It was 64 years ago, in 1947, that Vulcain presented the first fully operational mechanical alarm wristwatch, equipped with what would become the legendary Cricket caliber. The audibly loud alarm was quickly made history – and became the watch of choice for notables globally, including US Presidents, Trumann, Eisenhower, Nixon and Johnson – earning it the nickname of “The Presidents; Watch.”
The brand has enjoyed a resurgence since 2002, and now re-enters the US market with various technical advances on the legendary hand-wound Cricket movement. Located in LeLocle, Switzerland, Vulcain unveils a host of new collections, including the 50s Presidents’ Watch, Aviator GMT & Dual-Time and more. Every watch in the collection features a self-winding Cricket alarm that sounds loudly for 20 seconds. Each watch is equipped with two barrels – one for the time and one to power the alarm. The Swiss-made timepieces are built of the finest materials, including surgical grade stainless steel, titanium and 18-karat gold, and retail from $5,000 to $50,000.
Shown here: Cricket X-Treme Automatic. It offers the Cricket alarm, hour, minute, center seconds, date and outer rotating bezel . The 44mm titanium and black steel watch houses the Cricket Calibre V-21 and is water resistant to 100 meters. It retails for $12,100 and is a great watch for the price — offering history, updated bold allure AND a guaranteed wake up call!