Gallet Multichron 'Jim Clark' Chronograph 12H Tropical, 1950s

Dealer description — S.Song Watches

Ask any vintage chronograph collector and chances are that ‘Gallet’ will be mentioned. You see, Gallet made some of the best chronographs in the 20th century and today, vintage examples (such as the Multichron) are extremely sought after. Despite their refined and stylish aesthetics, they were actually originally designed as tool watches, serving the needs of military and industrial professionals. Their dials often include various functional tracks such as decimal scales, pulsometers and telemeter scales, enhancing their practicality for specific tasks and measurements. The example we have here today is the Gallet Multichron 12H, made famous by the legendary Formula 1 and Indy500 champion, Jim Clark, who won the 1965 Indy500 while wearing his Gallet Multichron 12H. It features a robust stainless steel case measuring 37mm and a highly sought-after black dial that is equipped with a tachymeter and a telemeter scale on its periphery, a small-seconds sub-dial to the left, a 30-minute counter to the right, and a 12-hour recording sub-register at the bottom. The beauty of vintage watches lies in the fact that each individual example varies as they all aged differently, depending on how it was stored and used. This particular Gallet Multichron 12H has developed a fantastic tropical brown dial overtime, making it an even rarer watch than it already is. At the time, these Multichrons were equipped with either the rare Excelsior Park 40 movement, as seen in this example at hand, or the Valjoux 72 movement, both of which are excellent manual-winding calibres sourced from different ébauche manufacturers. Considering their rich history, exceptional aesthetics, and mechanical movements, there is no doubt as to why vintage Gallet chronographs are considered by many to be some of the most desirable and collectable vintage chronographs in the watch collecting space. To be able to offer this extraordinary example on our site today is a real delight.