A President's Day Special - The Vulcain Cricket, The Presidents of the US.

It is well known that Harry Truman was the first US President to receive a Vulcain Cricket. What is not well known is that he did not receive it from Vulcain. He received it from the White House News Photographer's Association. 

There is a great photo of the presentation which you will be able to see in the upcoming second version of the Cricket and the Presidents. But for now the watch itself -

Courtesy of the Harry S. Truman Presidential Library & Museum

Courtesy of the Harry S. Truman Presidential Library & Museum

It is also well known that Dwight Eisenhower was a Vulcain Cricket owner - although nobody is exactly sure how he came to own one. He was more known for wearing his Rolex, but that's politics for you.

Courtesy of Vulcain / Paajanen Family

Perhaps the greatest fan of the Vulcain Cricket while in the Oval Office was Lyndon Johnson. He had more than one, and also purchased a BUNCH of them to gift to staff and dignitaries, and if President Johnson's White House calendar / diary records are to be believed, one recipient was Secretary of Defense, Robert McNamara.

And finally there was Richard Nixon who received his Vulcain as a thank you for a public speaking engagement while Vice President.

And he wore his Vulcain Cricket A LOT!

Courtesy of the Nixon Presidential Library

Again - none of these watches were presented by the brand, it all happened wonderfully organically.

It wasn't until a family jeweler based in Helsinki Finland met with the son of the inventor of the Vulcain Cricket that a true tradition of Vulcain presenting a Cricket to the President (either former or current) President of the United States. And that was kicked off with a gift of a Vulcain Cricket to then US President Ronald Reagan.

There is a lot more to this story, and when my updated book about the US Presidents and the Vulcain Cricket comes out, you can read all about it ; )

The Curious Case of the Cricket - Or the Importance of Being Earnest

Or the importance of being earnest.

Regular readers of the "Blog Formerly Known As Tempus Fugit" can attest that I am, indeed, a serious fan of the Vulcain Cricket. I have owned four over the years, 2 vintage which were passed on to other owners, and two modern versions. The one above my most recent addition. The one below is one of the Ditisheim / Paajanen Crickets in stainless steel -

But my interest goes well beyond the watches. I am also interested in the history of the brand.

I have visited the former factory in La Chaux-de-Fonds (above), as well as the current one in Le Locle (below).

And I have met the two most pivotal figures in the history of the Watch of the Presidents, Michel Ditisheim -

And Keijo Paananen -

And I, like many people who cover Watch Town was very excited to learn that there were new models coming out. And that's when things got weird.

For quite some time, Vulcain and Anonimo have been joined at the hip owing to the purchase of each by an owner who spends the majority of his time in Luxembourg. If my admittedly sometimes foggy memory serves there has been a bit of a musical chairs at the top level. Most recently Carla Duarte was at the tiller -

She stepped away last autumn, and since then there has been no clear signal as to who would be stepping in to run things. Prior to Ms. Duarte there was Aldo Magada. Now even more curious to relate was that during Ms. Duarte's tenure, a brand consultant was brought in by (assumedly) the owners. There was quite a bit of buzz, but it seems that perhaps sales were not as robust as hoped for. I can only base this the two models that Vulcain partnered with Revolution / The Rake on. The first selection was a limited series of 4 pieces with 25 available in each execution (2 versions in 36 mm, 2 versions in 39 mm). These have been in the market place for over a year now, and if the Revolution store front is anything to go by, they have not sold through. The same goes for the second version that was launched in May of last year, and again, if the Revolution store site is a barometer, it seems that as of this writing, there have not been 50 customers. 

And so now we find ourselves in February of 2024. To the best of my understanding there has not been a new appointment at the CEO level.

One last odd development - a limited edition collector's Cricket paying homage to a member of one of the founding families - The tribute to "André Didixein" -

https://vulcain.ch/products/vulcain-cricket-didixein

I thought it was sort of intriguing and was happy to see that there was finally some  in the family behind the brand, as I count one of the last surviving members from the original Vulcain as a friend - Michel Ditisheim. He is still alive and well and living within minutes (admittedly by driving) of the current Vulcain HQ. I wonder if anyone working on the project reached out to him?

Here's the thing. I know that nothing lasts forever. Things change, brands change hands, employees, managers, CEOs - even owners, come and go. The only certainty is change. With that being said, I would encourage whoever emerges at the top of Vulcain to reach out to the people who know the history, who know the brand background and can help them truly connect the past to the future. 

But that's just one fan's opinion ; )

Ghost in the Machine

Or what could have been with JEANRICHARD.
As much as I'd like to provide you, gentle reader, with an active link to an actual website, it would appear that the Sleeping Beauty that is JEANRICHARD might, in fact, have slipped away in the night. Or at least sometime in 2016 as that is the last update from their official Facebook page.

This is a shame, a waste and a tragedy. And no, I'm not being melodramatic. JEANRICHARD circa 2013 had real potential, and was starting to move the needle. And with a little more discipline, a little less cockiness, and a few less bone-headed celebrity partnerships they might still be here among the living. My hope is that JEANRICHARD is waiting on a daybed somewhere, surrounded by 7 dwarves awaiting Prince Charming to come along and rescue it. Because hand to God, truth to power - Patrick Pruniaux, this is not only a brand worth saving, it is one that could actually help pull Girard-Perregaux and Ulysse Nardin out of their collective funks. But only if you're ready to either give it a kiss and wake it up, or sell it to someone ready, willing and able to do something with it.

I absolutely believed in JR, so much so that this one was mine for a year or so -

Apologies for the photo quality, this is back when I was taking photos with a Kodak disposable camera and picking up the prints at the Photomat -

Shamelessly borrowed from the past...

So here's hoping that the big swinging dicks in La Chaux-de-Fonds can find a Prince Charming most Rikki-Tik. Here's a summer re-heat on the topic -

What If? JEANRICHARD

Would you buy this watch?  I know I sure would, and for approximately 21 months, most of the watch world would have too.

Courtesy of JEANRICHARD

My personal obsession with both Girard-Perregaux and in this particular case, JEANRICHARD, borders on the unhealthy.  In 2013 JEANRICHARD reemerged from a long, somewhat drunken slumber, born again in the form of a modular casing system that not only allowed for a consistent look across three different families (Terrascope, Aquascope and Aeroscope), it also allowed for easier production and manufacture owing to a standard "chassis".

I was excited.  Hell, most of the watch world was excited.  The timing of the release was, seemingly, cursed as Tudor returned to the US market the very same year.  But curious to relate?  JEAN RICHARD had a very successful debut as GP had decided to come back to BaselWorld, and that first year they enjoyed a fair bit of success.  But post BaselWorld, their marketing and PR folks (both in-house, and the US PR firm that they hired) started making some decidedly dubious choices about how to promote the brand.  They literally walked a "high wire" with Nik Wallenda, rugby players, a Master Chef winner (Luca Manfe), and then grasped for the brass ring with their partnership with Arsenal.  In a PR/publicity sense their eyes were bigger than their wallets.  What started out as a very sound, very rational product offering ran off the rails, and in less than 2 years' time, jumped the shark.  

Shamelessly borrowed from the worldwide infoweb

I got an early peek at the new collection in January of 2013, later that year we all got to see everything at BaselWorld.  And that was a curious experience for myself and several other journalists covering the story.  In that first year, it was challenging for JEANRICHARD to get the big dogs to pay attention.  Many of the established outlets poo-poo'd them.  For myself and others covering it, we thought it was something interesting, something cool that had very real potential.  And for us it was great because we had access to review product, we got asked to lunch when the US brand manager was in town, emails actually got answered.  

And then there was a shift.  Suddenly the bigger outlets were starting to cover them, and those of us "early adopters" were, essentially, jettisoned from the press list, forced to read the news on other outlets.  But this went further.  Because what had started out as a charming campaign, referring to actual watches, then shifted to a focus on partners, co-branded watches, and the amount of SKUs multiplied at the rate of the cooties in that movie Contagion.

The inevitable happened, in order to make sales numbers, sales managers started looking the other way as the prices were slashed.  It didn't help that the shot-callers were selling directly to trans-shippers and grey market outlets.  You couldn't find a JEANRICHARD at full price, because they were all deeply discounted.  Keep in mind, this all happened in approximately a 2 year period.  From hero to zero.  Their first year back at BaselWorld, they had an equal sized hall to GP.  Year 2, that was halved.  Year 3, there was one room that looked as if the junk drawer of a watch repair shop had exploded, with a very harried PR person nearly in tears trying to present watches in a setting that was not dissimilar to a Walmart following the Thanksgiving Day sale.

Brand managers left for pastures greener, retail partners opted to cut bait, and JEANRICHARD was put into a "Sleeping Beauty", where it slumbers still.  Their last Facebook post was in February, THREE YEARS AGO, and there is no other apparent "proof of life".

But, and it's a big but -

there is one guy out there with the talent, experience, and let's just call it like it is - COMMON SENSE to bring JEANRICHARD back from its deep sleep.   The core collection of three families is good.  People wanted it, they will want it again.  But it will take someone who can park their ego at the door.  A sort of "elite commando" team of watch dogs who can roll up their sleeves, and focus on making and selling watches, not on photo opportunities, friends of the brand and velvet ropes.  It can be done, but it will take some outside of the watch-box thinking. 

Focus on watches, communicate consistently and evenly, punch your weight.

Kering, if you're reading this, I know the guy to take this on, and I won't even charge you a finder's fee.

Arnold & Son Unveils Its Time Pyramid

This just in from Arnold & Son -

Inspired by the regulators created by John and Roger Arnold over two hundred years ago, and by antique British skeleton clocks, the new Arnold & Son exclusive mechanical Calibre A&S1615 was conceived of, designed and developed in-house at the company’s La Chaux-de-Fonds workshops, Switzerland.

To reflect the spirit of the brand’s rich history, yet with a vigilant eye to the future, Arnold & Son has created a highly cohesive and seductive blend of watchmaking feats in this timepiece that includes regulator, skeleton, vertical linear movement, pyramid-placement of components and multi-dimensional depth. The Time Pyramid is part of the Instrument Collection, wherein timepieces are easily identified by their sophisticated dial designs, off-centered hours and minutes indication and visual display of complexities.

Courtesy of Arnold & Son

The skeletonized caliber A&S1615 is built in a unique format, with balance wheel at twelve o’clock, situated directly beneath the palette and the anchor wheel (which is shaped in typical Arnold & Son’s majestic “X” form).  At the opposite end of the movement, at six o’clock, lay two mainspring barrels that supply the hand-wound caliber with an amazing 80 hours of power reserve, and provide a more constant force to the wheel train.

The gear train runs vertically in a linear format connecting the two barrels at six o’clock to the balance wheel at twelve o’clock, and endowing the movement with its pyramid structure. The bridges are designed so that all of the wheels, the two mainspring barrels, the escapement and balance wheel are all magnificently visible from the dial side.

Additionally, the movement is fitted with two power reserve indicators – one each on either side of the linear gear train – to display the energy level for each barrel separately. The power reserve hands indicate the reserve level via graduated dots (that are printed under the top sapphire crystal) in an arc format, and demonstrate how one barrel transfers energy to the second one when needed. Essentially, as the first barrel winds the second one, the power reserve indicator of the first barrel goes down, while the second one goes up – making for an accurate and intriguing readout.

As if all of this technical ingenuity were not enough, Arnold & Son continued to push the creative envelop in the making of this caliber with its placement of the escapement and seconds indicator at twelve o’clock, and with its three-dimensional construction that replicates the historic Arnold & Son regulators.

This Time Pyramid follows the original regulators from the brand with its component positioning and detailed 3D visual appeal. Movement parts and watch indications are built on three levels, with the subsidiary seconds dial on the bottom, the hour indications on a sapphire crystal dial in the middle level, and a silver top ring for the minutes indication. While the movement is extremely thin - at just 4.4mm - the multiple levels bring amazing depth and detail to the watch. To further enhance the balance and symmetry of the Time Pyramid, the crown (with Arnold & Son’s engraved logo) is artfully positioned at six o’clock.

As with every esteemed Arnold & Son watch, each component in the Time Pyramid is magnificently hand decorated with manually chamfered brides and high-polished edges, all yielding a striking masterpiece of decorative craftsmanship and brilliant execution.

Each Time Pyramid wristwatch measures 44.6 mm in diameter in its classically elegant 18-carat rose gold case. Viewed from the side, the housing is stepped and tapers from top to bottom, the widest section accommodating the extra-large glass with the lower part narrowing to fit snugly on the wrist. Each is finished with an exquisite hand-stitched alligator strap.

British skeleton clock, chain driven fusee – England, 1830-1845

© Arnold & Son

www.arnoldandson.com