The GMT Forged Carbon

From Bamford London -

Courtesy of Bamford London

Here are the pertinents, straight from Bamford -

A New Club Campus in Rose

From NOMOS -

Courtesy of NOMOS

In the interest of full disclosure, NOMOS makes very fine watches. I've no doubt the designers and watch makers are wonderful people. The folks who make up their marketing and PR departments? Well, if you don't have anything nice to say...

So let's stick to the watches today, and maintain the general good humor ; )

This is the Club Campus full rose, and I kinda' like it -

Courtesy of NOMOS

It is available with either a sapphire display back, or solid stainless steel case back.

Courtesy of NOMOS

The movement is the hand-wound DUW 4001 caliber -

Courtesy of NOMOS

Here are the pertinents -

Ref.720

Case:

stainless steel, screwed
stainless steel back 

Crystal: 

domed sapphire crystal glass

Winding:

manual

Dimensions:

diameter 38.5 mm
height 8.4 mm
lug-to-lug 48.9 mm

Water resistance:

10 atm (suitable for swimming)

Dial:

rose

Hands:

rhodium-plated, with superluminova inlay in white (blue luminescence), seconds hand neon orange

Strap:

Vegan velour remborde anthracite lug width 20 mm


Caliber:

DUW 4001
manual movement 

height2.6 mm

diameter10 ½ lines (23.3 mm)

Power reserve up to 53 hours

Jewels17

The BR-05 Blue Diamond Eagle

From Bell & Ross -

Courtesy of Bell & Ross

This is the latest addition to the BR-05 family, the BR-05 Blue Diamond Eagle.

Courtesy of Bell & Ross

This is a pre-order item. Price is 4900€

Here are the pertinents, straight from Bell & Ross -

Movement: Automatic mechanical. 54-hour power reserve.

Functions: Hours, minutes and seconds.

Case: Width 36 mm. Thickness 8.7 mm. Polished and satin-finished steel. Screw-down crown. Crown guard. Case back with laser-engraved representation of the constellation Aquila.

Dial: Blue aventurine plaque representing space. The hour markers are replaced by diamonds. The constellation Aquila is reproduced by seven diamonds.

Glass: Sapphire with anti-reflective coating.

Waterproof rating: 100 meters.

Bracelet: Polished and satin-finished steel.

Buckle: Folding. Polished and satin-finished steel.

The Transfer Window Opens (for the FOURTH TIME IN TWO YEARS)

At Tag Heuer...

Courtesy of Tag Heuer

In the interest of transparency, I have about as much interest in the machinations of Tag Heuer and the LVMH watch stable writ-large as I do in hemorrhoid treatment. Actually, that's not fair. If and when I do develop hemorrhoids I suspect I will have more than a passing interest in the healing properties of Preparation H. But as they say, sometimes you have to lance a boil, and as this is outlet that talks about watches (allegedly), I guess we have to give "mighty Tag Heuer" some air time.

Okay, let's get to the heart of this. I have no doubt that the new person in the hot seat is probably more experienced and capable than the winners of the Arnault Family DNA Olympics. And add to that, Ms. Goasglas has been with Tag Heuer since 2018, and held some pretty big jobs with them. And it doesn't hurt that she is French, because although HQ is in La Chaux-de- Fonds, the real marching orders are coming from an arrondissement several train stops North by Northeast.


The timing is a wee bit quirky as well, why hold off for May 1? There is a little event that some people say is even more prestigious that The HYPE NYC ; )

The real question is this - what the f&*k has been going on at Tag Heuer and LVMH's watch division? Hublot has become an afterthought, and Zenith is starting to operate from the Sunk Cost Trap theory of business -

https://www.henkitime.com/2017/04/the-sunk-cost-trap.html

So what I'm driving at is this: for all his faults - and he has more than his share, the LVMH watch brands (Hublot, Tag, and Zenith) under Jean-Claude Biver's oversight at least seemed to know what they were doing. Or in Zenith's case what they were trying to do.

Regardless of the heroes and zeroes of the (recent) past, we at Henki Time wish Ms. Goasglas bon chance and Godspeed.
Tag Heuer may just be a dog that won't hunt, but we shall see.

Time "Presses" On!

Okay, in fairness, J. PRESS always had a lot of Ivy street cred. Way back when the dinosaurs still roamed the earth (1991) a young Henki arrived fresh from his undergraduate studies at the University of Oregon in Harvard Square where he worked at Kinko's with dreams of somehow getting into publishing while (poorly) managing the Kinko's Professor Publishing program at Harvard University. Unbeknownst to me and thousands of other "Kinkoids" around the lower 48, Kinko's Professor Publishing was about 3 months away from the terminal sort of body-blow that you just don't bounce back from. An academic publisher sued (and won) over fair use. Basic Books, Inc. v. Kinko's Graphics Corp. I saw the writing on the wall, slung my hook, and a little over a year later was living and working in Tokyo. The publishing world's loss was English Teaching's gain ; )

But for a brief, shining moment I roamed the campus trying to convince professors (and more often graduate teaching assistants) of the virtue of letting us photocopy their materials and sell them as bound compendiums to their students. This also led to a fair bit of free time which I dufifully spent around Harvard Square, starring into the store windows of the shops I could not begin to afford to shop in. The Andover Shop (which is still there), and J. PRESS.

Courtesy of J. PRESS and Bamford

So it was with a very large amount of curiosity that I opened my email today to find an announcement of (I believe) the first horological collaboration of what I am calling the "Jack Carlson" era of J. PRESS. 

Courtesy of J.PRESS and Bamford

And well, it's a bit special!

Courtesy of J. PRESS and Bamford

Here are the details, straight from the source -

Order Window: 3/12 - 3/26

Estimated Shipping Schedule: Bamford will begin making these watches once the order window closes on 3/26.  We expect to begin shipping orders from New York the second week of May.

A new way of thinking about a watch dial’s geometry: twelve pennant-shaped slices, emblazoned not with numerals, but with letters spelling out the name of each hour, formatted as they would be on a collegiate pennant. That is the concept behind the limited-edition J. Press x Bamford London B80 Watch.  These watches will be limited to one hundred units, and each will be numbered.

• Powered by Sellita SW300-1
• 25 jewels
• 28,000 vph frequency
• 56-hour power reserve
• Self-winding, Time only
• Hand-brushed, polished titanium case
• Matching titanium caseback
• Width: 39mm; Thickness: 10.5mm
• Sapphire crystal with anti-glare coating
• 100m (10 ATM) water resistance
• 20mm lug width; 48mm lug-to-lug length
• 5-year Warranty from date of purchase
• Presentation box crowned with detachable limited edition Bullion Wire J. Press Blazer Badge

George Bamford writes, "I have long loved and admired what (J. Press Creative Director and President) Jack Carlson has done and when he talked to me about this idea, I was blown away.  Producing something unique for them to embody this amazing brand is a privilege and working with him and diving into the archive of the brand is something that I feel very lucky to have been able to do. I feel excited doing this on one of our Bamford London watches especially with the Bamford 80 as I think it really does create the right canvas for this stunning dial."

# JWC8001SJ

Thrift Store Finds

We've all read the too good to be true stories about rare time machines found at yard sales or at the Sally Anne (Salvation Army) store. This one is not in that league, but it was a nice find this past Sunday afternoon -

A very slightly used Minerva stop watch! In the original box, and the retailer was M. Ducommun Co. of New York. Trippy, as I spent my "formative" years in watch town working for Synchron (DOXA) and that was founded by another "Mr. D".

I would love to take credit for spotting it, but it was Wendy's eagle eye that found it. No, not a rare LeCoultre dive watch, but yet and still, pretty nifty!

The 417 TI Desert Pilot, 39 mm

From Hanhart -

Courtesy of Hanhart

This is the latest offering from the folks in Guetenbach. The 417 TI Desert Pilot is a bicompax, hand-winding column wheel chronograph bearing the TI designation (titanium) as opposed to the more familiar ES designation (stainless steel). As advertised, it is available in 39mm, and also a slightly larger 42 mm option. 

Courtesy of Hanhart

Under the hood its Sellita's AMT 5100, a hand wound column wheel chronograph, viewable through a sapphire crystal display back.

Courtesy of Hanhart

Here are the pertinents, straight from Hanhart -

CASE:

DIMENSIONS
Diameter 39 mm
Height: 13.60 mm (11.55 mm without crystal)
Lug-to-Lug: 46 mm

MATERIAL
Titanium Grade 5, matte

BEZEL
Fluted stainless steel bezel, bi-directional, continuously rotating
Red Marking

GLASS
Convex, internally anti-reflective sapphire crystal
Highly domed sapphire crystal (as on the historic model).

CASE BACK
Screw-down titanium case back with sapphire crystal.
Limited edition number

WATER RESISTANCE
Water-resistant up to 10 bar/10 ATM in accordance with DIN 8310


MOVEMENT:

CALIBER
Manual winding
Sellita AMT 5100 M
Symmetrical pusher spacing
28,800 A/h, 4 Hz, 23 stones

POWER RESERVE
58 hours after full winding

FUNCTIONS
Small second
30-minute counter
Chronograph with central stop second
Hacking seconds
Flyback

DIAL:

DIAL
Sand colors
Historical logo

NUMBERS
Historical Font
Black numerals with Super-LumiNova® coating (only very weakly luminous due to the black color).

HANDS
Hands with Super-LumiNova® coating (only weakly luminous due to the sand-colored base).

STRAP:

STRAP
FKM Rubber
Lug width 20 mm

COLORS
Sand colors
Black

BUCKLE
Pin buckle made of Grade 5 titanium with historic logo.

The VEKTOR ORBIT MODLAR

From DEFAKTO -

Courtesy of Defakto

 

Here are the pertinents, straight from Defakto:

The remastered edition of the succesfull unisex Defakto Vektor series - the Vektor Orbit Modular (40 mm x 44 mm x 9,8 mm, weight 58g) offers a in-house made, 40 mm Ickler-watchcase, a scratch-resistant anti-reflective sapphire crystal, clocks with the automatic Swiss movement ETA 2824-2 and is now 5 Atm waterproof. A sandblasted, DLC-coated top ring provides a bold graphic accent to the brushed stainless steel, drawing the focus toward the purist, convex dial. In addition, all three hands and indexes are covered with luminescent Superluminova (bgw9 and red).

You Did It To Yourself - Or What Happens When You Humor A Bully

It would seem that the great and good of Watch Town rode a roller coaster of emotions today. The joy of hearing about the Supreme Court's ruling that the current US tariffs were illegal, only to be be tempered by the tirade thrown shortly thereafter. I suspect that you and the other Big Dogs barely had a moment to savor your victory champagne before an angry retort was issued by the US President. It was somewhat reminiscent of that other great commentator on the watch business - Denzel Washington as Alonzo Harris in Training Day:

"King Kong ain't got shit on me!"

Essentially?

You get a tariff, and you get a tariff, and YOU GET A TARIFF...

I mean, what's this world coming to when you invite a guy to your private luxury suite at sporting events, give him gifts that probably have yet to go through the office of protocol, smile and shrug because it's Papi Chulo Time! You do all that, and you still get the fuzzy end of the lollipop?!? 

With respect, when you appease a bully, you tend to get more of the same. Like the scorpion that stings the back of the frog carrying it across the water, dooming both to die, the bully can't help it - it's his nature.

President's Day and the Vulcain Cricket

As President's Day has limped around again here in the US, it might be as good a time as ever to reheat the real history of the Vulcain Cricket and the Presidents of the United States.

For those of you suffering from insomnia, my book on the subject is available for purchase ; )

The Cricket and the Presidents

So all in one go, here's a reheated version -

The Presidents and Henki

So just what does your old pal Henki have in common with Ford, Carter, Reagan, Gorbachev, Clinton, Bush, Obama and one Joe Biden?

I've got what I like to think of as the REAL President's Watch.  One of the Paajanen Vulcains.  These were the watches created and ordered by Keijo Paajanen's family in Helsinki to present to US presidents, present and past when they visited Finland.  I am sad to say that the Paajanen's are no longer in the watch and jewelry business, and that the last of these was most likely presented to Joe Biden on a state visit to Finland. 

The Paajanens represent what is good and right in the watch business, and their efforts to keep the Vulcain tradition alive should be remembered and appreciated by watch fans on this President's Day.

And let's hope that some deep pocketed financing Gigi sees the value in Vulcain, and hires Keijo Paajanen to help save it!

This story is from a previous posting in 2012.

A Real Brand Ambassador!

It seems that this is the age of the "Brand Ambassador" - generally someone very famous who has more money than God.  Someone who likes a "freebie" and gets paid an insane amount of money to accept a luxury gift.  Also, as we have sometimes seen, someone who then behaves in such a way that it truly embarrasses and shames the company that hired them.  Why is it, in this age of insane advertising budgets, that we do not see a true brand ambassador?  Someone that the company should well and truly be proud of?  

Well, today I got to speak with someone who I have come to believe is one of the few true brand ambassadors. Someone who represents the very best of the watch brand ambassador.  The man who with his father worked to revive and sustain a wonderful tradition, and helped ensure that Vulcain would remain The Watch of the Presidents.

So now, a few minutes with  Keijo Paajanen.

James Henderson - How is it that you and your family got involved with the Vulcain Cricket in the first place?

Keijo Paajanen - It was through a meeting we had with Mr. Michel Ditisheim in Switzerland.  He was the Director for MSR (Montres Suisse Reunion) and a shareholder for Revue Thommen S.A. 

It was actually his father Robert Ditisheim who originally created the Cricket!

JH - Helsinki, Finland is a long way from the US.  What was it that motivated your family to start presenting the Vulcain Cricket to US Presidents in the first place?

KP - As many watch historians and fans know, there was in the past a tradition of presenting a Vulcain Cricket to US Presidents.  We wanted the great story to continue and also because our family has always wanted to have good relations with the USA. My father and his family escaped from advancing Russians (Soviets) in 1939 (JH notes - this is the period of the Winter War).

JH - Who have you presented Vulcain Crickets to?

KP - To Ronald Reagan, George Bush (and same time Gorbachev), Gerald Ford (I personally met), Bill Clinton and Jimmy Carter (I met also personally) and finally last year to Vice President Biden.

Keijo Paajanen presenting a Vulcain Cricket to Jimmy Carter

JH - Who was the most interesting President/Vice President you have presented a Vulcain watch to?

KP - That must be Jimmy Carter I met personally. He was such a nice person. I also met his lovely wife Rosalynn

JH - Do you now carry the current Vulcain collection?

KP - We did have some of the new pieces but at the moment no, we do not carry it.

JH - It seems that there is a great deal more to the Vulcain tradition than simply presenting a watch, you and your family have really acted as true ambassadors not just for the Vulcain Cricket, but for Finland as well.  

KP - It is our family tradition to present this very special Vulcain Cricket watch every time a US President or Vice President visits Finland.  The Vulcain Cricket is the watch of the Presidents.  The Cricket is also a Great Story.  It has been worn by Presidents Dwight Eisenhower, Harry S. Truman, Lyndon B. Johnson and Richard Nixon.

We wanted this Great Story to continue, so in 1988 when President Ronald Reagan was in Finland we presented him a with a Cricket watch. 

In 1990 we presented a Cricket to President George Bush during the Helsinki Summit. (Actually we also presented a Cricket to Russian President Mikhail Gorbachev.  We never got a letter but you can see him wearing the watch on the cover of Time Magazine's International Issue  (December 31, 1990 number 53).

Courtesy of Time Magazine

In the summer of 1995 we presented a watch to President Gerald R. Ford while he was in Finland to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the signing of the Helsinki Accords.  I had great honor to meet him personally! 

Keijo Paajanen presenting a Vulcain Cricket to Gerald Ford

In 1997 we presented a Cricket to President Bill Clinton while he was in Helsinki.  A few months later we presented a Cricket to President Jimmy Carter, with him being the ninth President of the United States of America to wear the very same watch model.  I had the great honor of meeting President Carter and his lovely wife Rosalynn.  No wonder we call the Cricket the watch of the Presidents.

One important historical note is that Richard Nixon got his Vulcain Cricket while he was Vice President in 1955. He received his Cricket from the National Association of Watch and Clock Makers.

JH - And the tradition continues with Vice President Joe Biden?

KP - Yes.  And I feel it is time for me to provide some information concerning my gift to Vice President Biden since the PUBLIC FINANCIAL DISCLOSURE REPORT was released. I knew this was going to take place since I was contacted long time ago by  The Ethics Counsel of the  Office of the Vice President.

The watch (the particular model) given to Vice President Biden is from a stock my father kept (only a few pieces) for future presentations and this is why they are no longer in stock lists and therefore no longer for sale. My father passed away 2009.

And most recently, a Vulcain Cricket was presented to President Obama -

The Greatest Marketing Campaign That Never Was (a marketing campaign) - Part 1

For the past 20 plus years, I have been writing about Vulcain, and more specifically the Vulcain Cricket and its relationship to various US Presidents. And what I've learned along the way is that there is a dearth of actual, factual information on how so many US Presidents (Truman, Eisenhower, Johnson and Nixon) came to be Vulcain Cricket owners. Several of my more well-heeled colleagues in the Fourth and Fifth Estate (and to some extent, yours truly as well) have sustained a fairly flawed belief that the Vulcain watch company had conceived of, and launched a marketing campaign to present a watch to each US Presidents. And after a visit to Vulcain HQ and a perusal of what documentation actually exists, it became quite clear to me that I needed a better source...

Well, all I can say is that it's good to have friends! A few calls were made, and Michel Ditisheim invited me to come over and talk about the Cricket, the Presidents, his friendship with the Paajanen family, and even a bit about life.

For those of you just turning in, Michel Ditisheim
is perhaps the last, best link to the original Vulcain, the "middle" Vulcain and today's Vulcain. His father was the inventor of the original Cricket. Michel worked with the Paajanen family to help present Vulcain Cricket watches to former US Presidents in the 1990s and 2000s, and he was instrumental in shepherding Vulcain through the rocky quartz crisis and ultimately to its reemergence with new owners in Le Locle earlier this century. His father, Robert Ditisheim, was not unlike the guy who said "What if we slice the bread, before we sell it?" In other words, when he created the Vulcain Cricket, he brought to reality something many people wanted - they just didn't know it yet!

"It was a sensation!"  - Michel Ditisheim.

So what is agreed upon by everyone? The very first Vulcain Cricket to be presented to a sitting US President was given to Harry Truman by the White House Press Corps. It was not a gift from Vulcain. When I asked Mr. Ditisheim why they chose the Vulcain Cricket, his answer was elegantly succinct - "It was a sensation!"

It is important to understand that at the time it was introduced, the Cricket represented something that had not been seen before. A wrist watch with an alarm. What was often referred to as a "secretary on the wrist".  It's interesting that many of us think of alarm watches as useful for waking us up. But for you younger readers out there, back when dinosaurs roamed the earth, and we typed out our correspondence with an Olivetti Lettera 22 -

Courtesy of Wikipedia

 We did not receive Google Reminders on our cell phones. Owners of alarm watches would use them frequently during the day to set the alarm for meeting reminders, etc.

Yes, the Vulcain Cricket was indeed a sensation. So it made sense that the press corps would present such a watch to President Truman. But then the history gets murkier. 

So stay tuned, we're going to shed some much needed light!

The Greatest Marketing Campaign That Never Was (a marketing campaign) - Part 2

Celebrity partners, friends of the brand, watch product placement. You are certainly familiar with these terms. And many folks in the watch (and watch adjacent) interest groups out there  have long held the belief that the Vulcain Cricket became the "The Watch of Presidents" through extremely shrewd maneuvering by the Ditisheims, most recently Michel Ditisheim and the Vulcain marketing team. As Mr Ditisheim explained to me when we met last November, nothing could be further from the truth.

As we have established, the very first Cricket was presented to Harry Truman by the White House News Photographers Association. There were no intermediaries, not "fixers" who intervened to get the watch presented. It was simply the watch that they chose to give him -

Photo Credit Harry S Truman Presidential Library

And of course the folks selling Vulcain watches saw a reasonable opportunity to spread the word about Vulcain and the Cricket. And tempting (and potentially easy) as it might have been to jump on this marketing goldmine with both feet, handing out Vulcain Crickets left, right and center to anyone vaguely connected to the White House, Mr. Ditisheim and the folks at Vulcain took a decidedly novel approach. They did nothing.

Well, not exactly nothing, but let's just say that rather than spending time and money working to promote the Cricket by presenting it as a free gift to every US dignitary that crossed their path, they simply sat back and watched as the Cricket took on a life of its own, promoting itself and Vulcain as perhaps the least expensive yet most effective brand ambassador of all time!

History will note, the next man in the hot seat at Pennsylvania Avenue was none other than the now out of work, former Supreme Commander of the Allied Expeditionary Force in Europe, one Dwight David Eisenhower. Just how, when, where, and why Ike came to have a Vulcain Cricket is a subject of debate and more than a wee bit of conjecture. What is clear is that, at least as far as Michel Ditisheim knows, it most certainly did not come directly from Vulcain. 

Advertisment for Vulcain Cricket

And Vulcain (and the Cricket) did the opposite of the fabled grasshopper, they made hay while the sun shined! Needless to say, long before Michael Jordan strapped on a pair of Nikes, watch fans wanted to "be like Ike". And it didn't hurt that unlike other alarm watches before and since, the Vulcain Cricket did as advertised - it literally chirped like a cricket, ensuring that the wearer (and all those around) would not miss its alert. The quality of the Cricket's construction was demonstrated to a large audience when President Eisenhower's Vulcain rang out as he participated in a conference discussing the importance of imposing higher import tariffs for Swiss goods. Whether or not this was planned will likely never be known, but the Cricket was rapidly becoming a fixture at the White House. 

And for those of you keeping score at home, the official number of Vulcain Crickets given as a gift by Vulcain to US Presidents thus far is:

0 / 2

Tune in next time as the Cricket jumps to the wrist of a new, and somewhat unlikely Commander in Chief.

The Greatest Marketing Campaign That Never Was (a marketing campaign) - Part 3

Of the US Presidents since Truman it is generally agreed that only 2 have never received or worn a Vulcain Cricket - George W. Bush and John F. Kennedy. Insofar as the forty third president, the reason most often cited was that he has not visited Helsinki, Finland from the time of his presidency until a few years ago (more on that later). When it comes to President Kennedy, it is safe to say that unlike his predecessor, Eisenhower, he neither purchased one or was presented one prior to his election. And as history will note, he was assassinated before the end of his first term, and any symbolic post-Presidential presentation that might have placed a Vulcain Cricket on his wrist were made impossible.

Fate would bring a former school teacher from Stonewall, Texas to the White House in 1963. 

Arnold Newman, White House Press Office (WHPO) - Lyndon Baines Johnson Presidential Library and Muesuem - Archived 

Lyndon Baines Johnson was, to put it mildly, a man who was as much shaped by history as he helped shape it. Born on a farm in Stonewall, Texas in 1908, through a series of events that would have made Forest Gump blush, he became first Vice President, then President of the United States in less than 3 years. From what can only be called modest beginnings in a small farm house, it would be fair to say that his ascension could not be called typical. Following a spell as a school teacher, he entered politics as a legislative secretary to Richard M. Kleberg, who won a 1931 special election for a congressional seat representing Texas in the US House of Representatives. The rest, as they say, is history.

President Johnson was perhaps the all-time Vulcain Cricket fan. How and when he got his initial Cricket is, again, shrouded in a bit of mystery. 

Courtesy of Vulcain

What is known is that he was so enamored with the Cricket that while attending a conference in Switzerland, he deployed several staff members across Geneva with instructions to lay hands to as many Vulcain Crickets as possible so that he could present them as gifts. The word around the campfire is that this horological scavenger hunt netted 200 Vulcain Crickets. While who exactly was presented these Crickets is largely lost to history, what we do know from the LBJ Library's archive is that on April 2, 1964 President Johnson did present a Vulcain watch to Secretary McNamara in the Cabinet Room of the White House during a "special" meeting.  I feel confident that if you asked any heads of marketing working for a watch company, they would be over the moon if a year's worth of pay-to-play content on instagram, Facebook or any other social media channel netted a sale of 200 watches - and from such a prestigious client! Needless to say, they clearly did do everything bigger in Texas. 

The cost to Vulcain for this amazing return on marketing investment? Exactly CHF 0! Once again, the Vulcain Cricket proved to be the world's most successful Swiss watch brand "ambassador". President Johnson even went so far as to customize at least one of his Crickets with his initials at the 9 o'clock position.

Courtesy of the NAWCC

While there are more than a few images of Johnson wearing other watches, it is safe to say that the Cricket from La Chaux-de-Fonds was one of his favorites.

President Johnson (in the end) opted not to seek the nomination to run again for the Presidency in 1968, and yet another unlikely presidential candidate would emerge, one who was already wearing a Cricket on his wrist when destiny called.

The Greatest Marketing Campaign That Never Was (a marketing campaign) - Part 4

Enter the man from California 

Richard Nixon is the first, and at the time of this writing only US President to be born in California. Nixon entered the national political arena in the same election as fellow future President, John F. Kennedy. They were both elected to the House of Representatives the same year. Nixon was first a Congressman, then was elected to the Senate, when in his his first term his name was put forward in a smoke-filled room to be the running mate of future President Eisenhower. 

In many ways he was about as unlikely a future president as the man he succeeded in the Oval Office, President Johnson. Seeming set to follow in the footsteps of Eisenhower, he lost the 1960 election to his fellow freshman representative, John F. Kennedy. He spent the next eight years in a political wilderness. Counted out by many, he   came back to win the 1968 election. 

And now we have to once again clarify some of the perceived notions as to provenance as it pertains to the Vulcain Cricket and the Presidents of the United States. It is indeed true that Richard Nixon owned a Vulcain Cricket. It is also true that his Vulcain Cricket was a gift. But what has (unfortunately) been misunderstood or simply poorly researched is the actual source of the gift. 

Courtesy of Vulcain

As Vice President, Richard Nixon gave a talk to the National Association of Watch and Clock Collectors. He was then presented with (spoiler alert) a Vulcain Cricket.  The then Vice President sent this rather praiseworthy note to Vulcain in 1960 -

"This watch was presented to me on the occasion of my address before the National Association of Watch and Clock Makers on May 20, 1955.  It has given excellent service over the past five years and has served as my alarm clock around the world."

That's correct watch fans, the score thus far is:

Vulcain Crickets worn by US Presidents (and Presidents-to-be) = 4

Vulcain Crickets given by Vulcain to US Presidents (and Presidents-to-be) = 0

Once again, the Cricket itself proved to be one of the best "brand ambassadors" out there. 

I was very fortunate in preparing these dispatches to be introduced to Michel Ditisheim, the former head of Vulcain and son of the Cricket's creator, Robert Ditisheim. He was kind enough to invite me over to discuss Vulcain the last time I was in La Chaux-de-Fonds. We talked about the Cricket, and he helped me to discern fact from (if not fiction), some misunderstandings held by more than a few journalists and Vulcain enthusiasts at large.

According to Mr. Ditisheim, the first time that Vulcain presented a Cricket to a US President was when Barack Obama was elected - some 56 years after the first Vulcain Cricket appeared on the wrist of a US President, courtesy of the White House Press Photographer’s Association.
So you're probably saying -

"Wait a minute, Henki! You claimed that every US President since Truman except Kennedy and George W. Bush has either owned or been presented a Vulcain Cricket!"  

Yes, gentle reader, I said exactly that. But the Cricket was about to stop chirping, at least around 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue for the next 20 years or so.

This brings us to the close of the first chapter of the story of the Vulcain Cricket and the Presidents of the United States. 

But stay tuned! We will be back with the story of how a seemingly forgotten watch and an unlikely retailer over 1500 miles away and his family helped revive and nurture the relationship between the Vulcain Cricket and the Presidents of the United States.