Western Electric 533 - Black

The Western Electric 533 Metal Wall Phone dates from the 1930s and includes all required components including the ringer in a single cabinet.

The Restoration Process

Dial – The dial has been fully disassembled, cleaned, lubed and timed to ensure years of trouble free service. The outer edge of the dial has been stripped and repainted with a gloss black enamel. The number plate has been cleaned and a perfectly matching overlay has been applied. The finger wheel has been sandblasted and powder coated with a semi-gloss black finish. A brand new die cut dial card and acetate cover have been added as well

Cords – The phone has been outfitted with brand new brown cloth covered cords that are made in house on the same type of equipment originally used by the phone companies. They look amazing. The line cord has a modular connection to facilitate a modern connection to your wall jack.

Shell – The body has been stripped down and sandblasted using a glass grit and powder coated in a semi-gloss black finish. This closely resembles the finish on the original 533.

Receiver & Mouthpiece – The original Bakelite receiver & mouthpiece has been ultrasonically cleaned to get all embedded debris out. It is then sanded through a multi-step restoration process which includes sanding with 400, 800, 1000, 2000 grit and buffed back to its beautiful original shine.

Network – This 533 is outfitted with a new modern network. This allows the telephone to connect to a modern network.

Dial Options

Number 5 - The predominant dial of the 40's and 50's was replaced by the number 6 for a more univeral fit. The number 5 dial features a "whiir" sound upon its return and a good weight for dialing.  (Number 5 dial is shown in the photos)

Number 4 - This is the first 5 contact, 3 inch dial. The real joy of the dial lies in the highly sought after "clickity-clack" sound that was eliminated with the introduction of the number 5. What was eliminated from customer complaints, is now one of the features that collectors look for most in hunting out the vintage phones.

Number 2 - Characterized by its fingerstop screwed to the outside of the dial and its loud clickity-clack sound when dialing. This dial was only found on candlesticks and the 102.

 Do you currently have any rotary phones? If the answer is no, it is always a good idea to call your local phone company and check if they still support “pulse” dialing. If they do, you are all set to go. If they do not, your phone will not be able to place calls without a converter. We have internal converters for this type of setup available for $79.95 (installed during assembly)

As an alternative, we provide an option to use this phone as an extension of your cell phone. The XLink Bluetooth gateway will allow you to make and receive calls using a vintage rotary dial through a Bluetooth connection to your cell phone.