Gallet is a historical manufacturer of
high-end Swiss timepieces.
The following is courtesy of Wikipedia:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gallet_%26_Co.
Gallet is the world’s oldest watch and clock making house with history
dating back to Humbertus Gallet, a clock maker who became a citizen of
Geneva in 1466. The Gallet & Cie (Gallet & Company) name was
officially registered by Julien Gallet (1806–1849) in 1826, who moved
the family business from Geneva to La Chaux-de-Fonds, Switzerland. Prior
to this date, operations commenced under the name of each of the family
patriarchs.
Gallet is best known during the 20th century to the
present day for its line of MultiChron chronograph wristwatches.
Produced primarily
for military, industrial, and other professional applications,
Gallet’s MultiChron watches often incorporated a number of advanced
timekeeping innovations.
A Gallet timepiece of particular renown was the Flight Officer
time zone chronograph. Commissioned by Senator Harry S. Truman in 1939
for pilots of the United States Army Air Forces, the Flight Officer
(a.k.a. Flying Officer) had a rotating 12 hour bezel and the names of 48
major world cities printed on the periphery of the dial (face). These
features made it possible to calculate changes in the time as an aviator
flew across lines of longitude. Besides being the first time zone
calculating wristwatch, the Flight Officer was one of the world’s first
wrist chronographs to be housed in a water resistant case. Truman wore a
Gallet Flight Officer during his terms as 33rd president (1945–1953).
Léon Gallet set his sights on the rest of the world markets. In
1864, Léon's brother,
Lucien Gallet
(1834–1879), established the company's first US location in
Chicago with a New York City office following soon after.
Together with
Jules Racine, a cousin of the Gallet brothers living in the US,
the
company began its expansion into the American market.
When the worldwide economic downturn of the 1930’s caused international
trade to plunge by as much as two-thirds, it suddenly became
unprofitable for the Gallet Company to continue production of many of
its recently established brands.
Gallet chose
instead, to consolidate its efforts back into its primary area of
expertise, that of the manufacture of high quality professional-use
timepieces. Under the family name,
the Gallet Company
continued to flourish by providing
hand-held timers
and chronograph wristwatches to
allied military and industrial clients during the years leading
up to and through World War II.
A wartime Gallet timepiece of particular renown was
the Flight Officer time-zone chronograph (1939 - present). Commissioned
by Senator Harry S. Truman’s senatorial staff in 1939 for the United
States Army Air Force, this wristwatch made it possible to calculate
changes in the time as a pilot flew across lines of longitude.
Decimal Artillery Timer
(1943) - decimal reading stopwatch manufactured by Gallet, used
on Tank landing Ship #13 during
the D-Day Invasion of Normandy
|
