VULCAIN Cricket First Model cal.120 / 1940s, the First Alarm Wristwatch

— The world's first alarm wristwatch —

In 1947 the first wristwatch with an alarm function was born.

Its name was the Cricket, after a sound resembling a cricket's chirp.

Worn by successive American presidents, it became an emblematic model.

This, the first model, is the genuine first alarm wristwatch in the world.

An early example of the Cricket, the world's first alarm wristwatch, born in 1947. An emblematic mechanism in which a double caseback resonates to produce a clear, delicate tone. The celebrated Cal. VULCAIN 120, which separates drive and alarm by winding direction. An exceptionally rare dial where applied Roman numerals and blue graduations sit together. A "BREVETS" patent marking and a beautifully weathered face that speak for the weight of history.

— The cleverness of mechanism and operation —

Inside is Cal. VULCAIN 120.

Wind the crown upward and you wind the alarm spring; wind it downward and you wind the going train's mainspring.

The button at two o'clock has two stages.

Press it one stage to switch the alarm off.

Press it a further stage to operate the alarm hand.

Time-setting is as usual, but the construction only turns forward. That limitation too is part of the beauty of the design.

— A caseback built to make sound —

The caseback has a double construction, and the alarm sounds through resonance.

Small, yet with a solid volume. Usefulness and surprise together.

— Function within the design —

The dial combines applied Roman numerals with dot indexes — an unusual dial to find.

Around the periphery is the minute display for the alarm.

Blue numerals every ten minutes balance legibility against ease of use.

— A presence to wear —

The weathered dial is beautifully aged.

The case has wide lugs and a broad bezel.

The movement is handsome, like an engine bay, and the "BREVETS" marking indicates the patents obtained.