Gold-plated cased jewelled club-tooth lever alarm watch with date mechanism

Description — British Museum

17-jewel movement with club-tooth lever escapement and alarm mechanism. Silver-coloured metal dial with raised gold-plated baton hour marks; subsidiary seconds; date aperture at 3 o'clock. Gold-plated hour, minute and seconds hands; stainless-steel alarm-setting hand with arrow-head pointer. Gold-plated case with snap-in stainless-steel back.

Curator's comments — British Museum

Comment from Richard Good, Catalogue of Watches in the British Museum. Vol. V (Unpublished manuscript) Made by Vulcain Switzerland, c. 1945 Wrist Watch with alarm and date work with a club tooth lever escapement. Signature: On the dial VULCAIN CRICKET SWISS MADE. Case: A three part case with the bezel and band gilt and a stainless steel snap on double back which also acts as the bell. The back is marked 'VULCAIN WATCH CO - SWISS', the Vulcain trade mark with the date 1858, 'STAINLESS STEEL BACK WATERPROOF SHOCK PROTECTED U.S. PAT. 2644294 -SWISS PATENTS D.B.P. 820958'. Also the number S 1511 A. Two buttons, one for winding and hand setting. The other when pressed in enables the alarm hand to be set. Dial & Hands: A brushed silvered dial with gilt batons at the hours and double batons at 12, 6 and 9 o'clock. No baton at 3 o'clock since the date aperture is in this position. Gilt hour and minute hands, a rhodium plated alarm hand with a black painted arrow tip. A subsidiary seconds dial with a gilt seconds hand. Movement: A nickel silver movement. Ebauche Marks: V 405.1 on the inside of the front plate. Frame: A bridge for the barrel and keyless work. A bridge for the alarm train engraved 'U.S. PAT. 2644294 -SWISS PATENTS D.B.P. 820958'. A bridge for the going train engraved 'VULCAIN WATCH Fy SWITZERLAND 17 SEVENTEEN JEWELS'. Cocks for the balance and pallets. On the balance cock is an import mark PWP. Barrel and Mainspring: The going barrel with a recessed escape wheel. Barrel: I diameter 11.45 mm., height 1.4 mm. Mainspring: height 1.4 mm., thickness 0.115 mm. Barrel Arbor: diameter 2.4 mm., snailed. Hooking: Milled from the barrel wall. Train: All the wheels gilded, the centre wheel, third and fourth wheels with five crossings. The steel escape wheel with four. Jewelling: Jewelled bearings from the third wheel onwards, all the jewels pressed in. Shock protected bearings to the balance. Escapement: A straight line layout club tooth lever escapement with short lever, double roller and D-shaped impulse pin. The exposed pallet stones have flat acting faces. A steel escape wheel with four crossings. Solid banking provided by extensions to the pallet cock. An equidistant locking escapement. No. of teeth embraced 3½. Balance & Spring: A monometallic balance with brass screws. Balance diameter 9.45 mm., thickness 0.55 mm. A 'self compensating' flat spiral spring with 14 turns. Means of Regulation: An index on the balance cock registers against a divided scale with 'Fast' and 'Slow' engraved on the balance cock table. Train Counts and Beat Rate: Great wheel 80 (barrel) Centre wheel 64 pinion 10 Third wheel 60 pinion 8 Fourth wheel 60 pinion 8 Escape wheel 15 pinion 6 Beat rate 18,000 Motion work: cannon pinion 10 minute wheel 36, minute pinion 12 hour wheel 40 Winding System: Conventional positive stem set keyless work. Alarm Work: The alarm train is driven by a secondary wheel which is mounted on the barrel arbor and linked to the barrel ratchet wheel by a face ratchet acting with an armed disc whose nibs penetrate holes in another disc which is mounted beneath. Alarm setting wheel 52. Alarm train: Second wheel 56 pinion 16, Escape wheel 13 pinion 8. The escapement is pin wheel. Date work: Second 'minute' wheel 36 pinion 8, date wheel 48. The date wheel carries a pin which indexes the date disc. Dimensions: Case: diameter 34.0 mm., height 11 mm., over the glass Movement: diameter 28.5 mm, height 7.5 mm. Provenance: Purchased in 1989.