This Classic 1960s Dive Watch Just Got an Even More Retro Makeover

Is there anything more appealing than a tropical diver?

a closeup of a vulcain x massena lab dive watch dial

Published December 13, 2024

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Few watch brands, if any, do modern vintage better than Vulcain.

The iconic brand, known for supplying the U.S. presidents with its Cricket alarm watches for decades, was revived a couple of years ago by watch entrepreneur Guillaume Laidet, the same guy behind the revival of fellow vintage favorite Nivada Grenchen.

But what if you took an already vintage-inspired watch and made it, well, more vintage? That’s exactly what Vulcain and watch-collab extraordinaire Massena Lab have done on their new limited-edition take on the Cricket Nautical, the Nautical Legacy.

a vulcain x massena lab dive watch on a table — 1950s watches never go out of style.

Turning Back the Clock

The original Vulcain Cricket Nautical debuted in 1961 as one of the first dive watches equipped with a mechanical alarm. The alarm, which could be heard underwater, safeguarded against overrunning your dive time.

Vulcain today makes a modern version of the Cricket Nautical that is, like most of the brand’s pieces, extremely faithful to the original watch. For this Massena collab, the designers imagined what the Cricket Nautical might have looked like if it debuted a decade earlier in the 1950s at the dawn of the dive-watch era.

For the makeover, the watch gets a completely new dial and handset. The signature rotating dial with its dive-table markings has been given a rich brown tropical color, appearing as if it’s aged 70 years to achieve a desirable patina, and all hands and indices have been lumed with a vintage tritium-inspired shade that mimics the looks of the period.

a vulcain x massena lab dive watch on a mans wrist — With a tropical brown dial and tritium-inspired lume, the watch is full of warm tones.

The handset is brand-new and exclusive to this collab. It consists of a baton hour hand, a tipped-arrow minute hand, a lollipop seconds hand and bold red arrow for the alarm. Replacing the original’s polished dauphine hands and more demure alarm indicator, these new hands are far more legible and seem to draw inspiration from the utility-first military divers of the ’50s.

The strap is also unique to the collab, though I think calling it ’50s-inspired is a bit of a stretch. Designed by Massena Lab, it’s a black premium rubber strap that’s fitted perfectly to the case, looking more like the sort of integrated rubber strap you’ll find on modern luxury divers than on a vintage piece.

Outside of these stylistic changes, the watch is the same as the Nautical Heritage currently offered by Vulcain, which means it’s powered by the same in-house mechanical alarm movement, Cal. V10, and features the same “triple caseback” that allows for a resonance chamber for the alarm without compromising the 300m of water resistance.

a vulcain x massena lab dive watch underwater — A “triple caseback” ensures the watch’s alarm can be heard underwater.

Pricing and Availability

Did Massena Lab and Vulcain do a good job of creating a 1950s Vulcain Cricket Nautical? I mean, I guess they did, but is there really that much of a difference between a watch from 1961 and one from the 1950s? I would argue there isn’t, but regardless, I do love the tropical vibes and bolder handset of this version. I think it’s the best-looking take on the Cricket Nautical I’ve seen.

The Vulcain Nautical Legacy Massena Lab is a limited edition, with just 25 examples being produced, but the price has been kept more than reasonable. At $4,950, the watch is actually the same price as a standard Vulcain Nautical Heritage diver with the same specs, meaning you can get something extra special without spending any additional money. It’s available to purchase exclusively through Massena Lab.

Vulcain Nautical Legacy Massena Lab

What if the Vulcain Nautical Cricket dive watch of the 1960s had debuted a decade earlier? That’s the question this limited-edition collab with Massena Lab seeks to answer by way of a heavily retrofied take on the already-old school diver.