The alarm complication is one of the smaller members of the watchmaking family of striking and chiming functions. Its purpose is to produce an audible signal at a pre-set time, typically through a hammer striking a gong, membrane, or case-back. While alarm watches occupy a less prestigious bench tier than minute repeaters or grande sonnerie pieces, the technical challenge of fitting a useful alarm into a wristwatch case has produced some of the most ingenious mid-twentieth-century watchmaking and a small but durable category of collector pieces.

Mechanism

A wristwatch alarm requires a second mainspring, an alarm setting hand or auxiliary disc, a release mechanism that triggers when the time train and alarm setting align, and a striking element. The striking element in a pocket alarm watch is typically a hinged bell or a hammer striking the case-back; in a wristwatch, where the case is closer to the body and ambient noise is louder, more imaginative arrangements are required. The two solutions that defined the modern wristwatch alarm — the Vulcain Cricket and the Jaeger-LeCoultre Memovox — illustrate the design space.

The Vulcain Cricket

Vulcain, the small Le Locle manufacture, introduced the Cricket in 1947. The Cricket used a double-membrane case-back: a vibrating pin struck a dedicated resonating membrane, which in turn drove the larger case-back as a secondary resonator. The result was a remarkably loud and distinctive chirp — the watch's name derives from the resemblance of the alarm to a cricket's call. The Cricket became known as the Watch of Presidents after Harry Truman wore one, and was subsequently worn by Eisenhower, Johnson, and Nixon. The movement, calibre 120 in its original form, was iterated through several generations and remains in production at Vulcain.

The Jaeger-LeCoultre Memovox

Jaeger-LeCoultre's Memovox, introduced in 1950, took a different approach: a hammer struck a pin set against the inside of the case-back, transmitting vibration through the case body. The Memovox calibre 489 was followed by automatic calibres 815 and 825, and in 1956 by the calibre 825 with date complication. The Memovox Polaris, introduced in 1965, mounted the alarm in a triple case with internal sound amplification and a rotating internal bezel for divers — one of the more imaginative cross-applications of the complication.

Other notable alarm watches

Several houses produced alarm wristwatches alongside the two leaders. Tudor's Advisor, introduced in 1957, used a Fontainemelon-based alarm calibre. Omega offered the Memomatic. Eterna and Movado contributed examples. Heuer briefly produced an alarm chronograph. After the quartz crisis the alarm complication became commercially marginal; Vulcain and Jaeger-LeCoultre have kept the tradition alive into the present.

Setting and use

Alarm wristwatches typically use a second crown for setting the alarm time and arming the strike. The setting indicator is usually an inner disc or auxiliary hand. The mainspring barrel for the alarm is wound separately, often through the same crown in a different position. The strike duration on a fully wound alarm barrel is typically twenty to thirty seconds — sufficient to wake a sleeping wearer but not so long as to drain the spring on a single use.

Collector market

Vintage Vulcain Crickets and Jaeger-LeCoultre Memovoxes from the 1950s and 1960s trade actively in the collector market. Original-condition Memovox Polaris pieces command particularly strong prices, with rare references reaching several tens of thousands of US dollars at auction. Cricket presidential examples — those documented as worn by holders of high office — trade with a provenance premium when the documentation is solid.

In the trade

The alarm complication is a satisfying and useful one in daily wear. Modern Memovox and Cricket models maintain the original character of the chirp and chime. For collectors interested in mid-century wristwatch ingenuity at a price point well below grand-complication territory, vintage alarm watches remain one of the best entry points.

Further reading

• Jaeger-LeCoultre — Memovox heritage
• Vulcain — Cricket history