Vulcain

By Bruce Shawkey

 Many watch companies are known by a single watch model, even though they produced many types of timepieces through the decades. Zodiac has its Sea Wolf, Doxa has its Sub 300, Universal has its Tri-Compax, to name a few. And for Vulcain, it's the Cricket.

When the Cricket was released in 1947, it was heralded as a grand invention at a time when the post-war economic boom was well underway. Businessmen could keep track of their meetings. Statesmen, scientists, and scholars could be reminded of their appointments. Even the Average Joe could set a reminder to pick up the kids at school. A Vulcain ad from the early '50s proclaimed the Cricket as "one of the greatest achievements in the whole history of watchmaking." You could buy a Cricket in a stainless steel case back then for around $70.00, equivalent to about $800 in today's dollars. Not cheap, but certainly within the realm of affordability.

Most every U.S. president since Truman has been gifted one, leading to Vulcain to name the Cricket “The Presidents’ watch,” a moniker which it uses to this day. But which presidents actually WORE their Cricket is another matter. Eisenhower, Johnson, and Nixon famously wore their Crickets.

President Lyndon Johnson was probably the biggest Vulcain fan of any U.S. President. He reportedly ordered 200 Crickets and gave them away as gifts. His own Cricket would reportedly go off during cabinet meetings, much to the chagrin of the Secret Service, who would sometimes mistake it for a bomb timer going off. Vulcain even has a letter of thanks from Johnson stating that he felt “somewhat less than dressed without it.”  Richard Nixon got one while vice president to Eisenhower. He received a Cricket after speaking in front of the National Association of Watch and Clock Collectors. As for which others wore theirs, I'll leave to the presidential trivia buffs to debate.

In point of fact, the idea of an alarm watch was not new. Alarm pocket watches are found going back to the 1800s. Numerous ideas for a wrist alarm were patented as far back as the early 1900s, but were not actually produced. One contraption involved placing the watch into a base unit, where the alarm bells were located. This, of course, precluded the owner from actually wearing the watch when the alarm activated.

More common were tactile contrivances where a claw or revolving button would graze the wearer's wrist. Spy movie fanatics may remember James Coburn's watch (right) that extended a small arm from the watch case that

wiggled the skin on the wrist in 1966's "Our Man Flint." Even though the Cricket was released almost 20 years earlier, Coburn's watch (actually a movie prop) of course did much more in the movie. The problem with an audible alarm (versus tactile) was a matter of physics. A wrist watch did not have enough physical size to produce an alarm of sufficient volume as to wake the average sleeper or even be heard by the wearer if he was in an area with even a minimal amount of ambient noise.

In any event, the Cricket so overshadowed Vulcain's history, that collectors often forget that they produced many other watches as well.

Vulcain's roots go all the way back to 1858 when the Ditisheim family -- Jacques and three sons Maurice, Gaspard and Aron -- founded the company in La Chaux-de-Fonds, Switzerland. The company was originally called "Manufacture Ditisheim." Ditisheim is a well known name found frequently in the world of Swiss watchmaking, resulting in confusion over which Ditisheim goes with what company. The brands Paul Ditisheim, Gallet, and Eberhard and more all have Ditisheims as parts of their histories.

In 1886, Maurice (left) bought the company from the other family members. By that time the company had grown from a small studio to a successful and well-known brand. Maurice won a bronze medal at the Universal Exhibition in Paris 1889 for a self-winding pocket watch of his design.

In 1894, the company began offering pocket watches with the brand name Vulcain, with the company now under the leadership of Maurice Ditisheim's son, Ernest-Albert Ditisheim. In 1900, the company officially became "Vulcain" named for the Roman god of fire.

Unlike other watch companies, Vulcain was late to the party when it came to wristwatches. It wasn't until the 1940s, in the midst of WWII, that Vulcain turned to wristwatches in response to the increased popularity of wristwatches for the military.

 The road to an alarm watch

Vulcain's idea of an alarm watch began in early 1940s when, under the direction of another Ditisheim offspring, Robert, Vulcain experimented with various prototypes, leading to the Caliber 120 unveiled in 1947. When activated, a small hammer (gong) strikes a metal membrane approximately 1,300 times in 20-25 seconds, creating a cricket-like sound, hence the name for the watch. Twin independent mainsprings meant the alarm could run itself down without sapping power from the watch, which ran off the other mainspring. The wearer was encouraged in the owner's manual to wind each mainspring daily, one for the watch (winding the crown counter-clockwise toward the six o'clock) and one for the alarm (winding clockwise toward the 12 o'clock).

The problem with the volume of the audible alarm was solved by French physicist Paul Langevin, who developed a double-case design that allowed the chiming to reverberate, thereby increasing its volume, sometimes to the surprise and even annoyance of persons nearby.

The Cricket operates with a rather complicated process of setting time and alarm using a combination of crown and button. Also the hands can only be set in forward direction. Despite these idiosyncrasies (which befuddle users to this day), the Cricket was a huge success. And Vulcain advertised the hell out of the watch, almost to the exclusion of all its other watches. But collectors forget that Vulcain made other watches, too. A few of those are shown at right and at the end of this article. Many of these are certainly not original factory case designs; they can be found enclosing other brnads, including Longines and Universal Geneve.

Clearly, the Cricket took center stage and the next page shows some of the ads that Vulcain ran. The Cricket also served as an adventurers' watch, as the brand partnered with several mountaineering and jungle expeditions. A Vulcain advertisement from 1955 states that the “CRICKET was selected from the finest watches to equip many famous expeditions, the most recent being the Italian alpinists’ victory in the Himalaya—K2 (28250 ft.). The teams of all these expeditions have expressed their satisfaction and admiration of the record performance of their VULCAIN CRICKET, testifying that their running was as faultless and the ringing of the alarm as distinct on the summit of K2 as in the damp jungle of Equatorial Africa.”

Two vintage Vulcain ads from the 1950s

A special "Cricket Nautical" was launched in 1961 (left) with built-in decompression table on the dial accessible with a separate crown. Reportedly the watch alarm was audible underwater. And the Golden Voice, essentially a smaller version of the watch for women, was introduced in 1964.

In 1958, Vulcain added the Caliber 401 (below right). Though it had a seconds sub dial and a date function, it did so at the expense of a separate barrel for the alarm, which reduced the alarm time to just 15 seconds.

Refusing to adopt the new technology coming in from the east, the brand stuck with mechanical movements, contributing to their downfall. Even before the quartz crisis, the companies Revue, Vulcain, Buser and Phénix merged in 1960 to form the "Manufactures d'Horlogerie Suisse Réunis SA" (MSR). During the 1970s-'80s, Vulcain struggled as the market for high-quality luxury mechanical wristwatches collapsed. Vulcain still produced their watches for sister brands within the MSR group, notably the Cricket under the Revue Thommen brand.

That might have been the end for the Cricket, if it hadn’t been for a Finnish jeweler named Keijo Paajanen. He met with Robert Ditisheim’s son, Michael, in the 1980s and suggested restarting gifting a Crciket to American presidents during state visits to Finland. So in 1988, Ronald Reagan became the first U.S. presidents in two decades to receive a Cricket, followed by George Bush Sr. two years later. In 1995, Gerald Ford visited the country for the anniversary of the Helsinki Accords, and finally was awarded his own Cricket 20 years after his presidency.

At the end of the 1990s, MSR went bankrupt. In 2001, the brand was purchased by Production et Marketing Horologer, PMH. The company moved from La Chaux-de-Fonds to Le Locle. PMH reinstated production of the

Side by side views of the (old) Cal. 120,
versus the updated V10 with polished plates and blued screws.

 

Cricket, the machinery for which, incredibly, still survived. With modifications, the Caliber 120 was reintroduced as the Caliber V10 in 2002 (above).

PMH, in turn, was acquired by Excellence Holding in 2010. Located in the canton of St. Gallen, manufacturing remaining in Le Locle. Headed by Bernard Fleury, a long-time fan of the brand, Vulcain completed its goal of making the Cricket automatic. This resulted in the new Caliber V-21, released in 2010. While the changeover posed few problems in the timekeeping portion, getting the alarm to work took a complete revising. The new movement contains 257 components, 100 more than its predecessor, along with Vulcain’s Exomatic system with its ball-bearing mounted unidirectional rotor ensuring consistent amplitude for better precision.

The alarm was now provided by an arm striking an anvil supported by a balance spring. The entire movement is beautifully finished, in contrast to the rather utilitarian appearance of the original.

There is an interesting twist to the Vulcain story that I confess I don't totally understand and which has not been well explained in available watch media. Around the year 2016, Vulcain was reportedly acquired by Flavio Becca, a wealthy Luxembourg real estate investor with a penchant for luxury watches. Becca, a rather shady character, had been under investigation by Luxembourg officials for corruption, embezzlement, blackmail, operating a Ponzi scheme and money laundering. Finally, in 2021, 10 years after the investigation began, a Luxembourg court sentenced Becca to two years in prison and a €250,000 fine, plus the confiscation of 643 watches including 187 he gave to members of his entourage. The jail sentence was reportedly suspended, so Becca is still wheeling and dealing, much like our own Donald Trump. But by this time, ownership of Vulcain had apparently reverted back to Excellence Holding, which is currently listed as its parent company. If anyone out there can shed more light on this apparent hiccup in Vulcain's history, I'll be glad to do a follow-up story.

The manufacturing facility in LeLocle currently manufactures or finishes 11 distinct movement calibers/ebauches. In addition to several Cricket movements, there are straight timekeepers, a single-button chronograph, triple-date moonphase, and even a tourbillon (based on the Technotime TT/91.04 ebauche).

 Vulcain is currently described as a luxury watch company. It operates in Europe with a strong presence in the U.K., Switzerland, France, Italy and the Arabic countries. In the United States, Vulcain watches are available from several on-line grey-market resellers. I think this is hugely ironic that there are no authorized sellers in the United States, seeing as how the Cricket is labeled the "President's Watch." Anyway, grey-market Crickets start at around $3,400, about four times the price of a Cricket back in the late 1940s-early-’50s (equivalent dollars).  There are some Crickets with cloisonne dials and karat gold cases with asking prices of $50,000 and more. So obviously, Vulcain is aiming at quite a different market than in the ‘50s. Vulcain experts warn against purchasing such grey market watches because, while they are new-old stock, they are likely closeouts and overstocks made 5+ years ago and probably in need of servicing.

Meanwhile, vintage Crickets go anywhere from $300 to $700 depending on condition on popular auction sites, and so represent a good value, in my opinion.

 

L to R Current models top row: Cricket manual wind Cal. V40 with alarm display at 4:00 and constant seconds at 8:00;  Automatic Cal. V21, date at 6:00; time only Cal. V56 automatic; single button chronograph, automatic Cal. V57. Second row: Cricket World Time hand wound, Cal. V11, date at 6:00, world time adjusted with lock crown at 4:00; 18kt pink tourbillon Cal. V62; Triple date moonphase, automatic, Cal. V58; Cricket 18kt pink gold case, god of fire cloisonne dial,  Cal. V20 automatic movement, center seconds.

 

L to R: Chronograph, 45-min recorder, steel case, circa 1945. Hinged lugs, 14kt gold, circa 1945. 1-button chronograph, hooded lugs, circa 1935. Rectangle, hinged lugs, gold-filled case, circa 1930.

L to R: manual wind, 14kt case and bracelet. Single button chronograph, chrome/steel back, circa 1940s. Horizontal tonneau, circa 1920s, 18kt yellow gold. Analog digital, circa 1960s, chrome case/SS back.

 

L to R: Nautical chronograph, SS case, Circa 1972. “Grand Prix” circa 1945, SS case. Automatic, recessed cron, SS case. Rectangle, hooded lugs, 14kt gold, circa 1950s.

Here is another article I wrote on Vulcain:

Ran across this ad in the March/April 1954 issue of Swiss Horological Journal for the Vulcain Cricket. The Cricket was not new, of course. The watch had been introduced in 1947. While not technically the first alarm watch to the market, the Cricket was certainly the loudest by virtue of a chamber that allowed the sound to resonate. Dual mainsprings also allowed the alarm to oscillate for a significantly longer period of time than prior iterations. The alarm made a sound similar to that of cricket when it chirps. That is how the watch got its name. The Cricket was an instant hit, first worn by president Eisenhower, then by Truman. Every president for the next 60-odd years would receive a Cricket for a gift, earning the watch the nickname "The Watch of Presidents."

Another variation of the Cricket would soon appear with two buttons instead of one. The crown had multiple settings. And the crown had to be turned one way to wind the watch, and the other way to wind the mainspring for the alarm. This made the watch confusing for users to manipulate. Many business meetings were no doubt interrupted by the chirping of the alarm because to user couldn't figure out how to work the watch. Then, an automatic Cricket was introduced, eliminating the "chore" of winding the watch, but making the other settings even more complicated. Confusion persists to this day on how to work the various settings on the Cricket. There are even You Tube videos on how to do it.

Vulcain, of course, made other watches besides the Cricket -- chronographs, multi-dates, etc. But the Cricket was, by far, the company's most famous watch. The company was founded in 1858 in La Chaux-de-Fonds, Switzerland by the Ditisheim brothers Maurice, Gaspard and Aron. 

Vulcain made other watches, too. Here's an ad for a divers' watch featuring Jacques Costeau:

Some other ads for Vulcain over the decades: