
Wristwatches · Wristwatch
The Gallet Flying Officer Chronograph
- Maker / attribution
- Gallet (maker)
- Date
- 1970s
- Historical period
- Quartz Revolution (1969 – 1990)
- Country of origin
- Switzerland
- Object type
- Wristwatch
- Stock no.
- W-495
- Credit line
- Dealer listing, Bulang & Sons (W-495)
- Catalogue title (original)
- The Gallet Flying Officer Chronograph (English)
View the source record (dealer listing) ↗ (opens another website in a new tab)Suggest a correction
Record summary
Catalogued by Bulang & Sons (dealer), Copenhagen (stock number W-495), this is a wristwatch by Gallet, made in Switzerland, dated 1970s. The Atlas places it in the Quartz Revolution period (1969 – 1990) 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 — Bulang & Sons
THE GALLET FLYING OFFICER CHRONOGRAPH We are delighted to offer a super condition iconic steel chronograph. We love these stylish vintage waterproof chronographs and this one is stunning condition with a dial to die for! The dial is black with dual register chronograph function and there are cities listed, by time-zone, around the outer track. The hour markers are painted in luminous paint in the inner section of the dial. The medium size case (36,5 mm) remains in good crisp condition with nice original round pushers and a screw down caseback. The rotaing 12-hour bezel (to monitor time zones or measure elapsed time) functions as it should and also remains in very good condition. This very cool vintage chrono will come on a Bulang and Sons steel Beads of Rice straight endlink bracelet. The watch has been fully serviced by our watchmaker. - Dates to the 1970s - Black dial - 30 minutes chronograph function - 12-hour rotating bezel - 36,5 mm waterproof case - Landeron caliber 149 movement - Fully serviced by our watchmaker - Comes on a straight endlink steel beads of rice bracelet
Historical context
Quartz Revolution (1969 – 1990)
Seiko's Astron begins mass quartz timekeeping; traditional industries contract sharply.
Quartz and digital watches transformed the market after 1969. Swiss employment collapsed, Japanese and Hong Kong production soared, and the Swatch (1983) helped the Swiss industry recover; mechanical watches survived as luxury goods.
Read the period in the timelineMore wristwatches from this periodEarlier: Modern Mechanical Horology
Atlas type guide
Chronographs and split-seconds watches
A chronograph is a watch with an additional seconds hand that can be started, stopped and returned to zero independently of the timekeeping. Louis Moinet built an early example in 1816 and Nicolas Rieussec a recording 'chronographe' in 1821; Adolphe Nicole's heart-shaped reset cam (patented 1862) made the modern return-to-zero possible. Split-seconds (rattrapante) chronographs add a second hand that can be stopped for intermediate times; flyback chronographs restart instantly.
Chronographs were essential tools for doctors (pulsometer scales), artillery (telemeter), engineers and sport. In wristwatches, Valjoux, Venus, Lemania and later the automatic chronographs of 1969 (Zenith El Primero, the Chronomatic Calibre 11 group and Seiko 6139) are milestones.
What to look for
- Push-pieces on the case band or a single button in the crown (monopusher).
- Subsidiary registers for minutes and hours; tachymeter, telemeter or pulsometer scales.
- Column wheel versus cam control visible in the movement.
- Calibre markings of specialist makers (Valjoux, Lemania, Venus, Landeron).
Dating clues
- Pocket chronographs with heart cam reset: after 1862.
- Wrist chronographs: from c. 1910; two-button designs from the 1930s.
- Automatic chronographs: from 1969.
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.
Read next:Flyback chronographChronograph
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