Wristwatches · Wristwatch
Vulcain Cricket, c. 1970s
- Maker / attribution
- Vulcain (maker)
- Date
- c. 1970s
- Historical period
- Quartz Revolution (1969 – 1990)
- Country of origin
- Switzerland
- Object type
- Wristwatch
- Dimensions
- Case 35 mm
- Stock no.
- 40991364
- Credit line
- Dealer listing, Analog/Shift (40991364)
- Catalogue title (original)
- Vulcain Cricket (English)
View the source record (dealer listing) ↗ (opens another website in a new tab)Suggest a correction
Record summary
Catalogued by Analog/Shift (dealer), New York (stock number 40991364), this is a wristwatch by Vulcain, made in Switzerland, dated c. 1970s. The Atlas places it in the Quartz Revolution period (1969 – 1990) of its Wristwatches collection. Recorded dimensions: Case 35 mm. The record is illustrated with 6 photographs.
Assembled from the source record's structured fields. Dates and attributions are given as the source states them; where a field is missing the Atlas leaves it blank rather than estimating.
Catalogue description
Dealer description — Analog/Shift
We're big fans of alarm watches — especially the Jaeger-LeCoultre Memovox — but Vulcain was the first to make a working model, and as we all know, vintage collectors love to own the first version of anything . It also happened that when Vulcain designed this innovative watch, they nailed it on the first go-around. The Cricket wasn’t some delicate novelty — in fact, it accompanied the first expedition to reach the peak of K2. Future advertisements would read, “The teams of all these expeditions have expressed their satisfaction and admiration of the record performance of their Vulcain Cricket, testifying that their running was as faultless and the ringing of the alarm as distinct on the summit of K2 as in the damp jungles of equatorial Africa.” Pretty damned cool if you ask us. This particular example of the Cricket dates to circa the 1970s and features a 35mm stainless steel case with an acrylic crystal, a signed crown, and a polished bezel. Inside, it features a satin silver dial with applied gold-tone indices, a matching 'obelisk' handset, and Vulcain's Calibre 120 manually wound movement. In fantastic, sharp condition throughout this piece makes for a fantastic and, of course, practical daily wearer or dress piece. And who doesn’t love a mechanical alarm? Perhaps only those who have not experienced one! The buzzing vibration positively oozes a certain old-world charm.
Historical context
Quartz Revolution (1969 – 1990)
Seiko's Astron begins mass quartz timekeeping; traditional industries contract sharply.
Quartz and digital watches transformed the market after 1969. Swiss employment collapsed, Japanese and Hong Kong production soared, and the Swatch (1983) helped the Swiss industry recover; mechanical watches survived as luxury goods.
Read the period in the timelineMore wristwatches from this periodEarlier: Modern Mechanical Horology
Atlas type guide
Wristwatches
Bracelet watches were worn by women from the early nineteenth century — Breguet made one for Caroline Murat, Queen of Naples, in 1810–12 — but the wristwatch only became a man's instrument with military use and aviation in the early twentieth century. Between the World Wars it overtook the pocket watch; the 1920s and 1930s brought rectangular Art Deco cases, water-resistant cases and the first automatic winding systems.
After 1945 the wristwatch became a carrier of identity — dress watches, sports and dive watches, chronographs, calendars — produced by Swiss, American, Japanese, German, Soviet and Chinese industries. The quartz revolution after 1969 and the mechanical renaissance since the 1990s, including the rise of independent watchmakers, complete the story.
What to look for
- The reference number (between the lugs or inside the case back) and serial number, the starting point for dating.
- The calibre: its maker and number are often stamped under the dial or on the bridge.
- Originality of dial, hands and crown — refinished ('redial') dials are common.
- Case material marks: 18K/750, 14K/585, stainless steel, gold-filled, plated.
Dating clues
- Wire-lug cases: before c. 1925.
- Water-resistant screw-down cases: from 1926.
- Quartz movements: from 1969; sapphire crystals widespread after c. 1980.
General guidance written by the Atlas editors about this kind of object. It is not a statement about this particular piece; for that, rely on the source record above and on physical examination.
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