Vulcain Cricket Dual-Time Reference 100105.019M Silver Dial Stainless Steel Bracelet - Mechanical Alarm Icon, A Review (plus Video)

I have always fancied a mechanical alarm wristwatch. The Jaeger-LeCoultre Master Compressor Memovox Alarm and the Vulcain Cricket series of alarm watches are two options that I wanted to add into the collection. However, the price points of these watches are too high for my wallet. It was just a stroke of luck that I happened to be in one of my favourite ADs in Kuala Lumpur which was keen to release their Vulcain stocks for an insane discount.

Vulcain is not well-known in Kuala Lumpur. Unlike other mainstream Swiss brands, Vulcain is deemed to more 'American'. This was due to its association with former United States President Harry S. Truman, who wore one of their watches and helped inspire the brand’s reputation as “the watch for Presidents”. Vulcain milked it aggressively and even initiated a gift programme of a Vulcain watch to every seating President of the United States since to propagate the notion that it is the watch of choice for any holder of the office. For more insight of this sub-story, please refer to the a special section at the end of this review.

I decided to choose the Vulcain Cricket Dual-Time Reference 100105.019M to be a new member of the collection as this is the most basic of the mechanical alarm examples available (also the cheapest). This particular model has the silver dial with stainless steel bracelet.




The Brand History

As a brand, Vulcain was established back in 1858 in the workshop of the Ditisheim brothers. Now headquartered in Le Locle, Switzerland, the brand's call to fame was in 1947 with the launch of the “Fabrique de Montres Vulcain”, the first genuinely operational alarm wristwatch.



The idea of incorporating an alarm within a watch was not new. However, no one has yet made one within a size of a wristwatch producing a sound powerful enough to be meaningful. The owner of Vulcain then, Robert Ditisheim took up the challenge and the output was the iconic mechanical hand-wound Cricket, equipped with two barrels, one for the movement and the other for the alarm.



Unfortunately, the turn of the 21st Century has been stressful for the brand due to declining sales. In December of 2016, Vulcain announced a downsizing exercise that saw seven of their twelve employees leave. Around June 2017, the brand announce that they have been acquired by new corporate owners from Luxembourg. At the time of this writing, nothing else have emerged about the new owners and the direction the brand is going to. Suffice to say the website remains the same and it still refers to the 2016 collection.

The Watch

The Vulcain Cricket Dual-Time measures 42 mm across and 14 mm tall, is crafted from polished 316L stainless steel. It has a lug width of 22 mm and a lug-to-lug length of 51 mm. The watch is paired with a stainless steel bracelet. There are only two complications in the watch apart from the watch hands; an internal bezel and its call to fame, a mechanical alarm.

There are three controls provided and all are located on the right side of the watch casing. At 2 o'clock is the pusher to engage the mechanical alarm. At 3 o'clock is the main crown that winds the mechanical movement, winds the alarm spring and adjust the time and adjust the alarm.  At 4 o'clock is the crown that controls the internal bezel. More about the controls later.

The Dial



The dial has a silver sunburst pattern with Arabic numerals and line markers. There are only 5 lines of texts printed in black and the applied Vulcain logo in golden colour. Apart from the logo and brand name, key information which Vulcain find it important to put on the dial are the model name ('Cricket'), its ability to track a second time zone ('Dual time'), the water pressure rating ('100 M - 330 f') and country of manufacture ('SWISS MADE'). It is interesting to note the different styles used for the words. Where some are in all capital letters, some are not.

The most outer rim of the dial sits the internal bezel. This helps track a second timezone. It has a gradual slope from the top edge of the dial downward to the floor of the dial. Similar to the dial, it is also in silver but with a circular pattern instead. This give a variation in visual cue when at a distance. There are Arabic numerals as well as line markers of 12 each and painted in black. To control the bidirectional internal bezel, one need to unscrew the crown located at the 4 o'clock position and adjust accordingly.



On the dial floor itself there are three timing scales for various purposes.

At the edge is the alarm scale. Every hour is marked with a red line marker. Within two red line markers sits three Arabic numerals; 10, 30 and 50 plus two dot markers separating them. These are painted in blue. The combination repeats itself after each red line marker. When one wants to set the mechanical alarm, one can adjust the alarm hand to point to the these points on the scale. Due to the mechanical design of the alarm, one is unable to program the alarm to ring at a precise minute. Based on the scaling, it would appear that an error rate of 5 minutes is expected when setting the alarm. Description on how to program the alarm will be detailed shortly.

The next timing scale is for the minutes and sub-minutes. Dot markers with black frame and filled with Superluminova paint into a dome shape are set for every 5th minute. For the rest, long line markers in black for each minute and short line markers in black for every fifth of a minute.

The third and final scale is the applied hour markers in Arabic numerals and faceted isosceles trapezoid shapes. These are polished pieces with golden colour.

Mid-centre of the dial is a round ring painted in black and broken by the water pressure text at the bottom. All the texts and logo apart from the country of manufacturer are within the borders of the ring.

Through the central column stem, there are four hands. The hours and minutes hands are golden in colour and dagger-like. Their centres are painted with Superluminova paint. The seconds hand is thin and also painted with golden colour. There is a ball near the front of that hand and painted with Superluminova. The fourth and last hand is the alarm pointer. Also thin with golden colour but with an arrowhead painted in red.



Protecting the dial is a dome sapphire crystal. From the photo above you can see the dome as well as the edge of the crystal set about a millimetre above the fixed bezel. This potentially increases the likelihood of side impact damage to the sapphire crystal as a hit can graze the bezel yet squarely contact a corner of the crystal. If you use the watch as formal wear, this should not be a problem but if you intend to use as a travelling watch, you need to be mindful.

In the photos above, the crowns have the Vulcain logo stamped on their top.



The case-back is rather unique. It comes in two pieces. Both are friction fit into the watch casing instead of the usual screw-down system. The inner case-back protects the internals whereas the outer cased-back, which you can see here, creates a dome and has holes near the side to focus and increase the volume of the alarm. Although this design achieved the objective of making the alarm more audible, the number of access points on the outer case-back increases the possibility of stuff getting stuck in any of the holes.

It is also important to note that a small "V" has been etched on a section of the case-back to indicate the place where one can pry open the case-back. Apart from that important marking, other key information about the watch are also etched on the brushed finished surface. I am actually rather surprised that my particular example has a serial number of just #682.

The Bracelet

The watch casing is paired with a stainless steel bracelet with solid end-links. At 22 mm near the lugs, the bracelet tapers to 20 mm at the clasp. The clasp for this watch is the butterfly-type with a twin button locking mechanism. The clasp is small and have enough space to chemically etched the brand and logo. It also does not have any micro adjustment points.

The bracelet has a polished and has a thatched or weave pattern. Friction pins are used to attach the links together. To enable better bracelet resizing, two half links are also provided. For my 7.25” wrist circumference, I need to take off two full links for a comfortable fit.



Visually, I find the bracelet to be a tad too flashy for the watch. I personally believe the problem lies with the design pattern and not the size of the bracelet. The current pattern seems to take an observer's focus away from the watch face. Because of the silver dial, it competes with the polished stainless steel bracelet for the attention of the observer. Vulcain designers should have just chosen a simple “H” link design with a brushed finish. The better option is just replace the bracelet with a strap, preferable leather.

As highlighted earlier, the dial does have some level of illumination with some parts of the dial painted in Superluminova. Unfortunately, it is not as good as some other watches. For a formal watch, this should not be an issue but as a traveller's watch, it scores poorly.




Movement

The watch comes equipped with the iconic Vulcain Cricket Manufacture V-10. Unfortunately, I am unable to confirm whether it is the pre-2015 or the post-2015 version. The pre-2015 version is a 12-lignes mechanical hand-wound alarm movement. Nickel coating with blued screws, it is made out of 157 components. It has a double barrel main springs with 17 jewels. The movement has a diameter 28.00 mm, thickness 5.60 mm (see below).




The post-2015 version is called the Vulcain Cricket Manufacture V-10 (H2). Similar in dimensions apart from the the number of components as well as the number of jewels used. In this version, it is made out of 165 components and has 25 jewels (see below). Although Vulcain has not provided any performance characteristics, this upgrade should improve accuracy somewhat. The new version also lighter with some parts of the movement redesigned with the use of computer-aided-manufacturing processes. An obvious design change is the two ratcheting gears seen in the two photos. The pre-2015 has a solid disc design while the post-2015 has a wheel-spoke design.

The movement also incorporates the Exactomatic system, an innovation patented in 1946. The Exactomatic system equalize the friction on the balance-wheel axis in all positions which provides a more regular amplitude. The system thus provides greater accuracy and better regularity in the operation of the watch.

Operationally, the V-10 only operates a frequency of 18,000 BPH or 2.5 Hertz. A rather low speed reminiscent of pocket watches and grandfather clocks, accuracy could be a problem. However, coupled with Vulcain's patented Exactomatic system, accuracy should remain tight. Using an accuracy measuring tool from the internet, I was able to record the following result.

I was able to record an accuracy of -1.8 SpD (this was the result of my second test as the first test reported a ridiculous number which I suspect was due to my measuring mistake).

A double barrel design is required as one set is used to power the timekeeping functions of the watch for approximately 42 hours while the other set is used to power the alarm function for approximately 20 seconds.

There wasn't any text on the watch as well as on the documents about the actual movement used on this particular watch. However, based on the serial number, #682, it is most likely be the pre-2015, 17 jewels version. Although it is possible to uncapped the case-back and check it directly, I decided against it. Limiting the number of times the internal get exposed extends the longevity as well as the stresses on the rubber gaskets.

I have mentioned earlier about how to use the internal bezel. Now I will explain how to adjust the timing on the watch and how to set the alarm.

It is important to note that the V-10 is a manual winding movement. The crown at the 3 o'clock position uses a push-in, pull-out system. In the push-in position, one can only charge the springs of the timing and the alarm barrels. Turning it clockwise charges the alarm barrel and turning it counter-clockwise charges the timing barrel. There is a clutch system to protect the springs in the barrels from being over wind.

Once charged, you can press the pusher located at 2 o'clock. It has the function to push out the crown to the 'adjustment' position. Turning it clockwise moves the alarm hand and turning it counter-clockwise adjust the time. Due note that the hands moves only in one specific direction and cannot be reversed. Also note that the alarm will be automatically 'active' if the alarm springs are charged. There is no 'on/off' switch to engage or disengage the alarm. You can only discharge the potential energy stored in the alarm springs by letting the alarm ring.

Wearing Experience

Apart from the issue of the bracelet (see the photos below and you will see what I mean), the watch wears normally on the wrist. Replacing the bracelet with a leather strap does wonders to the visual beauty of the watch. As it stands, the bracelet appears to overwhelm the watch especially in sunlight.



Below is a video of the watch on my wrist.



Replacing the bracelet with a leather strap is a simple affair that does wonders to the overall feel of the watch. Although I can appreciate the solidness of the bracelet, the beauty of the silver dial can only be enhanced with the warm tone of a leather strap.

The Buying Experience

I got the watch from Hang Thai Watch shop in Bangsar Village Shopping Complex for a song. The watch has been in stock for sometime and the AD wanted it sold quickly. When I got it, the watch box is already in the state of disintegration.



The insides of the watch-box was already peeling (see above). I guess you can classify this watch as NOS (New Old Stock).

I was able to get for just RM8,800.00.


“The President’s Watch”

The Cricket that started the whole “President’s watch” business belonged to President Harry Truman. He received his Cricket as a gift from the White House Press Photographer’s Association in 1953, and of all his watches, this is the one he is most closely associated with. His successor, President Dwight Eisenhower, also sported a Vulcain Cricket well before he took the office. He even inspired a Vulcain advertising campaign touting the connection. President Lyndon Johnson, however, was probably the biggest Vulcain fan of any US President. He gave away plenty of Crickets as gifts, Vulcain even has a letter of thanks from Johnson stating that he felt “somewhat less than dressed without it.” Same goes for Richard Nixon, who received a Cricket from after a speaking in front of the National Association of Watch and Clock Collectors.

Since then, Vulcain has gifted most presidents, including Carter, Reagan, and Clinton, their own version of the Cricket. Obama received one upon his election, and in 2016 Vulcain confirmed they would give one to Trump as well.

There are a number of versions available under the series. Generally the series  have the following permutations; blue dial, black dial, and silver dial with either golden, polished or white markers, coupled with a combination of leather straps, rubber as well as bracelet.




Specifications

Material: Stainless steel
Dial: Silver with Arabic numerals and line markers
Dimensions: width 42.0 mm, height 14.0 mm, lug-to-lug 51 mm
Lug Width: 22.0 mm
Bracelet: Stainless steel
Clasp: Double-fold and signed
Glass: Sapphire crystal
Movement: V-10 manual winding (Pre-2015 version)
Speed: 18,000 BPH or 2.5 Hertz
Jewels: 17
Power Reserve: Approximately 42 hours
Complications: Mechanical alarm, second time display function via internal bezel
Water Rating: 10 ATM or 100 meters
MSRP: EUR4,220; SGD7,094; RM17,360

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