A complication that produces an audible sound at a pre-set time, distinct from a repeater or sonnerie, which chime on demand or automatically on the hour. Rare in modern watchmaking.
An alarm complication lets the wearer set a specific time at which the watch will sound, typically via a separate rotating disc or hand used to set the alarm time independently of the main time display. Mechanically, it usually works by releasing a hammer to strike a resonant component, similar in principle to a minute repeater, but triggered automatically at the set time rather than on demand.
Vulcain's Cricket, developed in the 1940s and famously worn by U.S. presidents, remains the best-known mechanical alarm watch. The complication has always been comparatively rare, and largely fell out of fashion with the rise of the quartz alarm watch, though it persists today in a small number of mechanical pieces.
The wearer sets a target time using a separate disc or hand. At that time, a hammer strikes a resonant component to produce an audible sound, mechanically similar in principle to a repeater, but triggered automatically rather than on demand.
Vulcain's Cricket, developed in the 1940s, is the best-known example, notably worn by several U.S. presidents.
No. Both use a similar striking mechanism, but a repeater chimes the current time on demand when activated, while an alarm sounds automatically once at a time the wearer has pre-set.