Understanding And Knowing Are Two Different Things

What we have understood is that Harry Truman was the first US President to own a Vulcain Cricket. 

Original photo credit to ACME Newspictures, inc. (Public Domain).

This is very much a case of "two things being true at once". In the picture above (dated February 2, 1951) you will note two future Presidents of the United States - Dwight David Eisenhower on the left, and Lyndon Baines Johnson on the right. While we cannot be certain of what is on Ike's left wrist, it appears to be a Vulcain Cricket that the Senator from Texas is wearing. 

This was nearly two years before President Harry Truman would be presented a gold Vulcain Cricket by the White House News Photographers Association in 1953.

Original photo credit to ACME Newspictures, inc. (Public Domain).

So where, when, how, and why did LBJ first come to own his first Vulcain Cricket? In truth? At this point nobody knows. Or to put it another way, those who know won't say. And those who will say?

They don't know.

My updated book, The Cricket and the Presidents - An Anecdotal History is available now.

The Cricket and the Presidents - An Anecdotal History

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.

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.

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.