Borel Conquistador Alarm Watch

These days, we’re overly reliant on our devices for daily task alerts. Phones, tablets, computers, and smartwatches all bombard us with frequent beeps and pings to remind us of our next appointment, or when it’s time to wake up from a mid-afternoon power nap. Sure, they’re convenient. But wouldn’t it be nice to shed our digital alerts for a while and return to a more analog way of doing things? In the past, 'alerts' could come in a vastly more engaging mechanical form, such as a mechanical alarm. A mechanical alarm complication makes use of an extra mainspring barrel whose energy powers a hammer. At the appointed time, the hammer beats against a small gong, which sounds the alarm. Popularized by the Vulcain Cricket — the watch of many U.S. Presidents — variations on this system were subsequently used by numerous brands. This particular alarm watch, produced by Ernest Borel following the firm's acquisition by the Synchron Group — then-owners of Doxa and Cyma — in 1975, is an under-the-radar alternative to more popular models such as the Jaeger-Lecoultre Memovox and the aforementioned Vulcain Cricket. Housed in a brushed 37mm stainless steel tonneau case with a polished bezel, an acrylic crystal, dual signed alarm crowns, and a neat flat-link bracelet, it features a handsome silvered dial with applied 'baton' indices, an inner minute track, and a luminous 'sword' handset with a red alarm hand. Powered by the Swiss-made, hand-wound Synchron-signed Calibre 48 movement, this well preserved tool watch in excellent condition is the perfect way to disconnect from your phone for a few minutes. After all — wouldn't you like to wake up to something that doesn't also contain an early-morning email from your boss?!