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Gallet Multichron, c. 1940s

DocumentedDocumented from a dealer's listing; attribution and date as stated by the dealer.
Maker / attribution
Gallet (maker)
Date
c. 1940s
Country of origin
Switzerland
Object type
Wristwatch
Stock no.
40990193
Credit line
Dealer listing, Analog/Shift (40990193)
Catalogue title (original)
Gallet Multichron (English)

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Record summary

Catalogued by Analog/Shift (dealer), New York (stock number 40990193), this is a wristwatch by Gallet, made in Switzerland, dated c. 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 — Analog/Shift

Gallet & Cie has been around for so long that archeologists have probably dug up a fossilized Gallet clock right next to trilobites. Ok, that’s slightly exaggerated, but when a watchmaker has been around since 1466, it’s fair to say they know a thing or two about horology and watch making. Of the many watches produced by Gallet in the 20th century, the MultiChron chronographs are some of the most significant and collectible today. Although they are refined and stylish, they were initially intended as tool watches for military and industrial professionals. The MultiChron 12H, so named for its third register and capability of recording up to twelve hours, found use in aviation, motorsports, and military applications, as the easily readable dial, black Arabic numerals and colored outer scales, allow for quick and precise reading. This particular three-register chronograph dates to circa 1940s and is in excellent condition throughout. This example features a satin silver dial with black Arabic indices and a blued steel feuille handset, square pushers, and inner tachymeter and telemeter scales. To top off the package, this particular watch has a double-signed dial printed with both Gallet as well as Paul Breguette, a well known formerly Pennsylvania based jeweler. Powered by a hand-cranking Valjoux movement and with perfect proportions for a vintage chronograph, this piece is clean, understated, and flat out cool. In terms of elegant design and horological prowess, this a watch that punches way above its weight class. Don't miss it!

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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