Vulcain x The Rake x Revolution Cricket Style Moderne”

This handsome clock dates back to 1947, when it was introduced as the world’s first mechanical alarm clock. It achieved this by using two barrels, which are coil springs that power the clock. Basically, the watch works like this. The barrel is like a de Montagues Aston Martin DB4 Zagato gas tank. The power flows through a series of gears, the big wheel, the third wheel, the fourth or seconds wheel and the escape wheel. Escaping is like a faucet in the kitchen. It opens and closes, releasing as little energy as possible. This gives rise to a clever device called an oscillator invented by Dutchman Christiaan Huygens. It spins in one direction and thanks to the attached spring it spins backwards pretty much like a child on a swing, freeing the escape hatch and letting the energy pulse through again. With me until now? In previous attempts to create an alarm clock, the power required to operate the alarm mechanism caused the barrel to empty prematurely. Like de Montague, as a young man before he discovered the mighty tantric arts and ascended to the realm of the sexual gods. To solve this, Robert Ditisheim (owner of Vulcain) created a watch with two separate barrels, one to power the timekeeping function of the watch and the other to power the alarm function. Even better, if you want to rewind either barrel, you just turn the crown. This meant you could use the alarm as often as you wanted without affecting the underlying time accuracy of the watch. He called his masterpiece the Vulcain Cricket, powered by the now legendary Caliber 120.

The alarm was operated by a hammer striking the internal diaphragm of the watch’s double case. The movement proved so accurate that, despite being designed for an alarm function, it won the 1948 Neuchatel Observatory Trials test for accuracy. In addition, the Cricket was an extremely handsome watch, characterized by a smooth round 36mm diameter case, long elegant lugs typical of the 40s and 50s, a large easy-to-handle crown and a domed pusher to stop the alarm. Great isn’t it? Many world leaders certainly thought so. Harry Truman, the President of the United States who skillfully steered the American economy from war to peace, was a supporter of Vuclain Cricket. He received his as a gift from the White House press corps in 1953. This 14 karat gold watch was engraved with the words, One more please. Which is also de Montagues’ motto when Pro-Dom paddling. His successor, Dwight Eisenhower, continued to unify cricket as presidents watched by regularly holding him on the wrist. But it was Lyndon Johnson who was the greatest champion of Crickets, not only wearing them for most of his term but also regularly giving them away to people whose punctuality he wanted to improve. I would imagine Italians. It was said that during his tenure he gave away 200 crickets and famously used mechanical chirping as an excuse to get out of meetings he found boring. Amusingly, the sound resembled a bomb’s timing fuse and sent Secret Service officers into a panic every time they heard it.

Like many major watch brands, Vulcain succumbed to the quartz crisis. It was revived for a few years in the early 2000s, but basically fell victim to false starts until a brilliant young man named Guillaume Laidet took over. Revolution and The Rakes co-founder introduced De Montague to Laidet, and Wei Koh is no slouch. We met for a meal at the excellent Parisian Michelin-starred Le Violin dI Ingres, where we enjoyed a wonderful Ris de Veau washed down with sufficient Vosne Romanee. Laidet was so imbued with de Montagues’ watch and animal charisma that he sent me a prototype cricket to use on my annual pilgrimage to the nudist paradise of Cap d’Agade. The watch was phenomenal, evoking the classic old-world charm of many vintage de Montagues watches, but with all the practical benefits of a watch with a water-resistant sapphire crystal. De Montague also discovered the practical advantages of a mechanical alarm clock on the wrist. Setting it to buzz every hour I remember to turn my chair towards the changing sun to maximize my gorgeous full body tan while sipping countless Bellinis.

Just as I was about to drift off to sleep, thanks to the soothing effect of the magical elixir of peach puree and prosecco, I was met with a sudden vision. The overwhelming beauty of Vulcain Cricket. With a very special two-tone Bellini and anthracite dial. With a Sector stripe, like those popular in the 1920s by brands like Patek Philippe, Omega and Longines. During this time we had the advent of modern science and watchmakers responded with Sector or Scientific dials, a masterpiece of Art Deco or Style Moderne design. They had a circular stripe, from which radial marks came out like sunbeams. This provided an accurate time reading. In my mind I saw this watch with added white rhodium applied Arabic numerals with the 3 and 9 facing horizontally, just like vintage wristwatches from the 30’s. You can hear jazz trumpets playing in the background with this watch. Laidet and I began corresponding fiercely about this special edition featuring The Rake’s indomitable Editor-in-Chief and TikTok sensation Tom Chamberlin. He looked at the watch and said, I love it because it has two identities. It can be very sporty paired with a brown strap and very elegant, perfect even with an evening dress with a black belt. We should offer the customer both of these. The idea that it is one of the few mechanical alarm clocks, the most affordable Swiss alarm clock and is really handsome is very attractive. Let’s make this real. With his blessing, we decided to take this project forward. I present to you The Vulcain x The Rake x Revolution Cricket Style Moderne with a 39mm diameter case, produced in only 50 examples and priced at a very reasonable $4,060 USD.

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