The Presidents And Vulcain - Gerald Ford

Gerald Ford was the third President to receive a Vulcain Cricket from the Paajanens, and the first to be presented directly by Keijo Paajanen, when President Ford visited Helsinki in 1995 in commemoration of the 20th anniversary of the Helsinki Accords.

Photo provided by the Paajanen Family Credit Heikki Savolainen  ABC Studiot Oy

Gerald Ford was, in many ways, a bit of an accidental president. A standout college football player at the University of Michigan, he was sought after to pursue professional football with the Green Bay Packers and Detroit Lions, preferring to attend law school. He took a job at Yale coaching both boxing and football and his law school application was Initially turned down as he was coaching full time. He proved his mettle with a summer program at Michigan Law and was finally accepted to Yale Law.

A very brief stint operating a law office in Grand Rapids, Michigan was interrupted by his military service and World War 2. In 1949, he threw his hat in the ring and became a member of the US House of Representatives (Congress) serving from 1949 - 1973. 

And that might have been the end of it, but this where the old saying that in America, anyone can grow up to be President. A journeyman congressman from Michigan's 5th congressional district, fate intervened and the current Vice President, Spiro Agnew resigned under a dark cloud, and President Nixon sought congressional advice as to who might replace him. The nearly unanimous choice was Ford. He barely had time to order his new Vice President of the United States stationery when fate would step in one final time, and President Nixon would resign, moving Gerald Ford from congressman to President of the United States in less than 1 year.

Not bad for a journeyman. 

Election Day, Vulcain, and Finally the Rest of the Story!

There is a certain shabby nobility in laboring away in anonymity, not least of which is that you get to write about just what you like ; )

Now one of my passions has been, and remains even now, the Vulcain Cricket.  But my passion is rooted more firmly in the "between time" between quartz crisis and the later "tarting up" of the brand by new owners.  That time being when the Paajanen family had the Cricket produced under license and presented them as gifts to US Presidents.

Now one very important factoid that the Big H, and then every other outlet that keeps referencing them (like GQ),  keeps getting slightly wrong is that the actual Vulcain that was actually given to Joe Biden, who actually wears it was actually not given to him by Vulcain, but rather by the Paajanen family. 

Photograph: Kevin Lamarque/Reuters

But today is, a wonderful day for me - because FINALLY someone else out there has reported the true story of the Paajanen family, and the revival of the tradition of giving a Vulcain Cricket to the President (and sometimes Vice President) of the United States -

The Allure of The President’s Watch

THANK YOU Penelope Colston and the New York Times!!!

So I have already completed my civic duty and cast my ballot.  I dressed up my "Paajanen Cricket" with a beautiful new blue ostrich foot strap, and I am going to savor today as the day that hopefully, the rest of the world will finally learn about the true Vulcain ambassadors, and particularly Keijo Paajanen.

Sadly, I finally confirmed that Keijo did, indeed, pass away last year. Curious to relate, about three years ago I pitched the idea of creating a new watch called the Paajanen Friendship 1.  Like so many ideas, it never happened, but I like to think that maybe it could still could ; )

The last US President to receive a Cricket from the Paajanens was Donald Trump who received it in 2018, and sadly, that is the end of this part of the story.

Wishing you well Keijo, and wishing you were still here -

A Vulcain Cricket President's Day

Okay, this has run before in various iterations, but as it is President's Day here in the "Land of the Free" I thought I'd re-heat this one a bit for you.

Now while it is true that president's have had various watches of note, it is, in fact, the Vulcain Cricket that has gotten the most "mileage" in terms of the number of US President's who have received and worn them.  This tradition started back before many of you readers were born.  President Johnson was presented one, and got so "wound - up" that he dispatched staffers to scour watch stores for Vulcan Cricket watches so that he could present them as gifts.

Vulcain, like so many other watch brands, bet big on The River card back in the late sixties/early seventies and got, well, "Rivered".  Per Wikipedia (as this is a lot cleaner than the Urban Dictionary):

river

The river or river card is the final card dealt in a poker hand, to be followed by a final round of betting and, if necessary, a showdown. In Texas hold 'em and Omaha hold'em, the river is the fifth and last card to be dealt to the community card board, after the flop and turn. A player losing the pot due only to the river card is said to have been rivered.

But time heals all wounds and Vulcain was brought back to life not by a fund manager or wealthy hedge fund in the UAE.  No, it was a small family jewelry store in Helsinki Finland.  They worked with Revue Thommen to create a new version of the Vulcan Cricket -

This one is mine ; )

So this President's day, let's take a look back -

Keijo Paajanen and his family brought Vulcan back and the tradition of presenting a Vulcan Cricket to US Presidents and others was re-born.  Here's a few excerpts from the Q & A with Mr. Paajanen -

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.

Well, time has since moved on, the Paajanen's are no longer in the jewelry business, but Keijo is kind enough to stay in touch and share stories about what were for me the glory days of Vulcain.

Vulcain and the Presidents in 3 Parts

Well, as they say, the third time is the charm!

As it is Presidential season here in the US, I thought I'd share some Vulcain watch history.

So let's clear some facts:

Part 1 - The Vulcain was for sometime given as a gift to US Presidents and Vice Presidents.  For example, 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.  He was in very good company.  
It has been worn by Presidents Dwight Eisenhower, Harry S. Truman, Lyndon B. Johnson.  


PART 2 -  is for me, where it gets really interesting.  PART 2 is when Vulcain is dormant, a victim of the Quartz Crisis.  The company - at least its name - is held by the people behind Revue Thomen, and most particularly it was Michel Ditisheim and the Paajanen of Helsinki, Finland who really kept the Vulcain Cricket alive.  The Paajanen's hold a special place in their heart for America - and to that end they arranged to produce a limited number of Vulcain Crickets to present to US Presidents and Vice Presidents when/if they should ever visit Finland.  Now keep in mind, they are selling very few Vulcain Crickets - they do this out of a sense of connection to the US - their family had fled the advancing Soviet army and they have always viewed the US as their friends.  And by the way - it is really nice for the US to have friends like the Paajanens!

Gerald Forld, Jimmy Carter, Ronald Reagan among others.  And most recently Vice President Biden have all received a Vulcain Cricket from the Paajanens.

Keijo Paajanen with Gerald Ford

Keijo Paajanen with Jimmy Carter

A thank you letter from Ronald Reagan

Part 3 - This is the "now time".  I believe that President Obama received a Vulcain from the new ownership of Vulcain, and my hope is that this tradition continues.  But as we often say in the world of foreign affairs - it is about winning "hearts and minds".  The Paajanens have won my heart and mind.  This is a family motivated by nothing but good will.  I truly wish there were more people like them.

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.

Rosalynn Carter, President Jimmy Carter and Keijo Paajanen.  Photo Courtesy of Keijo Paajanen

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. 

Courtesy of Keijo Paajanen

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).

Copyright 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 honour to meet him personally! 

Keijo Paajanen and President Gerald Ford.  Photo courtesy of Keijo Paajanen

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.