quartz crystals

[mr_fixer]

Originally Posted by old_tv_nut

Was ham radio gear or color TV the first consumer application of quartz crystals? Either way, the history of their manufacture is interesting.

This 1943 film shows the manufacture starting with natural quartz:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b--FKHCFjOM

This 1962 fikm shows the growth of synthetic quartz at Western electric:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oFH8_uLzano

And this history from 1973 states that synthetic crystals for civilian use were not grown until about 1958:
www.tedlind.net/Dickinson%20Paper.htm
"The government started the development of artificial quartz through a RD (Research & Development) contract to Fort Monmouth. About the same time P. R. Hoffman began to develop the first civilian source in 1958 under the direction of his chief chemist, Warren J. Hunt.(63) During the sixties the synthetic quartz process was steadily improved, until most companies today use at least 50% synthetic quartz in their products."

I found old QST magazine advertisements from 1932 for quartz and tourmaline crystals for ham transmitters here. http://www.bliley.net/XTAL/docs/ads.html