Image credit: HODINKEE.
Behind The Scenes of HODINKEE’s ‘Watch Of The Week: How the Vulcain Cricket Helped Me Find My Voice’
On December 13, 2021, Charlie Dunne wrote about the Vulcain Cricket for HODINKEE within their latest column ‘Watch of The Week’. You can read the full article below.
Watch Of The Week How the Vulcain Cricket Helped Me Find My Voice.
Special thanks to the following individuals who helped make this article possible: Nick Federowicz of Ad Patina, Serge Maillard of Europa Star, Nick Gould, Tony Traina of Rescapement, and Eric and Christine Wind of Wind Vintage. In addition, a special acknowledgement to Russel Kelly, Eneuri Acosta, Nick Marino, Nora Taylor and all my friends at HODINKEE.
U.S. Senator from Texas Lyndon B. Johnson wearing the Vulcain Cricket in March of 1951. Image Credit: Getty Images (Bettmann Collection)
The celebrity watch spotting content isn’t necessarily my favorite subject when it comes to discussing wristwatches. That is not to say it isn’t interesting. Being more attracted to vintage watches, there are certainly exceptions where I’ll be intrigued by a public figure wearing a timepiece. Writer, researcher and expert watch spotter, Nick Gould is not only the first on the scene when spotting A-list celebrities, but also leads the pack in identifying the obscure timepieces on the wrists of figures of yesteryear. Whether it is a high-profile celebrity, or a random mechanic’s Rolex Daytona reference 6239 on the 1965 Honda Racing Team, he manages to catch everything.
In addition to identifying President Biden’s Rolex 9 days prior to his inauguration, he also has highlighted the Vulcain Cricket belonging to Lyndon Baines Johnson during his time as Senator of Texas. Side note: Biden is a lover of the Cricket as well based on his Vice President Portrait of 2013.
Lyndon B. Johnson wearing the Vulcain Cricket. Source: Nick Gould
Image credit: Europa Star Archives.
Through the brilliant resources of Europa Star Archives one can find incredible primary source material on the watch industry and a range of manufacturers. Publisher & CEO of Europa Star Serge Maillard has been an incredible supporter towards both large watch media companies, and independent content creators.
I first met Maillard in March of 2018, when striking up a conversation at Watches & Wonders Miami about the Longines Evidenza he was wearing on his wrist. He would go on to inform me of his family company and being the fourth generation operator of Europa Star. It was an eye-opening moment, as I was unaware of the publication until that point. Very shortly after I began writing about watches, it was clear that I would greatly benefit from Europa Star.
In the short period I have been a member I have found countless timepieces within ads, articles and trade publications that have assisted me in my ongoing projects. The Archives have seen recent expansions into the first half of the 20th century, offering a particular benefit for those passionate to research early wristwatches. With user-experience in mind, topics can be searched by keyword or subject matter, with additional filters for language and year of publication afforded. Being a proud subscriber of this service, I highly recommend others to take advantage of their online database.
By joining the Club and Europa Star archives you get access to 170,000 pages on the watch industry published since the 1930s, as well as our latest issues in print and digital format. 365 days per year - English - French - Chinese simplified - Chinese traditional - Spanish - Russian. The global communication network of Europa Star websites is unique in the watch and jewellery trade and the number one channel to disseminate information to the entire range of business buyers, consumers and aficionados worldwide. Published in five of the world’s most spoken languages, our platform provides a constant communication link between the leading brands, their business channels and their consumers worldwide.
Europa Star dates back to 1927 when Hugo Buchser, its founder, was a young and enthusiastic entrepreneur with a passion for watches. He launched a guide for watch buyers which soon became an essential tool for the entire watch industry. A seasoned traveller and globetrotter, he voyaged around the world, creating a network of magazines which would promote the watch industry worldwide.
The first series of magazines was created in Brazil and Argentina, and by the 1950s a variety of magazines sprouted up in English, French, German, Spanish, Chinese, Japanese, Arabic, Hindi, Urdu, Thai and Cyrillic, progressively covering most of the world’s continents.
Under the leadership of Gilbert Maillard-Buchser, who became President of Hugo Buchser SA in 1962, all the magazines were grouped under the Europa Star brand name to cover all the international watch markets and transform Europa Star into a truly worldwide publishing company.
Thus, Europa Star quickly became the leader of the watch industry’s specialized press and the worldwide expansion of the magazines was extraordinary, making it a phenomenon in the specialized Swiss watch industry press.
In 1995, the third generation of the family, brothers Philippe and Pierre Maillard took over the helm of the company and Europa Star became part of the multinational group United News & Media / Miller Freeman (later on VNU - Nielsen).
In 2010, full ownership of Europa Star returned to the Maillard-Buchser family, with Philippe Maillard as Managing Director and Pierre Maillard as Editor-in-Chief, respecting full continuity of the international publishing activities initiated in 1927 by the founder Hugo Buchser.
In 2014, the fourth generation came on board and is now headed by Serge Maillard, Publisher & CEO of Europa Star, bringing a youthful spirit and a fresh impetus with new developments in all our products, in print and in the digital field.
Today Europa Star reaches 174 countries through its network of renewed publications of magazines and websites.
Vulcain Cricket Advertisement. Image credit Ad Patina
In the recent years I’ve become enthralled by vintage watch advertisements. Primarily through discussions with Nick Federowicz, founder of Ad Patina. Federowicz’s passion for watch ads led him to create a marketplace for watch collectors to understand and appreciate how their timepieces were marketed in the past. In addition, he also offers an unrivaled service of bespoke framing.
Throughout the development of my passion for Vulcain Crickets, Nick has actively sourced advertisements to accompany my research into the brand’s history. Specific models, such as my LBJ dial, remain the most personal ephemera that accompanies my Crickets.
Image credit: Wind Vintage.
Having first been exposed to the incredible alarms through articles like 'A Vulcain Cricket With Presidential (or Vice-Presidential?) Provenance' and ‘Your Complete Guide To The Watches Of United States Presidents', I was very happy to begin my collection of Crickets with the assistance of Eric Wind of Wind Vintage. I was able to admire a variety examples within Eric’s personal collection while mapping out the references I would like to one day acquire.
Over the past few years, countless texts, and phone calls have occurred examining models, early newspaper articles, books and the ever-increasing franken-watches that come up for sale. Despite the constant outreach, Eric has remained equally enthusiastic about my research. It was a very special moment when he informed me that he sourced a great example, and that he wanted to offer it to someone who would truly understand and appreciate it. We officially coined this specific variant that caught my attention years back as “the LBJ dial”, and it will remain one of my most sentimental timepieces.
Although Eric is not the only Wind to have been an integral figure in my Cricket obsession. Eric’s wristshot on Instagram is undoubtedly one of the most identifiable posts. Regardless of whether it is an uncelebrated alarm watch, or an iconic grail-watch, the posts are immediately recognizable. The capturing of these brilliant visuals are made possible through Eric’s wife and business partner, Christine. Christine is one of the most warm-hearted and genuine individuals I’ve encountered. The fantastic photographs that she’s taken of my Cricket collection over the years add an even more personal element to the timepieces.
Image credit: Wind Vintage.
My love for these timepieces is void of materialism, or any desire to be recognized as a “Cricket collector”. Instead, it is greatly influenced by the role of great people who have encouraged my growing passion for watches. Thank you to all those who share this excitement with me.
Read the full article of ‘How the Vulcain Cricket Helped Me Find My Voice’ on HODINKEE.