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The fastest and most secure way to protect the watches you love.
We’ve minimized the paperwork and maximized protection, so you can stop worrying about your watches and focus on enjoying them.
In most cases, you’ll get a personalized quote in seconds and your policy kicks in immediately.
Wherever you are on planet Earth, your watches are protected. Rest easy and travel safely.
If you suffer a covered loss, there’s no deductible and no gimmicks. Ever.
Each of your watches is covered up to 150% of the insured value (up to the total value of the policy).
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The fastest and most secure way to protect the watches you love.
We’ve minimized the paperwork and maximized protection, so you can stop worrying about your watches and focus on enjoying them.
In most cases, you’ll get a personalized quote in seconds and your policy kicks in immediately.
Wherever you are on planet Earth, your watches are protected. Rest easy and travel safely.
If you suffer a covered loss, there’s no deductible and no gimmicks. Ever.
Each of your watches is covered up to 150% of the insured value (up to the total value of the policy).
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Vulcain, a brand we’ve not heard much from in a long time, is back in a big way with the revival of the Cricket line. These new watches harken back to the brand’s heyday as the “Watch of Presidents.” Today marks the release of the President’s Heritage Cricket in two configurations: The Cricket Classic and the Cricket Tradition. Both models come in either 36mm or 39mm sizing.
The Classic arrives with painted indices filled with faux-aged luminescent material as well as lume-filled alpha hands. Its design seems to pull straight from the original Cricket itself – referred to by collectors as the LBJ dial because U.S. President Lyndon Johnson is believed to have worn a Cricket with a very similar dial design. The Tradition, pulling from the brand’s 1950s design catalog, features applied markers alternating between arrow and Arabic numeral indicators and dauphine hands. Each model features the Cricket’s calling card alarm feature.
The Vulcain Cricket Classic
Each model range comes in multiple regular production dial variations. For the Tradition, there is eggshell and black, and for the Classic, there are two black dial options (one with blue accents and another with khaki-colored numerals), as well as a brown dial. There is also a 50-piece limited edition Salmon dial option in both the Classic and Tradition lines. The back side of the watches feature a closed engraved caseback, in throwback form, reading “Sold The World Over Since 1858.”
Inside these new re-editions is a Vulcain manufacture caliber – the V10 with 42 hours of power reserve. It’s a hand-wound movement with a mechanical alarm system inside. The 36mm variations will cost approximately $3,600 and the 39mm will cost $3,900 (at the time of writing) and both are available to pre-order as of today.
Guillaume Laidet is at it again. He’s the man responsible for the exciting new releases from both Nivada Grenchen and Excelsior Park. In fact, he revived both of those brands from the depths of Quartz Crisis purgatory. With Vulcain, the story is a bit different. Back in 2016, HODINKEE reported that the brand was facing financial straits. It has brought Laidet on as a consultant to help bring some of his magic sauce into the Vulcain fold and these President’s Heritage models are just the beginning of this new (and hopefully beautiful) friendship.
I had a chance to get my hands on three of the 36mm models, which strikes me as the perfect size for an endeavor like this – it just feels appropriately classic. I have no doubt the 39mm offerings work just as well, I’m just a sucker for a well-executed 36mm watch.
Of the three dial options, I have to go with the salmon LE Classic model. When salmon dials work, they just work – and here the textured matte dial and faux-aged numerals work pretty well. The brown dial model is a pretty spot-on recreation of a watch we saw recently featured on our own Watch of the Week column. And while the mustard-adjacent coloration is not necessarily my style (I only wear mustard in stain form), I can tip my hat to Vulcain for nailing the look…and the size.
The Tradition watch is distinct from the Classic insofar as the applied markers give it a much dressier feel. The black dial model I had a chance to experience had a different matte effect than the Classic watches. There’s no texture, it’s more of a smooth, flat matte design. Due to the distortion of the dial accentuated by a domed sapphire crystal, both watches present as extra vintage.
The Vulcain Cricket Tradition
And then there’s the alarm function, which is powered by winding the watch backward. I’ll admit that playing with the alarm is fun, and hearing the cricket-like sound amplified by the interior caseback was a joy to listen to. Would I ultimately use this function if I owned a Cricket? It’s hard to say. I think it’s worth noting that for those who have never experienced a Vulcain Cricket, there’s a distinct rattling noise that comes from inside the watch that you can hear fairly well just by moving your wrist or shaking the watch. You can chalk it up to charm, but I do think it’s important to know going in.
There’s no doubt that Vulcain is an important watch brand and the Cricket an important watch. Its presidential history cannot be denied, and these re-editions continue that legacy in a truly thoughtful way. If these help to reignite passion and excitement behind the brand, well, I think that’s a real win. I believe there are a few more Vuclain-related tricks up Laidet’s sleeve in our future. I’ll certainly be waiting to see what he and the brand do next. Maybe I’ll set an alarm as I wait to find out.
Brand: Vulcain
Model: President’s Heritage Cricket, Classic and Tradition
Diameter: 36mm or 39mm
Case Material: Stainless steel
Dial Color: Black, brown, salmon
Indexes: Applied or painted
Lume: Super-LumiNova
Water Resistance: 50m
Strap/Bracelet: Leather strap
36mm Vulcain Cricket Classic on Kasia Milton’s wrist.
Caliber: V-10
Functions: Hours, minutes, central seconds, alarm
Power Reserve: 42 hours
Winding: Hand-wound
Frequency: 18,000 vibrations per hour
Jewels: 25
Price: $3,600 (36mm) or $3,900 (39mm)
Availability: For pre-order now with December delivery
Limited Edition: Salmon dial only limited to 50 pieces per model
For more information about Vulcain, visit the brand’s website.
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