The 1961 Vulcain Cricket Nautical was one of the first diving watches with an alarm that was audible underwater, thanks to its ‘triple caseback’ that acted as a resonance chamber. Along with this, the Vulcain Cricket Nautical also featured an easy-to-use no-decompression dive time calculator. And with both these functionalities, it became easy for a diver to calculate the dive-depth combination that needed no-decompression stop and be warned when to start their ascend. The timepiece had a 300m water resistant airtight stainless-steel case, and its alarm rang for up to 20 seconds. The development drew the help of renowned names like Hannes Keller, mathematician and deep diving pioneer; Max-Yves Brandily, explorer and film-maker; and Arthur Droz, national diving instructor, which gave the watch all the more heft.   

Paying an ode to the original Cricket Nautical, now Vulcain has introduced two 42mm editions crafted in 316L stainless steel. The first of these is the Nautical Heritage Lagoon Vulcain x Ocarat (Ref. 106525), limited to 25 pieces. The exclusive timepiece is made in collaboration with French retailer Ocarat, which features a smoked turquoise fume dial with powder pink accents. 

The dial features the dive-depth combination in metres and feet, and is incorporated with a railway minute track, Arabic numerals at 3, 6 and 9 o'clock, double Super LumiNova filled faux-patina indexes and dauphine hands. The lower copper-coloured layer indicates the decompression stops; the decompression scale is adjustable via screw-in crown located at 4 o'clock and the extra hand with an arrowed end is dedicated to setting the alarm. 

The other release is Nautical Full Black, limited to 50 pieces only. It is differentiated from the above mentioned version via its matte black dial with grey printing or black luminova, and black hands. This version comes with an open or steel triple caseback. 

Both the timepieces are equipped with a hand-wound alarm movement Cricket V-10, beating at the frequency of 18,000 vph and boasting a 42-hours power reserve. The models are complemented with a black carbon leather. The timepieces are water resistant up to 300 metres. 

Images: Courtesy Brand