Jumping The Shark... with Vulcain

Per the Urban Dictionary -

jump-the-shark

The beginning of the end. Something is said to have "jumped the shark" when it has reached its peak and begun a downhill slide to mediocrity or oblivion. It's said to have been coined by Jon Hein, who has a web site, jumptheshark.com, and now a book detailing examples, especially as applied to TV shows. It supposedly refers to an episode of the TV show "Happy Days" in which Fonzie jumps over a shark on water skis, which Hein believes was the point at which the series had lost its touch and was beginning to grasp at straws.

Courtesy of Vulcain

I visited the Vulcain workshop four different times while I was working on my book about the Vulcain Cricket and the Presidents of the United States. The CEO during that time period was Carla Duarte. She provided invaluable assistance in pulling together the loose threads. I mention this, because there is an alternative narrative being shamelessly pushed as to who the CEO of Vulcain was at that time. But as has been said about other instances of the use of alternative facts, "a lie will travel around the world before the truth has got its boots on".

But back to the matter at hand. This is the latest effort to get something more out of a limited resource. And once again, it does not appear that the juice is worth the squeeze.

Think I'm being unfair? Let's just say that the various other special / limited edition Vulcain Crickets have finally worked their way through the grey and light grey markets after more than a few years of lingering around. And now another fever dream has popped up. 

Courtesy of Vulcain

This is the Cricket Titane. The case and a few parts of the movement are of titanium. The dial is described as "Flat Guilloché-Effect Dial: White printing, silver-tone indexes". I think that's a round about way of saying the dial is meant to look like something more than it is. And fair enough.

Courtesy of Vulcain

Limited to 100 pieces, and bargain priced at a mere $7,670 here are the pertinents:

HANDS: Hour and Minute Hands: Polished blue, seconds hands, polished black, Alarm Hand, Polished black
CASE: Titanium case with titanium bezel and saphire crystals
CASE-BACK: Sapphire exhibition caseback
DIAL: Flat Guilloché-Effect Dial: White printing, silver-tone indexes
DIAMETER: 33.30 mm
THICKNESS: 1.10 mm
GLASS: Anti-reflective crystal
WATER RESISTANCE: 5 ATM
DIMENSIONS: 39 mm
BUCKLE: Solid 316L stainless steel
MOVEMENT: Manufactured V14 Titanium Cricket, Geneva stripes decoration, blued steel screws
FUNCTIONS: Hours, minutes and seconds, alarm
FREQUENCY: 18'000 2,5 HZ
POWER RESERVE: 52 Hours

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

26 Years Later... The Cricket and the Presidents Second Edition

 It's finally ready!

More than 100 pages of Vulcain / Presidential history!

Hard cover, but designed to be read, not stuck on a shelf!

This is a self-published project, and will be available for purchase through the Oberlin Watch Company website -

                www.oberlinwatch.com

Pre-order pricing is $45 US plus shipping.

Vulcain Cricket Pop Quiz!

When I was in middle school, I had a very good history teacher. And he had a way of giving a piece of fact in language that could be deceptive.

One question I remember was this - 

Who was the first US President born in the United States of America?

Now to our way of thinking, and our nascent understanding of Presidential Electoral requirements, it seemed like a trick question. Like who's buried in Grant's Tomb?

I had a quick Google, and thankfully Donald Trump's favorite South African adoptee and his team of nitwits haven't done a virtual arson job on this (yet)...

Article II, Section 1, Clause 5:

No Person except a natural born Citizen, or a Citizen of the United States, at the time of the Adoption of this Constitution, shall be eligible to the Office of President; neither shall any Person be eligible to that Office who shall not have attained to the Age of thirty five Years, and been fourteen Years a Resident within the United States.

Long story short, the first US President born as a United States Citizen was Martin Van Buren, born in 1782 - and no, he did not receive a Vulcain Cricket ; )

Now history notes that the first sitting US President to receive a Vulcain Cricket was indeed President Truman in 1953 (although the case back on his gold Vulcain Cricket was engraved 1952).

But - spoiler alert - he was not the first US President to wear a Vulcain Cricket!

My new book on the history of the Vulcain Cricket and the Presidents of the US will be released in March, and all will be revealed! 

Stay tuned for preorder information.

Vulcain And The Presidents - Book 2

Very excited to share the news with this shamelessly self-promoting plug!

The new version of the real history of the Vulcain Cricket and the US Presidents who owned one is actually a practically new book. If I had thought the first 20 years of putting the first book was a project, the last 3 years has been particularly grueling ; )

New photos, new historical tidbits, over 100 pages, and in hard cover. 

IMPORTANT - this is not a coffee table book. This is meant to be read, not displayed!

Pre-orders will start shortly, once the proof is back from the printer. Pricing will be as aggressive as I can make it, but please bear in mind that I am bearing all of the production costs ; )

Ordering will be through the Oberlin Watch Company website.

Stay tuned!

The Cricket And The Presidents - Version 2 Electric Boogaloo!

After a few years of delays, it is here!

Weighing in at just under 100 pages, this new and improved version offers some new insights as well as some previously unseen images.

Watch this space for more information on pricing and availability!

The Countdown to Election Day - The Cricket and the President of the United States Part 1

As we race towards election day here in the lower 48, it seemed as good a time as any to air out some actual facts about the Vulcain Cricket and the President of the United States -

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 Curious Case of Vulcain...

Okay, it's been a minute. As many readers know, I've been in a 25-year love/hate relationship with Vulcain. Though the players have changed multiple times, the product line shuffled more often than the cards in a dealing shoe at the old Tropicana's blackjack tables, and the marketing efforts about as understandable as the instruction manual for your car - that although printed in three different languages, the car company did not take the time or the effort to separate them into three different sections ; )

As you may have heard, we have a little, informal public opinion poll happening here in the lower 48 next Tuesday. Nothing too important, but curious to relate we hold it every 4 years.

Okay, so what does the US election have to do with watches, and Vulcain in particular? Well, curious to relate, Harry S. Truman was given one by a grateful group of White House photographers as a "Going Away" present in 1953. President Eisenhower wore one as well, but how and when he bought or received his remains a mystery. Lyndon Johnson was the original Vulcain evangelist, buying not only for himself, but for friends, dignitaries, etc.,. And Richard Nixon received his as a thank you for a speech.

I've spent the last 25 years researching the Cricket and the presidential connection, and the second version of my book on the subject will be dropping shortly after the US election next week.

But I will be spending this weekend spooling out some content for you, right here on "The Blog Formerly Known As Tempus Fugit" - Henki Time.

And thanks are due to some folks who helped throughout - Carla Duarte the former CEO of Vulcain / Anonimo -

Michel Ditisheim, one of the Godfathers of the Ditisheim/Paajanen Crickets -

And the Paajanen family, past and present - Kiitos!

As for the current team at Vulcain - I've  received... 

crickets!

So stay tuned, I'm going to deliver this direct to the public, no special advertising or marketing content ; )

So It's Come To This...

As the guy who literally wrote the book on the Watch of the Presidents, it was inevitable that folks would ask me for feedback about the new watches bearing the name of former President and full-time flim-flam man Donald J. Trump.

"Magnificent Trump Watches!"

Courtesy of Trump Watches

Okay, as my wife Wendy so aptly put it, this is the one time that I will go on record as being in agreement with Ariel Adams and Adam Craniotes -

https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/lifestyle/style/trump-watch-likely-made-in-china-overpriced-1236013728/

While Mr. Adams is partially correct on what a white label company is and how the process operates, he was more than a wee disingenuous as to how the assembler (white label) business works writ large, very incorrect as to the "quality" of work performed as a whole, and while there are "off the shelf" options, there are several assemblers / white label companies that can create entirely unique options with quality at a very high level. And to that point? More than a few not-insignificant Swiss and Japanese high end brands utilize the services of third party operators. Just so that we are clear on that point.

As to the actual assembler of the higher end Trump Victory Tourbillon (or whatever this abomination to good taste and watchmaking credibility is called), there is more to it than the simple dismissiveness of Mr. Adams, but as the old saying goes - 

Those who will say don't know, and those who know won't say.

Now, back to the matter at hand - it does seem a fairly disparate collection - a tourbillon (with a dial that looks as if it was polished with a hot Hershey bar). The more affordable Fight, Fight, Fight models do not have dials with the made in Switzerland legend. If some of the insiders who have spoken are right, the movements of this less expensive model are Japanese with a fair amount of Chinese and Indian components and content. If and when the people behind the Trump watches decide to be more forthcoming on the actual origins of the contents of watch itself, well then we can have an informed conversation. Until then?

Well, I don't think any of these are going to supplant the Vulcain Cricket any time soon. But then again, if the folks in Le Locle keep half-assing it with unsellable limited editions and dozens of SKUs...

Repeat - Mikhail Sergeyevich Gorbachev - Vulcain Cricket Owner

When we think about the Vulcain Cricket, one of the first thoughts that comes to mind is that it is considered the "Watch of the Presidents" (of the USA). In the process of updating my book on the Vulcain Cricket and the Presidents of the US, I came across this story that I shared over a year ago in a different outlet, and thought that I'd reheat it here -

Mikhail Sergeyevich Gorbachev - Vulcain Cricket Owner

With the passing of Mikhail Sergeyevich Gorbachev the last remaining link between the Watch of the Presidents and the leader of the Soviet Union has gone with him.

Vulcain is, of course, well-known for its connection to US Presidents - particularly those who wore their Vulcain Crickets regularly - Presidents Truman, Eisenhower, Johnson, Nixon, and (then Vice) President Biden. 

As noted previously, the first US President to be presented a Vulcain Cricket directly from either Vulcain Switzerland or the Paajanen family in Helsinki, Finland was President Reagan. Curious to relate, just prior to that, a Vulcain Cricket found its way to the wrist of the leader of the Soviet Union. 

Credit Time Magazine International Edition

This first ran in the blog formerly known as Tempus Fugit on January 17, 2022 -

Yes watch fans, the Soviets beat the US to space with Sputnik, and Gorbachev beat any US President in being presented with a Vulcain Cricket, directly by Vulcain.

What has been missed, or simply assumed by most accounts of the Cricket and the US President connection was that the company had given the watches themselves. This was never the case up to this point. And it is quite intriguing that Michel Ditisheim, the son of the inventor of the Cricket would be the one to set up his father's invention on its second act on the world's geopolitical stage.

What Mr. Ditisheim explained to me was that the idea to give Mr. Gorbachev a Vulcain Cricket came about in what I often refer to as the "between time". 

This is the time when Vulcain had slowed down its production and became part of the  Manufactures d'Horlogerie Suisses Réunies SA, or MSR. This group was formed in 1961 and included Revue Thommen, Buser Freres,  Phenix, and later Marvin (in 1976).

Mr. Ditisheim with the help of Vulcain enthusiast (and member of the Swiss Federal Council) Pierre Aubert helped to arrange the  presentation of a Vulcain Cricket to the leader of the Soviet Union. The watch was delivered to the Kremlin in 1987, and then... nothing. Not a peep. Mr. Ditisheim could not have been blamed if he might have felt it was a failure as a PR plan. Three years passed, and  it wasn't until he went to his mailbox, and took out that week's copy of Time Magazine's International Edition (December 30, 1990, number 53) that he knew that the Vulcain Cricket had not only been successfully delivered, but had found its way onto Mr. Gorbachev's wrist! Vulcain never received any sort of acknowledgement or thank you. But there it was, the first ever Vulcain  Cricket presented to a sitting "president" by the brand itself, splashed large across the front cover of (at that time) one of the world's most important news magazines.

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 ; )

A Few Minutes With Eric Wind

There was a time, gentle reader, when buying vintage watches carried more than a bit of risk. I am not referring to fakes in the traditional Canal Street vein. What makes vintage watches desirable is not only the provenance (although that is certainly important), but also the stories (both known and untold) that the scuffs, dings, and patina tell about not only the watch but those who wore it. But with age comes maintenance, and maintenance sometimes means that an original part might not be available, or put more plainly, it often is more expeditious to use a "secondary market" solution. 

So in these increasingly uncertain times, it is great to know that there is at least one guy out there making sure that you not only get the vintage watch you want, but that it comes to you as advertised.  Ladies and Gentlemen, a few minutes with Eric Wind -

Courtesy of Eric Wind

Henki Time -

What was your first watch?  Was it a gift?  Is there a story behind it?

Courtesy of YoJoe.com

Eric Wind - My first watch was a G.I. Joe digital watch with a compass embedded in the green rubber strap. I loved it! My first mechanical watch was a Hamilton Neil my mom gave me in 2008 after my grandfather passed. It was a gift from my grandmother to my grandfather for their wedding in 1947 and my grandfather wore it daily his whole life. It opened up my passion for vintage watches!

HT - When you were a boy, what did you want to be when you "grew up"?

EW - I was also interested in politics and public service, so I was interested in running for office at some point in my life.


HT - You attended Georgetown as an undergraduate and then Oxford for an MBA - not necessarily a mainstream path! What did you study at Georgetown? And why Oxford for an MBA?

EW - I studied International Politics in Georgetown University's School of Foreign Service and business in the MBA program at the University of Oxford. I was always interested in studying at Oxford and I thought I would benefit from learning more about business. I loved the idea of studying business with an international cohort of students and I liked that it was a one-year program so I could return to working after a year.


HT - What got you into the world of watches in the first place?

EW - My grandfather's Hamilton Neil was given to me around the time I stumbled on HODINKEE back in 2008. HODINKEE was initially almost exclusively about vintage watches and reading about all these iconic vintage watches, from the "James Bond" Submariner to the "Steve McQueen" Monaco made me extremely interested.

HT - You then found yourself in the world of watch auctions, how did that come about?

Courtesy of Eric Wind / Wind Vintage

EW - I made a name for myself writing for HODINKEE and was recruited to Christie's by John Reardon. I joined Christie's in 2015 as Vice President, Senior Specialist of Watches and it was a whirlwind after that!

Courtesy of the Harry Truman Presidential Library

HT - You are well known as one of the top authorities on the Vulcain Cricket. What is it about this somewhat peculiar watch that attracted you?

EW - A Vulcain Cricket was one of the first vintage watches I purchased and I still have that one! Crickets have woken me up countless times. I love the history of the development of the Cricket as well as the aesthetics. I also love their presidential history.


HT - What is your take on "re-editions" / "homage" pieces? (i.e. DOXA SUB re-editions, Vulcain Cricket re-editions, etc.)

EW - I prefer the originals as a general rule!

HT - Your reputation is for not only being extremely well informed on all things vintage, but being the one person out there who can (to paraphrase the G man in Raiders of the Lost Arc) "obtain the unobtainable".  What attracts you to vintage?

EW - I prefer vintage watches to modern watches for collecting because they are all unique in terms of how they look now, the patina that many develop, and the more handmade nature of these watches compared to their modern counterparts.


HT - When you're not researching and locating rare and amazing watches, what do you like to do for fun?

EW - I love to play with my kids, whether it is dressup with my girls Adelina and Gemma or golf, soccer or basketball with my son Charlie!

HT - Of all the watches that have come and gone in your personal collection, what is the one that "got away"?

EW - Fortunately, I don't have too many regrets about watches I should not have sold! And there is always another watch just a FedEx box away around here, so there is always something new to see each day.

HT - If you weren't doing this, what would you be doing?

EW - Hard to say - I can't imagine doing anything else at this point!


HT - What advice do you have for the next Eric Wind out there?

EW - Keep learning some new things each day!

Coming Soonish...

As some of you reading this will already know, yours truly with the immeasurable help of the Paajanen family, Dan Mason, Carla Duarte, and Michel Ditisheim put out a small book on the history of the Vulcain Cricket's relationship with the Presidents of the United States. It was put out in partnership with Vulcain and provided free of charge to the general public. There was always a plan to put out a revised and updated book, and I am happy to say that this plan is still in action.

With that said, I also had to make the hard choice to pull the original from circulation without notice. For anyone out there who wanted one, I am sorry. But I also wanted to shed at least a little light on what can at best be called chicanery, and perhaps more honestly as the mischief of weasels.  And yes, the weasels, or in this case the belettes know who they are.

So with that said, I am pleased to relay that the extra time has afforded me the opportunity to get more original photos, documentation, etc. 

So for those who supported the original version, a big thank you and you can count on an update when we are ready to go. Should be a few more months - AFTER the spring watch shows.

Until then, enjoy your watches!

 

The Cricket and the Presidents

President's Day has rolled around again, and time for a another shameless plug - 

For those of you who have contacted me about getting a copy, there will be some copies available at the District Time show in Washington DC, March 5 and 6. 
 

The Cricket And The Presidents

Twenty-three years is a long time! In many ways, I have been working on this small book for nearly all of them. I am happy (and relieved) to say that it is now finally done.

At the risk of "underselling" this, I am going to tell you what it is, and what it isn't.

It is a compilation of anecdotes about all of the Vulcain Cricket watches and their Presidential owners and guardians that can be accounted for. It is not 500 pages of glossy paper, elegantly slipped into a hardcover edition in a special slide-out box. 

It is just over 30 pages, contains images of correspondence from the Presidents, and the truth about who actually gave a Vulcain Cricket to various Presidents of the United States.

If you are looking for a big, heavy coffee table book to put on your coffee table, this is not the book for you. If you want a resource for some interesting (at least I think so) factoids about the Vulcain Cricket and the US Presidents who either owner or received one in an easily digestible format? Then  this might be right up your alley-way!

We will be offering these for sale sometime in the second week of March. If you think you might like to get one, shoot me a message or leave a comment.

The Presidents And Vulcain - Donald Trump

And we finally come to the final Vulcain Cricket Watch presented by the Paajanens, and the second presented by Vulcain, both to Donald Trump.

From the Paajanen Family Archive

The gift from Keijo Paajanen was presented to President Trump to commemorate his visit to Helsinki in 2018 for his summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin. While it is understood that a Vulcain Cricket was sent to the White House as a gift for President Trump, it is somewhat of an unknown as to which model it was. In fairness, this was a time of some uncertainty at Vulcain as the 2016 election and inauguration fell at a time when the brand was struggling, and its former owners were actively trying to sell the brand. It is also likely that as in the case of other presentations, President Trump's 2 Vulcain Crickets might never have made it beyond the Office of Protocol, and been consigned to the National Archives.

And this brings to a close the story of the Vulcain Cricket and the Presidents of the United States, at least for now.

And I am pleased to say that a printed collection of most of these posts (edited) and some new images, etc. will be made available in a printed magazine format in the next few weeks.

The Presidents And Vulcain - Joe Biden

And now we get to one of the most misunderstood Vulcain/Presidential connections.

Joe Biden was gifted a Vulcain Cricket from the Paajanen family, Keijo Paajanen specifically. It was presented to him while he was still Vice President in 2011. In fact, he received his even before the Vulcain Cricket that Keijo presented President Obama. It is also worth noting that President Biden is the one President in modern times who actually paid for and kept the gift that he received. And also interesting to relate, his was the "base" model - stainless steel. It is, in fact, just like this one -

As Keijo's brother Rauno put it in his communication with Penelope Colston of the New York Times, in many ways it's as if Keijo gave the Cricket to Joe Biden first as he maybe suspected what might be in the future for Amtrak Joe, and there is a slight hint of sadness when I think about this, because I also wonder (in my own way) whether Keijo somehow knew that his time was limited, and that he would not get a chance to present a Vulcain to Joe Biden himself when he actually became President. This is what Keijo's brother Rauno shared with Ms. Colston -

"As I said in the first reply, our family and many others in Finland see the US as a safeguard that Finland can stay as a part of the Western World. The Winter War experience in the family is passed to the future generations. Our family wanted to thank the Presidents for paying a visit to our country. I quote Joe Biden´s letter here:

'Please know it is the kindness of people like you that continually renew my confidence about what we all can achieve together.'

It is a mutual feeling."

Rauno Paajanen

The Presidents And Vulcain - Over To You Barack Obama For A Cricket Two-fer

So apart from other semi-interesting, yet quirky factoids about the Vulcain Cricket and the President of the United States there is one fairly interesting one that stands out -

Only 2 US Presidents since its invention and release in 1947 have not owned a Vulcain Cricket.  John F. Kennedy, and George W. Bush.

Now the speculation as to why JFK never received a Vulcain Cricket can finally be resolved fairly simply - Vulcain never gave a Cricket to a US President, therefore unless he bought one, or was given one by a third party, there was never any reason that JFK would have owned a Vulcain Cricket. Because again, Vulcain (the main Swiss company) never gave a US President a Vulcain Cricket, until...

2008 saw the election of Barack Obama. It represented quite a few firsts, but insofar as watch history goes, this was the first time that Vulcain - the Swiss Vulcain, ever gave a Vulcain Cricket to a sitting US President.

It is worth noting, this was the second iteration of Vulcain. The brand had been bought by a group known as Production et Marketing Horologer or PMH.  This new iteration of Vulcain went "live" again in 2001 and moved the brand HQ to Le Locle. Michel Ditisheim was brought in as a consultant to the brand.

But almost as if trying to make up for a missed President, Keijo Paajanen, quite on his own, sent a Vulcain Cricket from his family's collection to President Obama. While nobody seems to know for certain, it is believed that the Anniversary Skeleton model that was presented to President Obama is most likely in the National Archives as he was never seen wearing it. The same is likely true for the model sent by Keijo -

Courtesy of the Paajanen Family

As best as can be ascertained, this would be one of the last Vulcain Crickets presented by the Paajanen family.

Courtesy of the Paajanen Family Collection

We have two more presidents to go, so tune in again as the Cricket hops to the wrist of Amtrak Joe.