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.
