Waltham Alarm Master 'WB' Calendar (Vulcain) Cricket c.1971
Waltham Alarm Master 'WB' Calendar (Vulcain) Cricket c.1971
For some time now Vulcain Crickets have been one of, if not the most, popular alarm watches that came out of the ‘vintage era’, but they were certainly not the most common by any means. The Cricket watches made their way to adorn many well-known wrists, including multiple U.S. Presidents. They were also used, as we see here with Waltham, by handful of other brands in their own alarm watch offerings.
Of these watches and their in-house movements (whether technically produced by Vulcain or their parent company), the caliber 402 is one of the least commonly see variations. Alarm pusher is below 3 o’clock on these, it has a date indicator, and it also has sub-seconds instead of central sweeping seconds. Combine that with ‘military time’ 24-hour markings on a flat black dial and you have one eye-catching time piece.
Waltham offered several styles of their cal. 402 Alarm Watch, with this black dial offering being one of the models you won’t hardly be able to find nowadays. The rarity of this in the Waltham circle combined with the desirability of the the Vulcain Cricket-powered watches makes this small set a definite ‘keeper’ for the discerning watch collector. This particular example appears to have hardly been worn and not handled much for being almost 50 years old.
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Case: Very good + shape with only small signs of use, handling, opening. At a glance, appears new.
Dial: Looks as good, or indistinguishable from an NOS watch.
Hands: Wonderful shape with original lume.
Movement: Running very smooth, strong, and keeping very good time.
Movement: Vulcain 402, 17 jewels, 18,000 bph
Case: Signed stainless steel, base metal bezel
Powered: Mechanical - Handwind
Case Width: 34.2mm (36.7mm incl. crown)
Case Length: 41.8 mm
Lug Width: 18mm
Thickness: 11.2mm
Crystal: Domed acrylic w/ magnifier
Crown: Signed non-screw down
Band: Vintage Scott expansion bracelet (*appears to be the OEM bracelet)
Boxes: Original hard case with guarantee booklet and alarm watch info pamplet
Function - This watch is wound manually by hand. We recommend setting the time and then winding the crown clockwise approximately 10-15 times to build up sufficient power reserve for your day.
Wind watch and alarm: with crown at 2:30h automatically first the watch and then the alarm is wound. If a resistance appears when turning the crown towards 12h, both are completely wound up.
Set time: if the pusher at 3:30h is in down position, turn the crown a bit towards 12h (like winding); the pusher is released. Now pull the crown and set the time. If you set the time reverse and pass the alarm time, this will be set reverse simultaneously.
Set alarm: press down the pusher, pull the crown, and set the alarm time. The alarm time can only be set reverse, setting forward is inhibited by a freewheel.
Enable alarm: turn the crown a bit towards 12h (or wind it); the pusher is released.
Disable alarm: press down the pusher.
[All vintage watches are expected to function as described. However, due to age and generally unknown service history (unless otherwise stated), these watches may not keep time as accurately as new or quartz (battery) watches. This is completely normal and does not indicate that there is a major problem. Like your automobile, all mechanical watches will likely need to be serviced at some point in time. Please keep this in mind, as there is no guarantee regarding when these vintage watches may need standard maintenance. Every watch sold by Buying On Time is done so with the expectation that it is not currently in need of service or repair, unless noted. We guarantee that all watches sold are accurately described and in the stated condition when they leave our hands.]