It is certainly true that the invention of the cellphone and particularly of smartphones has radically diminished the primary utility of watches equipped with mechanisms enabling them to chime out a predetermined time. This is truly a pity, and only those who have once savoured the experience can truly testify to the intense pleasure that comes from wearing a wristworn instrument that does far more than just tell the time.
During the 1950s, watchmakers were not short on ideas designed to appeal to customers looking for timepieces that were both original and functional. At that time, all brands knew from their experience in making alarm clocks just how useful the latter could prove within a domestic context. Some firms even specialised in their production. A certain number of manufacturers thus began working on the idea of fitting a programmable striking mechanism within a wristwatch case in order to meet the requirements of travelling salesmen eager to ensure they always had with them one of the objects most often forgotten when packing: the alarm clock.
Today, despite a degree of usefulness that might at first glance seem relatively feeble, a certain number of serious watch manufacturers continue to offer them in their range. Companies with a proud history in this field maintain them in their product portfolio, such as Vulcain with its famous Cricket watch. Over the years, other watchmakers have joined the concert of hammers and gongs. Blancpain and Breguet both offer their own interpretation of this function, based on the same movement, while this year Corum introduced a reinterpretation of the Chargé d’Affaires watch, vividly embodying its vision of mechanical watchmaking dedicated to keen travellers.
As with all objects that many people now deem obsolescent, the question inevitably arises as to what purpose a watch with an alarm function can possibly serve compared with today’s ultra-sophisticated smartphones. First of all, these miniature mechanical marvels offer the advantage of being extremely simple to set and thus easy to use in all circumstances. Their virtues also include their ability to attract other connoisseurs who will doubtless react to the inimitable sound when their vibrate mode is activated. These watches are thus potentially communication and networking instruments among those fired by a common passion. Moreover, a driver having parked in a spot governed by a meter can easily set the timepiece so as to remind him that it’s time to move the car.
A judiciously used alarm function may also serve as an audible memo pad or a reminder of appointments. The list of potential uses is indeed limited only by its owner’s imagination. And because such is after all the underlying purpose of such models, one may indeed choose to awake to the sound of this type of watch – an experience that is definitely far more appealing than the synthetic noise of electronic alarms with their often unpleasantly insistent ringing.
It is also worth noting that some of these mechanical watches equipped with alarms may also be used in aquatic contexts so as to audible remind their wearer that it is time to end a dive. This feat necessarily implies specially designed models such as those offered by Breguet and Vulcain.
