[tony20009]

Re: New Article on Presidential Watches...What did you do?

Many of you may have seen and contributed to this thread: https://www.watchuseek.com/f2/new-article-presidential-hypocrisy-watches-1484722.html . Interesting as that thread surely is, I want to know this:

1. Did you go to this page -- Your Complete Guide To The Watches Of United States Presidents — HODINKEE - Wristwatch News, Reviews, & Original Stories -- or was the National Review article enough?
2. Did you go here -- Clare Watch Company -- to see what they offer? If you did, what were your thoughts of Clare watches?
3. Did you check out this site: Vulcain Watches - Home ?
4. Were you surprised to find that so many Presidents have worn Vulcan watches and yet they aren't particularly common watches?

My answers:

1. Duh...
2. Duh...again, you get one guess...I think Clare make nice watches and I like that one can get a nice, smart looking gold watch for a sane price. I'd wear one; it'd be nice to have one; I'm not making a beeline to get one. I have added it to my list of watches to maybe get one day.
3. Ditto
4. No. I knew a bit about Vulcain before hand.

All the best.

[Watch] collecting is an obsession, an occupation, a disease, an addiction, a fascination, an absurdity, a fate. It is not a hobby. Those who do it must do it. Those who do not do it, think of it as a cousin of stamp collecting, a sister of the trophy cabinet, bastard of a sound bank account and a weak mind.
― Jeanette Winterson (adapted)

 

[Keeper of Time]

Re: New Article on Presidential Watches...What did you do?

Wonderful article. Thank you for posting.

 

[little big feather]

Re: New Article on Presidential Watches...What did you do?

I'd read the Guide to Presidential watches some time ago.
Read a bit about Vulcain over the years.
Never heard of Clare B/4, but now I have read the complete site. Saw no prices listed, don't think I would buy one.

 

[tony20009]

Re: New Article on Presidential Watches...What did you do?

I'd read the Guide to Presidential watches some time ago.
Read guite a bit about Vulcain over the years.
Never heard of Clare B/4, but now I have read the complete site. Saw no prices listed, don't think I would buy one.

$8500...you had to click the "order one" option to find it.

All the best.

 

[tony20009]

Re: New Article on Presidential Watches...What did you do?

Wonderful article. Thank you for posting.

YW, and I'm glad you found it interesting. Really the gratitude should go to Chefmhf who is the OP of the thread that inspired this one.

All the best.

 

[little big feather]

Re: New Article on Presidential Watches...What did you do?

I'd like to comment on his(Clare Watch) detailed explanation of his solid cast gold cases compared to outdated hollow cast cases dating back 40+ years,(last new
cheap, gold watches)that I saw using that method, which also soldered on lugs, etc....Chinese might use it, but I don't think the Swiss do, not seen
or read of it.

 

[tony20009]

Re: New Article on Presidential Watches...What did you do?

I'd like to comment on his(Clare Watch) detailed explanation of his solid cast gold cases compared to outdated hollow cast cases dating back 40+ years,(last new cheap, gold watches)that I saw using that method, which also soldered on lugs, etc....Chinese might use it, but I don't think the Swiss do, not seen or read of it.

I'm sorry. Would you clarify your comment please? I don't understand it.

All the best.

 

[alx007]

Re: New Article on Presidential Watches...What did you do?

To add to the discussion - this nice article explains how the Vulcain cricket has been presented to every US president - with exception of W: Tempus Fugit: A President's Day Reminder - What Hodinkee Left Out

 

[DonQuixote]

Re: New Article on Presidential Watches...What did you do?

To add to the discussion - this nice article explains how the Vulcain cricket has been presented to every US president - with exception of W: Tempus Fugit: A President's Day Reminder - What Hodinkee Left Out

Great article, Alx007, thanks for sharing.. however I don't get why Vulcain's website has this as the reasoning behind why president's wear their watches: The Vulcain watch manufacturer was founded in 1858 and is the inventor of the alarm complication for wristwatches. This innovation made the Vulcain watches popular with American presidents starting with Harry S. Truman, earning the brand its reputation as “The Watch for Presidents”.

 

[little big feather]

Re: New Article on Presidential Watches...What did you do?

I'm sorry. Would you clarify your comment please? I don't understand it.

All the best.

In his spiel, he states about the ultra high quality of his cases over others who use soldered cases.
Soldered cases are/were used only on cheap gold cases, many even had hollow lugs, soldered unto a very thin
(paper thin)gold case.I know of no quality watch doing that in modern times. Allot of nothing about something that
I don't think even exists.

 

[tony20009]

Re: New Article on Presidential Watches...What did you do?

In his spiel, he states about the ultra high quality of his cases over others who use soldered cases.
Soldered cases are/were used only on cheap gold cases, many even had hollow lugs, soldered unto a very thin
(paper thin)gold case.I know of no quality watch doing that in modern times. Allot of nothing about something that
I don't think even exists.

Now I understand. TY.

I am not aware of any watch being soldered; however, my ignorance on the matter is indicative of nothing by my not knowing.

It's my understanding that the technique is used in watch repair, but that only from having seen a watchmaker sitting next to a torch used for that purpose. I haven't seen one in use or asked about it.

All the best.

 

[alx007]

Re: New Article on Presidential Watches...What did you do?

Great article, Alx007, thanks for sharing.. however I don't get why Vulcain's website has this as the reasoning behind why president's wear their watches: The Vulcain watch manufacturer was founded in 1858 and is the inventor of the alarm complication for wristwatches. This innovation made the Vulcain watches popular with American presidents starting with Harry S. Truman, earning the brand its reputation as “The Watch for Presidents”.

From everything I read about Vulcain, on their website and otherwise, they never claimed to have presented the watches to the presidents themselves - they just stated the fact that several US presidents, more notoriously 3 of them, wore Crickets. The brand had its heyday in the 50's and 60's, before they started to belong to the same group as Revue Thommen. When that happened, Vulcain slowly faded away, until it was completely gone on the early 80's. In their absence, Revue Thommen released a few Cricket models, namely the 1997 cricket. This is where the story gets convoluted - at a point, the Revue Thommen website would indicate that "they", and not Vulcain, were the makers of the alarm watch that many presidents used.

Vulcain resurged in the early 2000's, and initially all the watches they put out had the Alarm complication. They revived the famous 120 cricket calibre under the name V-10, and then released new versions, sporting date complication, better decoration, and eventually an automatic alarm movement. They are now a very small - or exclusive, as I like to see it - brand, and put out ~5k watches a year, and these watches are mostly sold in Asia and Europe. To regain presence in the US, they started evoking the fame of being "the watch of presidents" from the early 50's to 60's.

While this doesn't necessarily answer your question, I have read several times before that each US president since the 60's, with the exception of W, was presented with a Cricket. I never knew what was the source of this rumor, until I read this article. Apparently, Vulcain followed suit and presented Barack Obama with an Anniversary Heart Cricket in 2008-9, when he took office.



And Tony, to answer your initial question, I have gone through the history of president's watches, and Vulcain's, way before this thread was open!

 

[inhaus]

Re: New Article on Presidential Watches...What did you do?

I loved the article showing the list of all the presidential watches, for some reason that was overly fascinating for me. Especially the watch given to JFK by Marilyn Monroe...