BY HARLAN CHAPMAN-GREEN
We’ve recently learned that there is now a date set for the return of the Swiss watchmaker Gallet, which wasn’t really a secret. Purchased by Breitling in 2024, Gallet is a historic watchmaker founded in 1826 and is well known in vintage watch enthusiast circles as a maker of fine and accurate timepieces. This revival is the latest in a series of moves by Breitling, which purchased Universal Genève in 2023 and quickly set about making it the top-end brand in the Breitling universe. Let’s take a quick peek into Gallet’s history books.
MultiChron Regulator 34mm 1935 & MultiChron Clamshell 34.5mm 1938
Gallet was founded in 1826 in La Chaux-de-Fonds, Switzerland, as a watch trading business, although it soon became renowned for its accurate and reliable watches. Exploration was the name of the game with these watches and Gallet’s reputation appears strong. Gallet’s press release states that the Wright Brothers timed their very first powered flights in 1903 using a watch made by Gallet, nicknamed ‘The Sun’. They’re also renowned for introducing one of the world’s first waterproof chronograph watches in 1938, named the MultiChron Clamshell. Even US President Harry Truman is known to have appreciated Gallet’s watches.
Flying Officer Chronograph 34.5mm 1939 & MultiChron Yachting 37mm 1960
At the moment, we don’t have any idea about the watches that Gallet will be releasing. Instead, we know they have teamed up with adventurers, photographers, and filmmakers from around the world to document their explorations as hints leading up to the brand’s full release on the 3rd of September 2026. We can only guess that Gallet will stick to what it does best and make sporty watches focused on adventure and toughness rather than luxurious elegance.
MultiChron Sub 37mm 1960 & MultiChron Pilot 38mm 1969
As we have to wait a little while, perhaps we should consider speculating on where Gallet will fit in the Breitling universe. I really like the look of the watches being presented by Universal Genève; they look the part, and they’ve really got some horological muscle behind them, although I wonder how they’re going to sit with people familiar with the Breitling brand, given that they are a lot more expensive and a lot less well-known outside of horology circles. To me, the same applies to Gallet. While they were once well-known, they have been inactive since 1994 and seem to have struggled since the Quartz Crisis. It’s difficult to see where they’re going to fit in today’s watchmaking marketplace, but that doesn’t mean that they can’t fit in. It just means that Breitling needs to be careful, it needs to sell the story, and sell the watches at a competitive price to people who aren’t really in the know. It’s a tall order, but it can be done.
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