Jelco

About Jelco

Jelco (Ichikawa Jewel Co., Ltd.) was a Tokyo-based Japanese precision-engineering company founded in 1920, originally producing jewel bearings for watches and instrumentation before branching into diamond styli in 1958 and, ultimately, becoming one of the most respected OEM and own-brand tonearm manufacturers in high-end audio. Their S-shaped statically balanced tonearms — including the SA-750, TS-550, and TK-850 series — were widely used both under the Jelco name and as the basis for tonearms supplied to numerous turntable makers worldwide. The company ceased operations in 2020, citing the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and the increasing difficulty of maintaining its specialized machinery, making all Jelco products no-longer-manufactured.