 1912-1920
The Micromatic - Late 1920's - 1940
The G Bar - Late 1940's through the 1950's

Those are some fine looking razors.

[Bluebriz]

According to shavewiki (http://wiki.badgerandblade.com/Gem)

The 1912 was manufactured from 1912-1920
The Micromatic - Late 1920's - 1940
The G Bar - Late 1940's through the 1950's

Those are some fine looking razors.

Amazing stuff! Those things were built to last!

[jmacak]

You know, that's something that I was pondering--is there a unified timeline for the different type of Gem shavers? You know, something that simply shows the manufacturing dates (probably determined through adverts or catalogs) for the various Gem shavers.

For example, we know that the '1912' models started manufacture around 1912, but, when did we stop seeing them in catalogs and advertisements?

The same with your examples, above. when did the Gem HFT start showing up, when did we no longer see it in catalogs, etc?

That kind of information is usually very interesting to serious collectors and is also something the casual collector likes to know.

But, I am not of much help--I've only been interested in shavers for a month or two and have not had that much exposure yet.

Maybe one of the serious Gem folks can help with this kind of general info--I hope.

[dgilman]

I sure hope I look as good as that OCMM there when I'm in my late 80s.

[alex2363]

You know, that's something that I was pondering--is there a unified timeline for the different type of Gem shavers? You know, something that simply shows the manufacturing dates (probably determined through adverts or catalogs) for the various Gem shavers.

For example, we know that the '1912' models started manufacture around 1912, but, when did we stop seeing them in catalogs and advertisements?

The same with your examples, above. when did the Gem HFT start showing up, when did we no longer see it in catalogs, etc?

That kind of information is usually very interesting to serious collectors and is also something the casual collector likes to know.

But, I am not of much help--I've only been interested in shavers for a month or two and have not had that much exposure yet.

Maybe one of the serious Gem folks can help with this kind of general info--I hope.it is hard to tell...There are 100,000's Gems with different names and they look alike, just the case and name make them difrent. With gillette atleast you can tell the diff between a Old Type and a New Razor. The Gems are more reliant on the cases to make them more identifiable and what year it was made.

[Shave Cat]

it is hard to tell...There are 100,000's Gems with different names and they look alike, just the case and name make them difrent. With gillette atleast you can tell the diff between a Old Type and a New Razor. The Gems are more reliant on the cases to make them more identifiable and what year it was made.
+1 Even using old advertisements, we can only come up an approximate with a range of years since ASR didn't advertise as much as Gillette did. For instance, I recently found an ad that was published in a winter 1949 edition of "LIfe" magazine that showed both the Gem bullet tip Micromatic and the Featherweight. However, AFAIK, there is no info available telling when production actually started or stopped.

[Sledgehammer39]

According to shavewiki (http://wiki.badgerandblade.com/Gem)

The 1912 was manufactured from 1912-1920
The Micromatic - Late 1920's - 1940
The G Bar - Late 1940's through the 1950's

Those are some fine looking razors.

+1

[mos6502]

The 1912 was made for decades after 1920 though. At least until the late 40s in the U.S. and into the 50s in England under the Ever-Ready brand.

[jmacak]

Definitely, I would not expect to arrive at the dates in one go. But, over time they can be enhanced--as adverts or catalogs listings are found that show models that are outside of the established date ranges, then we could update the range with that new sighting.

In your example above, if we had the date range on the Feather weight from 1951 to 1960, seeing one in that 1949 Life magazine would cause us to adjust the lower range to 1949.




+1 Even using old advertisements, we can only come up an approximate with a range of years since ASR didn't advertise as much as Gillette did. For instance, I recently found an ad that was published in a winter 1949 edition of "LIfe" magazine that showed both the Gem bullet tip Micromatic and the Featherweight. However, AFAIK, there is no info available telling when production actually started or stopped.

[jmacak]

Hi Alex

Yes, there were many different Gems, but I would think that we'd start by grouping them roughly, e.g. 1912 models, bullet tip MMs, etc, then refining by adding, under the rough groupings, the different models under those groupings (e.g. Damaskeene under 1912).

I don't expect that we would list everything at once, but slowly refine until we have a good Gem dating reference.




it is hard to tell...There are 100,000's Gems with different names and they look alike, just the case and name make them difrent. With gillette atleast you can tell the diff between a Old Type and a New Razor. The Gems are more reliant on the cases to make them more identifiable and what year it was made.

[mos6502]

I think it'd be interesting to start a thread to identify all the different variations of the 1912. Knowing them may help place rough dates on them by know when one detail was superseded by another.

[jmacak]

Does anyone know of a place within B&B where we can maintain such a list, preferably updatable by members? I think it could be a useful resource.

I have been a member only a couple of months, so I don't know if folks are interested in getting together for such an undertaking.

[mblakele]

The wiki is the natural spot for any kind of reference information. I am no expert on GEMs, but the great thing about a wiki is that anyone can edit it. And the wiki team is here to help.

I see http://wiki.badgerandblade.com/Gem already exists, but it is kind of long and may overlap some of the information at http://wiki.badgerandblade.com/Gem_1912. The wiki team tends to encourage one article per product: see http://wiki.badgerandblade.com/Category:Gillette_NEW_Razors for an example of how this can work out across a family of closely-related razors.

[jmacak]

Thanks for the info. I'm going to take a look.

I would like to see something useful to all lovers of Gems.


The wiki is the natural spot for any kind of reference information. I am no expert on GEMs, but the great thing about a wiki is that anyone can edit it. And the wiki team is here to help.

I see http://wiki.badgerandblade.com/Gem already exists, but it is kind of long and may overlap some of the information at http://wiki.badgerandblade.com/Gem_1912. The wiki team tends to encourage one article per product: see http://wiki.badgerandblade.com/Category:Gillette_NEW_Razors for an example of how this can work out across a family of closely-related razors.

[alex2363]

Hi Alex

Yes, there were many different Gems, but I would think that we'd start by grouping them roughly, e.g. 1912 models, bullet tip MMs, etc, then refining by adding, under the rough groupings, the different models under those groupings (e.g. Damaskeene under 1912).

I don't expect that we would list everything at once, but slowly refine until we have a good Gem dating reference.Sounds great. I have a thread about shaving scenes in tv and movies. It is in the shavewiki http://wiki.badgerandblade.com/Shaving_in_movies_and_television?redirect=no which I add new movies as our members post their movie or tv shave scenes. The Wiki is updated accordingly. Maybe you can do one and as members discover new GEM models you can add them to the Wiki. I have mine in categories, such as shave scenes in Tv, movies, documentaries, cartoons, videos. Our members have done a great job of posting shave scenes as they see them. Having a Gem category will be a good idea for you too. If you need any further assistance just PM any of your ideas. I have a several resources such as Waits razor Compedium and Phillip Krumholz books

[the beav]

We once posted a thread with GEM ads and discussing dates. If you look around you might find it.

[ERVARGASNY]

Why not contact Gem and see if they have that history info , has anyone ever tried that.

[jmacak]

Hi Beav

I'll do some searching around for that thread (and others that might have something useful, including pics). I'll try to pull together all I can find and maybe condense or centralize it into the wiki.

I wouldn't be surprised if we don't already have a lot of that info in a bunch of assorted threads.


We once posted a thread with GEM ads and discussing dates. If you look around you might find it.

[The Soph Gent]

Just saw this if it is any help to others:

http://www.creekstone.net/razors/gem.htm