Gallet & Company
Product brand
UnclaimedGallet & Company is a Swiss watch brand known especially for stopwatches and specialized chronographs.
Last updated August 31, 2026
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Overview
Gallet & Company is a Swiss watch brand whose documented history begins in 1826, when Julien Gallet established the company in La Chaux-de-Fonds. The business developed around precision timekeeping and became particularly associated with stopwatches, timers, and chronograph wristwatches intended for aviation, motor racing, industry, long-distance travel, exploration, and other activities requiring elapsed-time measurement. Although the Gallet family had longstanding links to Geneva's goldsmithing and watchmaking traditions, the company's continuous commercial history is generally traced to Julien Gallet's foundation rather than to earlier family stories for which no surviving watches or clocks are known. Gallet developed an important relationship with the United States during the nineteenth century. American records indicate representation there by 1856, and Leon Gallet, one of Julien Gallet's sons, helped build the company's American clientele through frequent travel. In 1890, Julien Gallet's grandson Jules Racine and Charles Perret established Jules Racine & Co. in New York as the American importer and distributor for Gallet watches. This gave the brand a durable commercial base in its principal export market. The company expanded its technical and manufacturing capabilities in the early twentieth century. In 1907, Gallet acquired Société d'Horlogerie Electa. The following period brought patents, exhibition recognition, and success in chronometry competitions. After the First World War, Electa's manufacturing activity declined, and Gallet increasingly emphasized timers and stopwatches. These were sold under several names, including Gallet, Galco, and Guinand. The company's strong position in the American timer market was noted in contemporary trade coverage, and the product category benefited from attractive margins and demand from industrial and sporting users. The growth of automobiles and aviation encouraged Gallet to move beyond traditional pocket watches and develop specialized wrist chronographs. During the late 1930s, the brand introduced the MultiChron Regulator and a waterproof MultiChron with a distinctive clamshell case. In 1939, it presented the Flying Officer, a world-time chronograph that placed city names around the dial to support multiple time-zone calculations. A very early Flying Officer was presented to Harry S. Truman while he was a U.S. senator; the watch later became associated with Truman's presidency and is widely regarded as the company's most historically significant model. From the 1940s through the 1970s, Gallet's identity was shaped more by chronographs than by its less distinctive time-only watches. Many chronographs were manufactured in cooperation with specialist suppliers, most notably Excelsior Park, with additional movements sourced from makers such as Venus, Valjoux, Landeron, A. Schild, and Martel. Because many pre-1980s company records were lost or destroyed, the precise division of design, assembly, and supply responsibilities is not always recoverable. The brand left Gallet-family ownership in 1994 but continued under Swiss proprietors. Breitling acquired Gallet in 2024, with a global relaunch planned for 2026, the two-hundredth anniversary of its founding. Gallet's heritage remains centered on functional chronographs, specialist timing instruments, and the historical connection between Swiss watchmaking and American aviation, transportation, and industrial markets. The legacy also includes a major cultural contribution: Leon Gallet left funds that helped establish the Musée international d'Horlogerie in La Chaux-de-Fonds.
History
Gallet & Company traces its documented continuous history to 1826, when Julien Gallet founded a watchmaking firm in La Chaux-de-Fonds, Switzerland. The Gallet family associated its ancestry with Geneva and with earlier goldsmithing and watchmaking activity, but no surviving timepieces establish an unbroken family production line before the company's foundation. The firm's early commercial development was therefore rooted in Julien Gallet's enterprise. The United States became central to Gallet's business. Records indicate that the company had American representation by 1856. Leon Gallet, Julien's son, is credited with cultivating customers in the United States through repeated travel, although he died during one of his journeys there in 1899. In 1890, Julien's grandson Jules Racine and Charles Perret founded Jules Racine & Co. in New York. The company served as Gallet's exclusive American importer and distributor, creating an institutional base for the brand in what became its main export market. A significant corporate and technical transition took place in 1907, when Gallet acquired Société d'Horlogerie Electa. The years that followed brought new patents, recognition at exhibitions, and achievements in chronometry competitions. After the First World War, Electa's manufacturing activity ended during the middle of the 1920s. Gallet then concentrated increasingly on stopwatches and timers, which it marketed under Gallet as well as Galco and Guinand. Contemporary American jewelry-trade reporting described Gallet as supplying a large share of the timers imported into the United States. The emphasis suited a market shaped by industrial timing, sport, transportation, and professional measurement. The company's later history was closely connected to the rise of the automobile and aviation industries. As wristwatches became more practical through improvements in shock resistance and water protection, Gallet developed specialized wrist chronographs. Among the notable late-1930s products were the MultiChron Regulator, designed to prioritize elapsed-time reading, and the waterproof MultiChron with a patented two-part clamshell case secured at the lugs. The case was intended to protect the dial and movement from water, dust, dirt, and corrosive substances. In 1939 Gallet introduced the Flying Officer, a wrist chronograph with city names arranged by time zone. It is regarded as an early world-time chronograph and became the most celebrated watch in Gallet's history. An early example was given to Harry S. Truman during his period as a U.S. senator. The watch's association with Truman, combined with its aviation and travel functionality, made it a defining expression of Gallet's American-market identity. From the 1940s to the 1970s, the company was especially known for chronographs. Excelsior Park, originally Jeanneret-Brehm & Cie, became Gallet's most important movement and manufacturing partner, although Gallet also used movements from Venus, Valjoux, Landeron, A. Schild, and Martel. The survival of the company's pre-1980s records is incomplete, so historians cannot always determine whether an individual watch was designed and assembled entirely by Gallet, developed jointly with a contractor, or supplied as a completed product. Gallet family ownership ended in 1994. The brand remained with Swiss owners until Breitling acquired it in 2024. A global relaunch was announced for 2026, coinciding with the bicentenary of the original foundation. Outside commercial watchmaking, the Gallet family left an important institutional legacy: Leon Gallet's bequest helped finance the establishment of the Musée international d'Horlogerie in La Chaux-de-Fonds.
- 2026
Planned global bicentenary relaunch
[1]Gallet is expected to relaunch globally in connection with the two-hundredth anniversary of its founding.
- 2024
Acquired by Breitling
[1]Breitling acquired Gallet as part of the brand's modern revival.
- 1994
Gallet family ownership ends
[1]The brand ceased to be controlled by the Gallet family and continued under Swiss proprietors.
- 1939
Flying Officer introduced
[1]Gallet presented the Flying Officer, a multi-time-zone chronograph regarded as an early world-time wrist chronograph.
- 1907
Acquisition of Société d'Horlogerie Electa
[1]Gallet acquired Electa during a period of technical development and international recognition.
- 1890
Jules Racine & Co. established in New York
[1]Jules Racine and Charles Perret created the New York importer and distributor that handled Gallet watches in the United States.
- 1856
Early U.S. representation
[1]U.S. records indicate that Gallet had representation in the American market by this period.
- 1826
Company founded in La Chaux-de-Fonds
[1]Julien Gallet established Gallet & Company, marking the beginning of the brand's documented continuous history.
Products and positioning
Heritage Swiss precision timing brand focused on functional chronographs, specialist timers, and historically significant watches for aviation, motor sport, industry, travel, and exploration.
World-time aviation chronograph · 1939
Flying Officer
Introduced in 1939, the Flying Officer combined a chronograph with a ring of world cities organized by time zone. It was designed for pilots and travelers who needed to relate local time to other locations while recording elapsed time. An early example was presented to Harry S. Truman before his presidency. The model is generally treated as Gallet's most important and recognizable historical watch.
Chronograph
MultiChron Regulator
The MultiChron Regulator used an unusual display arrangement in which time was shown in a smaller upper register while the elapsed-minute counter occupied the lower portion of the dial. This layout emphasized timing events rather than ordinary time reading, making the watch suitable for professional and technical applications.
Water-resistant chronograph
MultiChron Waterproof Clamshell
This MultiChron variant used a patented two-part case held together by screws positioned at the feet of the lugs. The construction was intended to shield the dial and movement from water, dust, dirt, and corrosive chemicals, reflecting Gallet's focus on durable timing instruments for demanding environments.
Yachting chronograph
MultiChron Yachting Big Eye
The Yachting Big Eye adapted the MultiChron chronograph for racing use with a prominent countdown timer and colorful, race-oriented dial elements. It was offered with black or white dial configurations and represented Gallet's extension into specialized sporting timing.
Industrial chronograph
MultiChron Decimal
The MultiChron Decimal incorporated a decimal scale based on one hundred units. This allowed users to convert elapsed time into a percentage of an hour or estimate production rates, supporting engineering, manufacturing, and other industrial calculations.
Stopwatch
Gallet stopwatches and timers
Stopwatches and timers became a major part of Gallet's business during the 1920s and 1930s. They were sold under Gallet and related names including Galco and Guinand, and were distributed heavily in the United States for industrial, sporting, transportation, and other timing applications.
Brand decisions
2024
Join Breitling through acquisitionM&ABackground
Gallet had operated under Swiss proprietors since leaving Gallet-family ownership in 1994.
Action taken
Breitling acquired the Gallet brand.
Aftermath
The acquisition prepared the brand for a planned international relaunch in 2026.
1939
Launch the Flying OfficerProduct launchBackground
The expansion of aviation and international travel created demand for watches capable of handling both elapsed time and multiple time zones.
Action taken
Gallet introduced the Flying Officer world-time chronograph.
Aftermath
The model became the brand's most famous historical timepiece and a defining example of its aviation-oriented design.
1925
Emphasize stopwatches and timersStrategyBackground
After the decline of Electa manufacturing following the First World War, Gallet needed to focus its commercial and production resources.
Action taken
Gallet concentrated on professional timers and stopwatches, selling them under several brand names.
Aftermath
The strategy strengthened Gallet's position in the American timer market during the 1920s and 1930s.
1907
Acquire Société d'Horlogerie ElectaM&ABackground
Gallet was expanding its manufacturing and technical capabilities during a period of growing interest in precision timekeeping.
Action taken
The company acquired Société d'Horlogerie Electa.
Aftermath
The following years brought new patents, exhibition recognition, and chronometry successes, although Electa's manufacturing activity ended in the mid-1920s.
Recent events
Reported
Galco introduces UnderWraps 2.0 belly band holster[2]
Galco introduced the UnderWraps 2.0 belly band holster, an updated design that accommodates concealed carry of firearms and accessories.
Reported
Galco introduces SB18 Straight Belt[3]
Galco introduced the SB18 Straight Belt, a leather gun belt available in four sizes and retailing for $65.
Sources3 sources
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