![]() ![]() For one, it’s very comfortable on the wrist, almost to the point that I forgot it was there, and it never snags hairs. The watch is placed on a satisfyingly heavy, somewhat rigid leather strap with a deployant clasp – it may be my favorite deployant I’ve ever worn. Vulcain is also famed for its guilloché work, and the Arabic numerals here are ringed in enamel: in the dark, when the lume kicks in, the enamel outline stays dark, which slenderizes the numbers, giving the dial a slightly different, more minimal look. Vulcain is also famed for their dials, and this one doesn’t disappoint: a rich navy whose subtle iridescence shifts in the light from a royal blue to an inky midnight, very legible against the white, perfectly proportioned antique-clock style hands. Also, it goes without saying that the Vulcain Aviator Instrument has a dial and movement layout that very much resemble the Graham Chronofighter II watch collection (reviewed here). That allows for an attention to detail with each watch that’s clear from the exquisite finishing on the nearly 45mm steel case – a play of polished, matte, and brushed surfaces that doesn’t take away from the Vulcain Aviator Instrument’s toughness, but feels more refined than one might expect. ![]() Compared to the usual suspects of Swiss watchmaking giants, Vulcain represents a more boutique marque, only producing somewhere in the range of 3,000 watches a year. Lots of pilot’s chronographs have 7750 engines, however where the Vulcain flies high, however, in its finish and a dial design that seems eccentric at first, but is actually quite sophisticated. As well, the chronograph functions – from the chronograph seconds hand to the twelve-hour and thirty-minute counters – worked with utter exactitude. ![]() Indeed, the Vulcain Aviator Instrument performed at near-chronometer levels, losing just a couple of seconds over the course of a week’s timings. In addition to moving the minutes counter to three o’ clock instead of the 12 position and the date’s quick-set feature converted into a button at ten o’clock (here operated by a wonderful key-like tool provided by Vulcain), the 7753 is more frequently tuned to high-end specs. ![]() The 7753, of course, is a slightly revised version of the 7750 movement family, which has its own unique differences. Those chronographs seem to be the family from Vulcain’s history most related to the introduction of the Vulcain Aviator Instrument, which is powered by Vulcain’s caliber V-59 – its take on the Swiss ETA Valjoux 7753, a self-winding, hacking automatic with a 42 hour power reserve and a 28,880 bph heartbeat. Indeed, these watches weren’t homages to anything they inhabited their own futuristic, groovy horological universe of their own creation. Typically powered by gorgeous Valjoux movements, these chronos combined their timekeeping precision with an aggressively ultramodern design sensibility that had real wrist presence. Upon its introduction in the early ‘60s, the Nautical Cricket dazzled not just for its jazzily distinctive dial, but for a then-ingenious system to track decompression times and a unique case design that allowed divers to hear the alarm function underwater with loud clarity.īut Vulcain also made a superlative line of chronographs in the ‘60s and ‘70s that aren’t as well known as its flagship models. Vulcain also has a reputation for its dive watches. The Vulcain Cricket is perhaps the brand’s true classic: one of the earliest and most successful iterations of the alarm complication, the Cricket became known as the “watch of Presidents” due to its being a favorite of many of those inhabiting the Oval Office (Harry Truman was a Cricket fan, for example). Vulcain’s reputation was grounded in watches that have become icons in their own right. Vulcain, of course, is a venerable Swiss manufacture currently enjoying a resurgence among its cultish following of connoisseurs, having revived itself in recent years after being one of many watch brands felled by the Quartz Crisis in the ‘70s. But the Vulcain Aviator Instrument is Vulcain’s first pilot’s chronograph. The Vulcain Aviator Instrument Chronograph isn’t the first flight-themed watch in Vulcain’s history – the company also offers the Aviator Dual Time in its collection, a very cool GMT timepiece. But there are a ton of iconic pilot-styled chronographs out there to choose from – so why might one choose this new model from Vulcain, which recently brought out its own version, the Vulcain Aviator Instrument? What sets it apart in an already-crowded marketplace? Well, it turns out, a few things… With their aggressive tool watch presence, reputation for precision, and aviation/military heritage, they toughen up pretty much any wrist. It’s no surprise that pilot’s chronographs are so popular among both watch aficionados and just ordinary citizens. ![]()
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