Wristwatches · Wristwatch
Aristo Gallet Multichron Regulator, 1940s
- Maker / attribution
- Aristo (maker)
- Date
- 1940s
- Historical period
- Golden Age of Mechanical Watchmaking (1900 – 1945)
- Country of origin
- Unrecorded in source
- Object type
- Wristwatch
- Stock no.
- Product 761571147863
- Credit line
- Dealer listing, S.Song Watches (product 761571147863)
- Catalogue title (original)
- Aristo Gallet Multichron Regulator (English)
View the source record (dealer listing) ↗ (opens another website in a new tab)Suggest a correction
Record summary
Catalogued by S.Song Watches (dealer), Seattle (stock number Product 761571147863), this is a wristwatch by Aristo, dated 1940s. The Atlas places it in the Golden Age of Mechanical Watchmaking period (1900 – 1945) of its Wristwatches collection. The record is illustrated with 6 photographs.
Assembled from the source record's structured fields. Dates and attributions are given as the source states them; where a field is missing the Atlas leaves it blank rather than estimating.
Catalogue description
Dealer description — S.Song Watches
The Multichron Regulator was introduced by Gallet in the late 20’s, specifically designed for users who needed to prioritise timing over the time of the day. Featuring only a small subdial at 12 o’clock telling the time, the rest of the dial was reserved for the chronograph function with various scales used and a minute counter at 6 o’clock. Powered by the Venus 140, Gallet acquired the exclusive rights to this movement and also provided ‘private-label’ Regulators to other brands. The example you see here today is one of those, acquired by Aristo and featuring an anonymous dial. This is perhaps one of the most beautiful dials I’ve come across- with a tritone layout, beginning with white in the centre, grey towards the decimal track and a bright metallic copper outer track. This is further complemented with a bright blue tachymeter scale in the centre of the dial, blued steel hands and very beautiful Arabic numerals for both the clock and the decimal track. The condition is outstanding, further highlighting the beauty of this piece and as it is not from a big brand, this remains one of the best value watches out there today. What you essentially get is a Gallet at a fraction of the cost.
Historical context
Golden Age of Mechanical Watchmaking (1900 – 1945)
The wristwatch displaces the pocket watch; waterproof cases, self-winding and grand complications.
The wristwatch overtook the pocket watch. Military use in the First World War, aviation, water-resistant cases (1926), automatic winding (1923–31), rectangular Art Deco designs and early chronographs and calendars defined the period.
Read the period in the timelineMore wristwatches from this periodEarlier: Industrial Revolution
Atlas type guide
Wristwatches
Bracelet watches were worn by women from the early nineteenth century — Breguet made one for Caroline Murat, Queen of Naples, in 1810–12 — but the wristwatch only became a man's instrument with military use and aviation in the early twentieth century. Between the World Wars it overtook the pocket watch; the 1920s and 1930s brought rectangular Art Deco cases, water-resistant cases and the first automatic winding systems.
After 1945 the wristwatch became a carrier of identity — dress watches, sports and dive watches, chronographs, calendars — produced by Swiss, American, Japanese, German, Soviet and Chinese industries. The quartz revolution after 1969 and the mechanical renaissance since the 1990s, including the rise of independent watchmakers, complete the story.
What to look for
- The reference number (between the lugs or inside the case back) and serial number, the starting point for dating.
- The calibre: its maker and number are often stamped under the dial or on the bridge.
- Originality of dial, hands and crown — refinished ('redial') dials are common.
- Case material marks: 18K/750, 14K/585, stainless steel, gold-filled, plated.
Dating clues
- Wire-lug cases: before c. 1925.
- Water-resistant screw-down cases: from 1926.
- Quartz movements: from 1969; sapphire crystals widespread after c. 1980.
General guidance written by the Atlas editors about this kind of object. It is not a statement about this particular piece; for that, rely on the source record above and on physical examination.
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