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EXCLUSIVE: Vulcain erupts onto the UK market

Historic Swiss watch brand Vulcain has made its first tentative steps to enter the UK retail market for the first time in recent memory.

Thibaut Sacre, the brand’s former sales manager for France, has been promoted to international area sales manager, is now leading the charge to find the right distributor for the UK, as well as managing French and Benelux territories.

WatchPro has been keeping track of Vulcain’s UK project since late last year and spoke to Daniel Wechsler, the brand’s executive vice president sales, this week for an update.

He said: “Unfortunately Vulcain has not been available for a long time in the UK, although a lot of end-consumers live in the UK and have bought their Vulcain watches somewhere else.

“As we received more and more inquiries for servicing current, and also vintage, Vulcain Cricket watches we decided to work with a watch service center, Swiss Watch Repair in Middlesex.”

Wechsler sees Vulcain, which produces just 4,500 watches annually, as a niche watch brand with true manufacture status and a ‘perfect value for money ratio’ and the company is looking to open with 7-10 ‘passionate’ independent retailers in and around London.

Wechsler believes that the ‘educated’ UK consumer will be especially attracted to its 50’s President Cricket Alarm watches as well as its sporty, newly introduced Aviator Instruments collection.

Based in Le Locle and established in 1858, Vulcain created the first mechanical alarm watch – the Cricket – and has been worn by American presidents Dwight D. Eisenhower, Harry Truman, Richard Nixon and Lyndon Johnson as well as being the official watch of the first ascent of K2.

Vulcain will exhibit at Baselworld next week in Hall 1.1 – Stand A71.

James Buttery

Editor of WatchPro, the WatchPro Hot 100 and The Luxury Report.

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