The 50s Presidents` Watch

History
1858 : Founding of the Manufacture Ditisheim frères in La Chaux-de-Fonds
1889 : World Fair in Paris, Vulcain wins an award for a Grande Complication watch, La Vallée de l’Arve
1898 : Ditisheim & Cie becomes the Fabrique Vulcain
1919 : New Vulcain factory, a large manufacturing facility to secure the future
1947 : Cricket, the first alarm wristwatch with a shrill chirping sound that delighted the world
1958 : Calibre 406 for the Cricket Golden Voice, a model designed for women
1961 : First dip for the Nautical, a diver’s watch unique in its kind
2002 : Rebirth of Vulcain, relocation in Le Locle
2004 : V-11, the Cricket calibre enhanced with a date display
2005 : Imperial Gong, the first tourbillon alarm watch, a stunning Grande Complication
2008 : The voice of the jubilee, the Anniversary Heart model, a tribute to the legendary Cricket calibre
2010 : V-21, the Cricket calibre enters the self-winding era. – Launch of the 50s Presidents’ watch
The 50s Presidents’ Watch
While the 1950s were undoubtedly a period of renewal
and hope, in which people firmly believed that the best
was yet to come, the origins of this positivist attitude
date back to the immediate aftermath of World War II.
A wealth of new experiences and ideas were about to
blossom and make their mark on the century. It was in
1947 that American president Harry Truman presented
before Congress his "doctrine" intended to "protect
free peoples from the advance of communism". On
June 5th of that year, he outlined the "European Recovery Program", generally known as the Marshall Plan,
which devoted over 13 billion dollars to the reconstruction of 16 European countries. That same year
in the United States, albeit in a completely different
register, Charlie Parker headed a quintet composed
of Miles Davis, Dizzy Gillepsie, Curly Russer and Max
Roach. And meanwhile, across the Atlantic in Switzerland’s Neuchâtel Jura region, Vulcain’s engineers and
master-watchmakers were busy attempting to resolve
an equation comprising a number of hitherto unknown
factors: how could one miniaturise a striking mechanism enough to house it within a wristwatch while ensuring it emits a noise loud enough to be genuinely
functional? None had succeeded in doing so until Vulcain presented the Cricket alarm calibre in 1947.
Vintage 1950s Cricket model.
Robert Ditisheim and his team during the development of the Cricket calibre in 1947.
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The 50s Presidents’ Watch
Staged in December 1947, the worldwide launch of the Cricket took place at the Waldorf Astoria in New York. The entire
press had been summoned for the occasion and the room was packed with journalists who created a huge stir of publicity
for the Cricket just before Christmas. Jewellers soon sold out and had to distribute vouchers promising speedy delivery to
customers who had not yet received their order.
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The 50s Presidents’ Watch
New currents of thought were to emerge during the
Fifties, Europe did indeed progress towards recovery,
the bikini was invented, jazz enjoyed a new surge in
popularity, and Vulcain’s Cricket alarm calibre gained
a worldwide reputation thanks to the huge technological breakthrough it represented. The movement was
sufficiently innovative to equip a number of Vulcain
wristwatches that were found on the wrists of some of
the world’s most powerful men. Successive American
presidents succumbed in turn to its charms, to the
extent that the Vulcain alarm watch simply became
known as "The Presidents’ Watch". The most eminent
of them have worn a Cricket: starting with President
Harry Truman, who often wore his Cricket presented
to him by the White House photographers. He was
succeeded by Dwight "Ike" Eisenhower who, despite
a well-known aversion for publicity bearing his name,
wore his Vulcain quite ostensibly. The young Richard
Nixon also received a Cricket as a gift in May 1955, after giving the inaugural speech at the annual congress
of the National Association of Watch and Clock Makers. And then came the turn of Lyndon Johnson to
wear this legendary watch, first as the head of the democratic majority in Congress, and then as President
after the assassination of J.F. Kennedy.
President Dwight Eisenhower wears his Cricket watch on
this photo published in The Saturday Evening Post.
Left: President Harry Truman, and President Lyndon B. Johnson on the right. Both are wearing a Vulcain Cricket watch.
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The 50s Presidents’ Watch
The 1950s were considered the golden age of jazz and of the mechanical alarm watch. Vulcain offered a watch entirely in
tune with its era, and the "Cricket" enabled its owner to activate useful audible reminders.
During the 1950s, statesmen, businessmen, scholars, athletes, explorers and mountaineers the world over paid tribute to the
Vulcain Cricket.
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The 50s Presidents’ Watch
At the heart of this new model that so powerfully revives the legend beats the new self-winding Cricket
V-21 alarm movement. Developed on the basis of the
legendary Cricket Calibre V-10, stemming from over
60 years of evolution and fine-tuning, the self-winding
Calibre V-21 is a 12-lignes (12’’’) movement fitted with
two barrels – one to deliver the energy required for the
hours, minutes and seconds functions, and the other
to power the alarm function which sounds for a full 20
seconds. It has a balance oscillating at 18,000 vibrations per hour and a 42-hour power reserve. Comprising a total of 257 parts, it features unidirectional
winding by means of an oscillating weight fitted with a
ceramic ball-bearing mechanism. A worthy heir to the
famous Cricket alarm calibre that has been shaping
the Vulcain legend since 1947, the Cricket V-21 movement drives displays of the hours, minutes, central
seconds and date – and of course the alarm function
on which the reputation of Vulcain watches has been
built for over 60 years and which significantly contributed to establishing their reputation as "The Presidents’
Watch".
Self-winding proprietary Vulcain Calibre V-21 alarm movement equipped with the Exactomatic system ensuring regular amplitude and enhanced rating accuracy.
Each movement is assembled within the Manufacture Vulcain.
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The 50s Presidents’ Watch
A Fifties spirit expressed through a contemporary model: such was the intention behind the creation of the
new 50s Presidents’ Watch collection by Vulcain – an
alarm watch inspired by a model from the Fifties, while
meeting the highest modern standards. Elegant, understated and imbued with a classicism that betrays
its origins, the 42 mm-diameter case available in 18K
rose gold and steel versions is water-resistant to 50
metres. With its slender case middle, its alternating
polished and satin-brushed surfaces and its subtly
designed lugs, the 50s Presidents’ Watch makes a
perfect fit on every wrist. In a manner characteristic of
the timepieces of the era, the dial with its slightly cambered circumference features applied hour-markers
and Arabic numerals, as well as Dauphine hands with
a decidedly Fifties look. The 50s Presidents’ Watch
is also fitted with a cambered sapphire crystal and a
sapphire crystal caseback adorned with the stylised
"V" for Vulcain. The dial comes in a choice of anthracite or silvered colours for the rose gold model, and in
silvered, anthracite or smoky grey for the steel version.
The Louisiana alligator leather strap is fitted with a rose
gold buckle on the 18K rose gold version or a folding
clasp with safety pushpiece for the steel version.
210550.280L
210550.279L
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The 50s Presidents’ Watch
210150.278LF
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210150.277LF
210150.276LF
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