Gallet will make 500 individually
numbered Racing Heritage Chronographs
F
or many years vintage watch collectors have praised Gallet chro-
nographs made between the 1950s and the 1970s for their refined
designs as well as for their solid column-wheel chronograph move-
ments. Many of those Gallet watches were powered by Valjoux chronograph
movements and by the calibers from the lesser-known Excelsior Park, an
innovative Swiss caliber manufacturer that also produced movements for
other top-tier brands like Zenith and Girard-Perregaux. Vintage chronograph
collectors today seek out any prime examples from Gallet, but more often
than not, it’s Gallet’s technically proficient MultiChron collection that gets
the most notice.
Echoing its namesake, a new Gallet Watch Company last year teamed
with top caliber maker Vaucher to develop a series of new Gallet chrono-
graphs meant to recall those vintage MultiChron models. According to Gallet
Managing Director and Chief Watchmaker David Laurence, the new Gallet
chronograph, called the Gallet Racing Heritage Chronograph, follow the
“form-follows-function” tenets of those earlier models.
Thus, the Gallet Racing Chronographs offer internal, not external, tachom-
eter scales as well as strong water resistance even without screw-in pushers.
High-pressure-tested sapphire crystals at the front and rear, combined with
dual O-rings at the winding crown and pushers, give the watch water resis-
tance to 100 meters even before a single case screw is tightened, he explains.
“Over the past three decades, I have used, serviced, and restored almost
every model of chronograph made during the last 130 years. My personal
dream has been to someday design the ultimate chronograph that addressed
the shortcomings I found inherent in every one. The result is a watch
designed from the ground up for maximum performance and durability,
not achievable by simply combining or making adjustments to pre-existing
components,” Laurence adds.
The 40.5mm steel-cased Gallet Racing Heritage Chronograph also boasts
hex-head screw bars instead of spring bars to secure the strap or bracelet to
the watch. Every watch comes with the tools required to change or replace
the strap or bracelet when desired.
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