These are always cool to find. Anyone looking for a gold 500?
http://www.ebay.com/itm/RARE-UNIQUE-VINTAGE-METALLIC-GOLD-BELL-SYSTEM-WESTERN-ELECTRIC-ROTARY-DESK-PHONE-/201612005239 ?hash=item2ef1030f77:g:Cy0AAOSwzJ5XcItT
That phone has one dirty handset cord . . . Wonder what it looks like under the hood?
I've never seen one with a matching Gold handset cord. Both of mine have either Brown or White cords, both cords are genuine WE.
I have one of these, the handset cord is painted. I think they probably all came with the painted matching cord.
JMO,
Jim S.
Mines also has a matching gold cord.
For the record, it sold at $75
I assume those are not a factory issue ?
Dan
Quote from: Dan/Panther on July 21, 2016, 11:10:39 AM
I assume those are not a factory issue ?
Dan
They definitely were factory. The dial bezels are rear-painted clear plastic, something you can't do to a solid color bezel. This is the 3rd variation of Gold WE used for their 500s that I've seen; I have two: one that was plated in reflective gold color, and the other which looks painted in a dark gold matte finish (an exact match to Dark Gold on metal 302s).
Quote from: WEBellSystemChristian on July 21, 2016, 12:18:25 PM
They definitely were factory.
Nor really the Indianapolis or Shreveport
factory.
No color phones were manufactured from early 1942 until early 1949. Starting in 1949, the only "metallic" color phones were
assembled in the Western Electric Distributing House
Repair Shops -- later called the AT&T Service Centers.
All the gold 500s I've seen were refurbs with parts from all over the place. Christian, how about the two you have?
I think in some cases these gold 500s were assembled "in house" at some of the Baby Bells as retirement gifts and major awards and not mass produced on an assembly line at Indianapolis. That would also explain all the different types we see, some with painted gold housings, handsets and cords, some with gold flashed plastics and those with brown, white, light beige and other color cords. There was a lot of variation. About the only standard thing is the reverse painted dial bezel.
They also made Princesses gold about the same way, and in many different types, painted and flashed.
Quote from: jsowers on July 21, 2016, 01:47:48 PM
All the gold 500s I've seen were refurbs with parts from all over the place. Christian, how about the two you have?
Now that you mention it, they're both made of parts; one has a base date of 1965, the other 1957, but both have housings and handsets from the '60s. The 'spare parts' idea fits in, both were obviously built sometime in the '70s or late '60s, but both had 'outdated' open-center fingerwheels. Interestingly, the Dark Gold 500 has Mahogany Brown cords from 1966.
My point was, they weren't rattlecan jobs, but were genuine creations.
If someone had access to stockpiles of the clear bezels or had a way to make exact copies, it could be an interesting way to make replacement bezels for 1950/51 500s (small font operator).
You can find D-1,s that are painted the same shade of gold. I have also seen a 5302 (and a chime ringer) that was painted ivory as a base coat and then gold.
JMO,
Jim S.
Back in the day ,there were many people who liked to spray paint things gold. The gold painted phones may of been a "standard" special order color. Just a speculation.