Any story about visiting Vulcain HQ would not be complete without a tour of what may be a pretty phenomenal museum in the not-too-distant future.
Although there are administrative offices on the second (first) floor, and an atelier on the third (second) floor, there is a magnificent, sun soaked area on the first (ground) floor that will make an amazing, albeit small museum should Vulcain ever decide to create one –
Lots of light, lots of beautiful vitrines, and luckily, lots of treasures to display –
This is the same (not exact, but the same) Vulcain Cricket that was presented to President Barack Obama upon his election, and curious to relate? That was the very first Vulcain Cricket ever given as a gift to a United States President.
But beyond that, lots of fun pieces from the archives –
But the archives run far deeper than the past 50 years. The thing that gets lost in all of the (justifiable) buzz about the Cricket, is that Vulcain was a pretty significant producer even before back in the day –
And this includes some pretty esoteric pieces –
But a visit to the Vulcain HQ will also reveal quite a bit of history – some downright historical, and some relatively recent.
While it is certainly true that watch brands are fond of professional footballers (soccer players) and vice-versa, it is worth noting that back before it was a fashionable (or today, overdone) notion to partner with players or teams, Vulcain was one of the first to dip their toes in the partnership waters –
With Real Madrid (above) and Fiorentina (below) –
And continued on into more recent times partnering with a Grinnell College graduate from Chicago who opted to pursue music rather than electrical engineering.
His name was Herbert.
While we may always wonder what he might have contributed in terms of inventions and developments to improve our daily lives, I personally feel that the world is a much better place thanks to Head Hunters and Future Shock, and Herbie Hancock made the right career choice –
And a small bit of Henki lore – the idea for the Herbie Hancock partnership was born in a seafood restaurant in Beverly Hills, California back in 2011 with the (then) new distributor of Vulcain. I was having dinner with the new North American distributor Mark Wasserman who had just taken over Vulcain having formerly distributed Oris. Oris as you may know had done a slew of jazz musician partnerships, including one of Herbie Hancock’s former bandleaders, the son of an East St. Louis dentist and Julliard drop-out, Miles Davis.
In terms of “Presidential” brand ambassadors, it is important to once again try to clarify some misinformation that has continued to swirl around the Vulcain Cricket and its relationship to the Commander in Chief. The Vulcain Cricket gifted to Barack Obama in 2010 was THE FIRST Vulcain Cricket gifted to a US President (sitting or former).
In fact, it might surprise you to know that before Vulcain presented a Cricket (the Watch of the Presidents) to a US President, Vulcain actually presented a Cricket to the leader of the Soviet Union! But that is a story that we will be picking up in the next installment of The Greatest Marketing Campaign That Never Was (a marketing campaign).
Like all good things, my visit had to come to an end, but my nearly 24 year quest to compile a clear and accurate record of the Vulcain Cricket and its relationship with the Presidents of the United States continues.
It has taken me from Helsinki Finland, to San Francisco, Basel Switzerland, on to Beverly Hills, Las Vegas, La Chaux-de-Fonds and finally to Le Locle. But the quest continues, so please stay tuned!
And nearly 24 years later, our story will take us to Finland.
And I will introduce you to a family that with the help of the son of the inventor of the Vulcain Cricket reinvigorated the the legend of the Watch of the Presidents.
Until then – Tempus Fugit!