Press release
The Italian mountain guide and journalist Walter Bonatti died in Rome on September 13th 2011. By wearing his Vulcain Cricket watch during his top-level accomplishments, he contributed to the reputation of the first truly functional alarm wristwatch. The Manufacture Vulcain naturally wishes to pay tribute to this exceptional individual.
An outstanding mountaineer, author, but above all a passionately dedicated personality with a thirst for adventure, the Italian guide Walter Bonatti made an indelible imprint on the history of the Vulcain Cricket watch. While it had already accompanied some prestigious climbing teams on their path towards ever higher feats, the Vulcain watch was once again chosen to equip the expedition that set off to conquer the K2 in 1954. Fourteen Italian Alpinists were determined to complete the first ever ascension of the legendary Himalayan peak of the Karakorum mountain range spanning the borders of India, China and Pakistan. Under the supervision of geology professor Ardito Desio, 700 sherpas carried thirteen tons of material up to the base camp located at 5,000 metres above sea level, at the foot of this magnificent pyramid of rock and ice. On July 31st 1954, the roped party including Lino Lacedelli and Achille Compagnon reached the 8,611 metre summit – only Everest is higher – accompanied by their Cricket watches. Walter Bonatti was part of the expedition. He was just 24 years of age when he spent a night at 8,000 metres with no oxygen and no tent. Some thought it was impossible to survive such conditions, but Bonatti proved them wrong.
Several years later, in 1958, a new team that was as fascinated as ever by the Himalayas and also included Bonatti, set out to scale the Gasherbrum IV (7,980 m), a Karakorum peak reputed to be inaccessible. All the expedition members were once again equipped with a Vulcain Cricket watch. Among them was the photographer Fosco Mariani, who wrote a thank you letter to the Manufacture Vulcain stating that the watch “performed without a fault”. Also on the team was Toni Gobbi, a ski teacher from Courmayeur who informed the company that the Cricket had proved eminently useful throughout the ascension despite repeated impacts on rocks, and that it had not missed a beat even after “an icy bath to which I was subjected when the thin ice cover on a small frozen lake cracked beneath me”.
By consistently trusting his Vulcain Cricket watch throughout the most fascinating feats of his illustrious career, Walter Bonatti clearly contributed to the reputation of this legendary alarm watch, and Vulcain naturally wishes to pay him heartfelt homage.
