Welcome back, Gallet: the return of a legendary watch brand The Times Laura McCreddie-Doak Welcome back, Gallet: the return of a legendary watch brand new Breitling has revived the historic brand Gallet. Its future looks rosy, says Laura McCreddie-Doak Flying Officer Automatic 40; the photographer and adventurer L Renee Blount, who has collaborated with Gallet; Multichron Sport Chronograph41 Laura McCreddie-Doak Friday October 16 2026, 11.00pm BST , The Times Listen 0:00 / · 4:03 min Share Share this article Email Twitter Facebook Link Save Puzzles Challenge yourself with today's puzzles. I t has been a busy time for watch brands reviving once notable dial names, and the latest of them is Gallet. In watch-collecting circles the name has cachet, but outside of that it is largely unknown. However, Georges Kern, CEO of House of Brands, which includes Breitling, clocked its potential and has acquired the marque to add to his newly formed portfolio. Gallet was founded in 1826 in La Chaux-de-Fonds in Switzerland by Julien Gallet. Initially, it was an export business, and a successful one. However, the Wright brothers were to put the name on the horological map. On December 17, 1903, Orville and Wilbur Wright achieved the first controlled, sustained, powered flight at Kitty Hawk in North Carolina. The longest flight of the four that day was 59 seconds, and we know this because a nickel-plated pocket timer made by Gallet called “the Sun” was on hand to record it. Most commented 1 Sonay Kartal defeats Elina Svitolina to reach Wuhan Open semi-finals Tennis 16 comments This historic event may have established Gallet as pioneering precision timer, but the Thirties was when the brand really took off. In 1936, it launched its MultiChron Regulator, designed for occupations where timing events is all important, such as aviators and lab technicians. The hours and minutes were on a secondary dial at 12, while the rest of the face featured various measuring scales and a chronograph function. Up next in 1939 was Gallet's most famous timepiece: the Flying Officer. Gifted to Harry S Truman, the future president, it was a two-register chronograph with the cities of the world and their time zones on the outer edge of the dial. It had a rotating bezel that could either track the time around the world or measure hours elapsed by setting the 12 on the bezel to the tip of the hours hand. Luxury newsletter The inside track on tech, travel, philanthropy and the hottest handbags, cars and spas. Sign up with one click You've successfully signed up to the Luxury newsletter Explore our newsletters An error occurred. Please use the link below. Luxury newsletter Explore our newsletters Flying Officer Automatic 40 , ￡2,200 Top stories 1 US inflation hotter than expected as Iran war stokes fuel costs Economics That same year Gallet also produced the MultiChron Waterproof Clamshell, with its distinctive four screws hidden in the lugs which, when tightened, compressed the two-part case. Other versions of the MultiChron followed, but by 1994 the rise of quartz had negatively affected the business and the Gallet family sold it to an unknown private Swiss concern. It lay dormant until 2025, when Kern decided to buy it. Advertisement Multichron Pilot Chronograph 42 , ￡3,600 Top stories 1 Theo Paphitis: I bought a ￡100m business for ￡1 and two packs of Benson & Hedges Family Finances 2 Record fines for motorist victims of car cloning Family Finances 3 Premium Bonds are fun – until you realise what they are costing you Saving & Investing 4 Will Lyons: my vintage wine tour of South Australia Inspiration And now, on its bicentenary, it is back with a core collection based on historical favourites and with an emphasis on all forms of travel and exploration, from jet-setters in private planes and yachts to conservationists, professional adventurers and film-makers, the latter of whom form many of its ambassadors. “It has gone above and beyond, delivering a whole new series and not just reissues from the past,” says Justin Hast, the podcaster and co-founder of London Watch Week. Tribute to MultiChron Yachting Big Eye , ￡5,300 The Flying Officer returns and is designed for long-distance travel with its new 24-hour time-zone bezel, featuring destinations for the new world traveller such as Angkor Wat in Cambodia and Ushuaia (the city in Argentina, that is, not the Ibiza club). There's the MultiChron Pilot — the explorer's companion — with its telemeter scale to measure the distance you are from an event you can see and hear, such as lightning. The MultiChron Sport — with its tachymeter scale for speed calculations — celebrates Gallet's historical association with motorsport. Multichron Sport Chronograph 41 , ￡3,400 Advertisement Then there are the classics: three tributes to notable watches in Gallet's past, all 38mm and powered by the in-house, hand-wound Breitling B09 (Gallet is made by Breitling and will be sold at Breitling stores). The Tribute to MultiChron Yachting Big Eye has an oversized regatta timer at three o'clock, but the standout is the Tribute to Silverlight. The design takes its cues from a MultiChron Navigator from 1943, including its unusual numerals. If this timepiece is a taste of what the future holds for Gallet, then it is looking bright. gallet.com Read more luxury reviews, advice and insights from our experts Life & Style LUXX Share Share this article Email Twitter Facebook Link Save