Some Watches, a Friend, and Life

This is one of the Paajanen era Vulcain Crickets.

For those just tuning in, you can read about the one-time custodians of the Vulcan Cricket and their tradition of presenting Vulcain Cricket watches to Presidents visiting Helsinki here -

http://www.tempusfugit.watch/2015/02/a-vulcan-cricket-presidents-day.html

A few months ago, I received word via Linkedin that the last connection to that era for Vulcain had passed away.  His name?  Keijo Paajanen.  He was still a young man, and was enjoying his next phase of life as a budding entrepreneur in Helsinki following the closure/sale of his family's store (if I understood that aspect correctly). 

I can't claim that Keijo and I were lifelong friends, but I can say that I was glad to have him as my friend, and always appreciated his efforts to help me in writing about the Cricket, and I admired his tireless efforts to continue his family's tradition of presenting a Vulcain Cricket to visiting US Presidents.  Keep in mind, there was NOTHING in it for him.  He was, essentially, giving away something he could just as easily have sold.  But he still did it.

He was a true ambassador of the Vulcain brand, and I would go so far as to encourage Mr. Magada to create a basic model in honor of him.  Of course, I realize that is highly unlikely.  You see, Keijo Paajanen was, as his father before him, a romantic.  And sadly, there are far too few Keijo Paajanen's in the watch business these days.

Now I've held off on writing about this for several months.  I reached out to contacts in Helsinki to see if they could find an obituary, etc., and they found nothing.  But I can also say that every effort myself and others have made to contact him via email and social media have gone unanswered.
And if it is so, then I am truly sad, as he was an important person in my watch journey, and a true steward of the Vulcain legacy.

But life is funny, and stranger things have happened.  There is a not-so-small part of me hoping that maybe he simply packed a rucksack and hopped on his motorcycle one day for a round-the-world getaway, cutting himself off from social media, etc., and that maybe his Linkedin connection got it wrong, and that maybe, one of these days, a reply to my email to him will pop into the Tempus Fugit in-box, along with photos from far-away lands, selfies of him smiling broadly, wearing his personal Vulcain Cricket.  That's the hope that I am holding onto.

Enjoy your watches

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.