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Vulcain continues to tap its deep collection of winning historical designs with the Grand Prix, another terrific re-issue that revisits a 1960s design.

The Vulcain Grand Prix, also available with a Champagne and a light-grey dial option.

At 39mm in diameter and 12.7mm thick, the steel-cased Grand Prix delivers classic mid-20th century style with its time-only display, domed crystal, sunray dial finish and long, thin hour markers.

Slender hands enhance the dial’s retro-appeal.

Vulcain offers the Grand Prix with a refined dial of Champagne, light grey or black hues, all nicely matched with either a brown or black leather strap.

A case water resistant to fifty meters will easily protect the Swiss-made Landeron L24 automatic movement in most leisure settings. Expect a power reserve of forty hours.

Vulcain has released a series of retro-inspired designs during the past two years following Guillaume Laidet’s entry into the Le Locle-based company as its CRO (Chief Revival Officer). You might recall the sharp-looking Monopusher Heritage and Vulcain Nautical, both launched as revival collections this past fall.

Price: $1,340. 

Vulcain introduces a version of its Cricket Nautical dive watch with a new design that echoes the original from 1961. The new model retains the Nautical’s pioneering alarm and dive-time display but adds a sapphire crystal to the 42.2mm steel case. 

The newest Vulcain Cricket Nautical.

As one of the first dive watches with an alarm, the Cricket Nautical extended the independent watchmaker’s primary claim to fame as a premier Swiss manufacturer of alarm watches.

The new Cricket Nautical makes it a simple task to read the dial indications underwater with two superimposed dials. One of the dials is fixed and the other rotates (via a crown at 4 o’clock) to calculate diving decompression times.

Vulcain’s proprietary system features a rectangular aperture that displays the stop times required at the typical diving depths of nine meters, six meters and three meters when ascending after an extended dive.

Vulcain offers its own ‘Triple Case Back’ case design that acts as a resonance chamber to project the alarm during a dive. A clear caseback version, nicely embellished with the stylized Vulcain V, is also available as an option. (See full specifications below). Likewise, Vulcain also offers a choice of a sapphire or acrylic crystal.

Inside Vulcain fits its owns manual-wind Caliber Vulcain Cricket Manufacture V-10 and protects it with a case water resistant to 300 meters.

Vulcain offers two different dial options with the new Cricket Nautical, each faithful to the original watch from 1961. One option features a black dial, faux-patina indexes and hands and an emerald green minute track.

The second option also features a black dial but with white Super-LumiNova hour markers and hands and a blue minute track. 

Price: $4,862. 

 

Specifications: Vulcain Cricket Nautical

Movement: Vulcain Cricket Manufacture V-10, a hand-wound alarm movement with two barrels, 18,000 vph and a 42-hour power reserve. Decoration includes nickel-plated treatment, blued screws, skeleton ratchets (on sapphire case back version). Functions: Hours, minutes, center seconds, alarm, decompression scale adjustable via screw-in crown at 4 o’clock. Alarm duration is twenty seconds.

Case: 42.2mm by 17.35mm steel with‘Triple Case Back’ that acts as a resonance chamber, allowing the alarm function to be used underwater, or sapphire crystal version embellished with the stylized “V”. Water resistance to 300 meters. 

Dial: Semi-matte black dial with decompression tables. The domed sapphire crystal is treated with an anti-reflective coating; a domed plexiglass version is also available. 

Strap: Black leather with a water-resistant carbon texture, steel pin buckle.

Price: $4,862.

Independent Swiss watchmaker Vulcain, best known for its Cricket mechanical alarm watches, revives its Nautique dive watch collection from 1960 with the new Skindiver Blue and Skindiver Black, a 38mm steel model offered in a blue or black dial option.

The new Vulcain Skindiver Black.

Both retro-styled dive models feature a modern ceramic fluted bezel insert, khaki brown Super-Luminova-enhanced hands and indexes, domed sapphire crystal and easy-to-read white markers.

The new Vulcain Skindiver Blue.

The retro update also includes a modern ETA 2824 automatic movement protected within a case made water resistant to 200 meters.

Based in Le Locle, Vulcain has made a name for itself for decades with its Cricket mechanical alarm watch. But under the relatively new product guidance of Guillaume Laidet, who oversaw the revival of Nivada Grenchen and Excelsior Park after starting and then selling his own brand William L. 1985, Vulcain has extensive plans to re-introduce itself to modern collectors and enthusiasts. Vulcain’s most recent Cricket reboot was met with a strong positive consumer reaction.

Vulcain offers the new watch on a leather strap with a black carbon pattern and matching stitching. The strap case be easily swapped with Vulcain’s own ‘quick-change’ system.

Price: $1,616.

Specifications: Vulcain Skindiver

References: Black version – VUL-DI-001 / Blue version – VUL-DI-002 

Movement: Automatic ETA 2824 with 38-hour power reserve.

Case: 38mm by 12.2mm 316L vertical-brushed stainless steel, domed sapphire crystal, unidirectional rotating bezel with black ceramic insert, polished stainless steel caseback. Water resistance to 200 meters.

Dial options: Matte black with white transfer print and khaki brown Super-Luminova-enhanced hands and indexes (VUL-DI-001) Vertical-brushed blue with white transfer print and khaki brown Super-Luminova-enhanced hands and indexes (VUL-DI-002) 

Strap: Black leather with carbon pattern and matching stitching, stainless steel buckle. 

Price: $1,616.