
Flying Officer family by Gallet.
Gallet has picked a fairly ambitious moment for its comeback: its 200th birthday. The Swiss watchmaker, founded in La Chaux-de-Fonds in 1826, returns under Breitling with four collections built around two centuries of aviation, racing, sailing and exploration, bringing the brand’s distinctly adventurous outlook into the present day.
“Gallet was born in an age of exploration and has followed that path ever since,” says Georges Kern, CEO of House of Brands (Breitling, Gallet and Universal Genève). “We’re proud to bring Gallet back for a new generation.”
Breitling is producing the new watches and bringing its technical expertise, after-sales service and global distribution network to the relaunch, while selected Breitling boutiques will feature dedicated safari-inspired Gallet spaces. “By manufacturing every watch within Breitling’s infrastructure, we’re able to honour that heritage while ensuring the quality, reliability and service expected from a modern Swiss watch brand,” says Erwan Rossignol, Managing Director of Gallet.

Flying Officer Chronograph 40 by Gallet.

Flying Officer Automatic 40 by Gallet.
At the centre is the Flying Officer, first introduced in 1939 as a companion to the earliest era of intercontinental travel. Its rotating city ring allowed pilots to keep track of the time at upcoming refuelling stops, and the new 40mm version updates that idea with 24 destinations ranging from major international gateways to more remote points of exploration. The chronograph comes in light blue or black with tone-on-tone subdials and the Gallet 23 automatic calibre, while the three-hand version arrives in dark blue or a bright orange inspired by the patina of an aged Flying Officer, powered by the Gallet 17 automatic calibre. Both can be fitted with interchangeable leather, rubber, field or fabric straps, alongside a stainless-steel bracelet with an integrated micro-adjustment system.
The Multichron family takes Gallet in a more technical direction. The 42mm Multichron Pilot draws on the 1969 chronograph created for long-duration timing and second-time-zone tracking, adding a bidirectional bezel, telemeter scale, luminescent hands and indices, and a date window at six o’clock. The 41mm Multichron Sport looks instead to the brand’s motorsport history, pairing a tachymeter scale with vivid orange chronograph hands against dark blue or black dials.

Multichron Sport Chronograph 41 by Gallet.

Multichron Pilot 42 by Gallet.
The pinnacle of the bicentennial comes with Gallet Classics, a trio of 38mm hand-wound chronographs developed with the help of Gallet historians, collectors and longtime enthusiasts. All three use Breitling’s Caliber B09 manufacture movement and offer around 70 hours of power reserve. The Tribute to Multichron Yachting Big Eye revisits a 1960s regatta timer with its distinctive oversized countdown subdial, the Tribute to Multichron 45 brings a deep black dial to a chronograph inspired by aviation and racing, while the Tribute to Silverlight draws from the Multichron Navigator through a silver-toned dial and stylised numerals.
Gallet is also bringing a new cast of adventurers into the story, with photographers, filmmakers, conservationists and explorers documenting their journeys through the brand’s ‘Field Notes’ video dispatches. Their assignments range from tracking injured elephants and paragliding across the Himalayas to sailing Arctic waters and documenting wildlife in Kenya.

Multichron Sport Chronograph 41 by Gallet.

Flying Officer Automatic 40 by Gallet.
After two hundred years, Gallet has decided that retirement was simply too overrated. The watches are available now through selected retailers and online. Find out more here.
photography. courtesy of Gallet
words. Gennaro Costanzo