About Burmese Colour Needles
Welcome to an extraordinary piece of living history – a cutting edge hi-
fi product from the 1920s that continues unchanged to this day!
Burmese Colour Needles are still produced using period equipment
and in strict accordance with the original patents of Captain Ramsay,
the inventor and founder of the Burmese Colour Needle Co.
(Proprietary) Ltd. of Grahamstown, South Africa. They are made from
spines of a particular cactus which undergo various liquid, thermal
and mechanical processes in which they are purified, selected, cut,
hardened, dyed and profiled.
BCNs were marketed internationally from 1929 and for twenty years
or more, despite stiff competition at times, enjoyed an unsurpassed
reputation as one of the finest gramophone needles ever made: put
simply, they sound superb and cannot harm records in normal use.
During the 1950s microgroove records gradually displaced the 78 rpm
format. Eventually the BCN Company closed, as did the thorn needle
making operation of Imhof’s in London which by then was near
identical – the two had probably merged, but this has yet to be
confirmed. At this point Ken Erwood rescued the machinery and
stock, and continued to supply thorn needles for many years. Around
2006 the operation passed to Dave Williams who maintained
production meticulously until February 2018. When Dave spoke of
finishing, a number of devotees agreed that survival was imperative –
both for historical reasons, and to ensure continuing availability. So
(to misquote Victor Kiam) Andy Briggs liked BCNs so much he bought
the company!
Andy has been trading in gramophones and 78s as The Wind Up
Merchant since 1993, and has experience both as an industrial
chemist (polymers and lubricants) and in quality management, so you
may rest assured that standards are carefully maintained at all times.
Even now, stocks of raw thorns harvested many decades ago remain
plentiful enough for decades to come, and the original machinery is in
fine fettle. There is still a core of discerning customers, all enthusiasts
of fine gramophones and vintage recorded music – as well as a
continual stream of interest from new collectors exploring the best
ways to enjoy 78s authentically.
More about Burmese Colour Needles and their fascinating history can
be found elsewhere on this website.
