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A little Aurora history: About 40,000 Auroras were made over 20 years. The first were made by Rathcon and called the Spectrum (guess, less than 1,000 were made). Then came the regular Aurora that the vast majority of you owned. For the first few years Kirsch-Hamilton had them made and then the name (Kirsch-Hamilton) was sold to Hampton Haddon a marketing company. The Auroras were manufactured by Newton Plastics for Hampton Haddon (guess, 39,500 were made). Next, in the late 80's, Hampton Haddon had a version made in Japan that they imported (guess 1,000 were made). Hampton Haddon abandoned the clock around 1991. Then in 1993 we at ChronoArt started manufacturing Luminas (a polarized light clock, see above) and then a year later started also manufacturing new Auroras and repairing the old ones. We still make brand new ones and repair the old ones, today.

Some of the Rathcon version of the Aurora's (Spectrum) case were made out of a poor grade of Aluminum and are not worth repairing. The can only be repaired by completely guting the clock an putting in all new Aurora parts.

The Japanese version of the Auroras had the most beautiful colors and the nicest case, anodized aluminum. These parts, the case and front filter, we try hard to use when they are repaired because they are so nice.

The regular Auroras, made by Newton Plastics, that most of you have were made out of polished, but not anodized aluminum. There is an advantage to the aluminum just being polished. If you scratch the case, the scratch can be polished out.

For about the first 6 years that ChronoArt made the Auroras they were made out of brass that was nickel plated. These were the prettiest cases of all, but very expensive. We have currently gone back to polish aluminum on new Auroras.

With AURORA's the repair process goes like this:

Send in your clock with a note describing the problems. When we receive your clock we will send you several quotations, a minimal repair at minimum cost to get it functioning.  A higher quote, for people who want to pretty up the filters.  And a third quote to update the clock to newer technology.  A complete description of all the choices is included. Prices are in one of the following areas: $50 for minimal lighting trouble, $105 to change the clock motor, $190 for motor and filters, $260 to $295 for motor, filters and newer lighting technology (either fluorescent lights or light emitting diodes for cooler running and more saturated colors). You can then choose and authorize us to start the work by calling and giving us a credit card # or mail us a check. The average repair time is 3-1/2 weeks. Repairs have a one year warranty on parts and 90 days on labor.

Pack the Aurora with a couple of inches of bubble pack on all sides, use a sturdy box, and ship your clock to: Address

Scroll to the bottom to see some color comparisons of the colors that the Auroras produce after repair.

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Give me a call. If the motor has stopped and you are a little mechanically adept I can probably just send you a motor and save you $60 in labor and shipping. A question I will ask when you call, "How hard is it to turn the setting knob?" Your answer will affect what we (you and I) choose to do.

If the lights keep going out, again, call me.

The Prisma's are easily damaged in shipping because they are so heavy. I recommend double boxing, with the front lens face down in the box. Insure the black case ones for $400 and the chrome case ones for $500.    

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The lamps for these clocks are not commercially available any more. We have found substitutes but the lamp card must be modified for the new lamps to work. The modification plus the lamps is $49. A spare set of lamps is $21. Send in the lamp card from inside the clock. If you send the whole clock the charge is $65. Please include the check with the card. Thank you.

To remove the lamp card remove the 3 screws in the bottom and remove the bottom cover. Under the clover you will see a white nylon bar going accross the lamp card slot. Remove one of the screws holding the nylon bar and loosen the other screw and swivel the lamp bar aside. You also we see red and white wires going into a white nylon connector. Pull on the white nylon connector to remove. Then hold the clock right side up and the lamp card will fall into your hand.