The Vulcain Nautical Legacy Massena Lab presents an alternate history of Cricket diving
Buffy Acacia- The Vulcain Nautical Legacy Massena Lab turns the clock back on the Nautical Heritage to the ‘50s, and then forward again to see how it would have decayed.
- Among the watch’s complications are a mechanical alarm system that’s amplified for underwater hearing, and a decompression timing calculator.
- It’s a limited edition of 25 pieces, available exclusively via Massena Lab, priced at US$4,950.
The first Vulcain Cricket Nautical was released in 1961, and it was unique for too many reasons to list. Not only did it look nothing like a typical dive watch (almost crossing into dress watch territory if you ask me), but it also featured the mechanical alarm for which the Cricket is best known for. The modern iteration of the Vulcain brand has sold a version of the Cricket Nautical Heritage for some time, but now a new collaboration with the design house Massena Lab has shaken things up. The new Vulcain Nautical Legacy Massena Lab hypothesises a version of the Cricket Nautical had it been released 10 years earlier.
One of the twists with this limited collaboration is that it isn’t just infused with 1950s design choices, but it also accounts for an extra decade of age and construction limitations. Watch manufacturers weren’t actually producing brown sunburst dials in the 1950s, but some watches had unstable black pigments that faded over time and under UV exposure to turn brown. Those tropical dials can range from subtly affected to completely corroded, but Vulcain and Massena Lab have gone for an even and clean tone of brown with silky-smooth sunburst brushing. That finish along with the faux-aged luminous paint definitely gives it a hint of the vintage flavour without being totally treated like a relic, and it still feels like a new watch.
The handset is another change for Massena Lab, using a stubby baton for the hours and an arrowhead with a blocky tip for the minutes. In terms of length they are perhaps a bit similar, but the shapes make them easily distinguishable when reading the time. The bright red arrow hand is definitely attention-grabbing, and that’s what’s used for setting the alarm complication. When the hour hand crosses the alarm threshold, it releases its loud clicking until the alarm’s separate power reserve is drained. It’s seriously loud, mainly thanks to the triple caseback design of the case that helps the sound to resonate better underwater.
There’s a lot going on with the dial, but the various rings and gauges actually don’t have anything to do with the alarm at all. It’s a system that’s designed to help divers time their ascents for decompression, and the crown at 4 o’clock can be used to select the dive depth ahead of time. From there, you can use the correlating numbers to calculate stopping times at the relevant depths. Considering how complicated this watch is, acknowledging the case’s 300-metre water resistance is incredibly impressive. The only downside is the hulking 17.5mm thickness, which definitely isn’t going to be sliding under a cuff any time soon.
The case itself is 42mm in diameter, with the crown at 2 controlling the alarm, the crown at 3 operating the usual winding and time displays, and the crown at 4 rotating the inner dial. It does have strong wrist presence for something with such vintage flavour, but it doesn’t overstay its welcome. The movement is the in-house Cricket Alarm Calibre V10, which is is actually a design that stretches back to the 1940s. It even has an old-fashioned beat rate of 18,000 vibrations per hour which is a bit of a rare treat, with two barrels providing separate power reserves for the alarm and timekeeping, the latter topping out at 52 hours when fully wound.
Vulcain Nautical Legacy Massena Lab price and availability
The Vulcain Nautical Legacy Massena Lab is limited to just 25 pieces, and only available for purchase on Massena Lab’s website. Price: US$4,950
| Brand | Vulcain |
| Model | Nautical Legacy Massena Lab |
| Case Dimensions | 42mm (D) x 17.5mm (T) |
| Case Material | Stainless steel |
| Water Resistance | 300 metres |
| Crystal(s) | Sapphire with anti-reflective coating |
| Dial | Brown sunburst with decompression scale |
| Bracelet and strap | Black rubber |
| Movement | Cricket Alarm Calibre V10, in-house, manual wind |
| Power Reserve | 52 hours |
| Functions | Hours, minutes, seconds, mechanical alarm, decompression calculator |
| Availability | Limited to 25 pieces |
| Price | US$4,950 |