After decades away from the market, Gallet officially returns to the watchmaking scene in 2026, unveiling its relaunch at Geneva Watch Days to mark the 200th anniversary of its founding. Acquired by Breitling in 2025, the historic Swiss brand is now re-entering the watchmaking scene as the third brand in the House of Brands led by Georges Kern, alongside Breitling and Universal Genève.
Introducing the New Gallet with four collections: Flying Officer, Multichron Pilot, Multichron Sport, and Gallet Classics. The project draws inspiration from the models that built Gallet’s reputation throughout the 20th century, from aviation to travel, from motorsports to sailing, reinterpreting them for the contemporary market.
The new Gallet operates within Breitling’s infrastructure and benefits from the brand’s global distribution network and after-sales service.
From the Wright Brothers to the Return to the Market
The history of Gallet began in 1826, when Julien Gallet founded a watch retail business in La Chaux-de-Fonds. From its earliest decades, the brand established a strong presence in the United States and built its identity around chronometers, chronographs, and instruments designed for activities where precision in timekeeping was essential.
Gallet’s connection to aviation dates back to the early 20th century. On December 17, 1903, during the Wright brothers’ first flights at Kitty Hawk, a Gallet pocket chronometer known as “The Sun” was used to measure the duration of the flights. Today, this chronometer is on display at the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum in Washington.
The connection with aviation continued in the decades that followed. The name “Multichron” appeared in catalogs as early as the 1930s, referring to a family of chronographs developed for various fields, from aviation to racing, from navigation to scientific research. In 1938, the Multichron Clamshell was introduced, featuring a unique case design engineered to enhance water resistance and sealed pushers.
A year later, Gallet introduced the Flying Officer, designed for pilots and travelers during the era of the first intercontinental flights. Its distinctive feature was the city ring associated with the rotating bezel, designed to allow for quick time-reading across different time zones. Among its earliest admirers was Harry S. Truman, who received a watch in 1939, when he was still a senator from Missouri.
Gallet’s historic production then continued with models designed for regattas and navigation. In the 1960s, the Multichron Yachting was introduced, the model from which today’s Tribute to Multichron Yachting Big Eye is derived, while the Multichron Navigator cemented the brand’s connection to navigation instruments. These watches remain part of Gallet’s vintage heritage and offer a glimpse into the brand’s evolution through some of its key areas of focus.
It is precisely this archive that serves as the starting point for the 2026 relaunch. The Flying Officer and Multichron names are making a comeback as part of a new generation of watches, while the Classics collection revives some of the brand’s historic chronographs in an even more direct way.
The Return of a Classic Model
The Flying Officer is the model Gallet chose to mark the brand’s return. The new generation retains the core concept of the original watch, updating it for a contemporary audience: the bezel with its city ring remains the main functional element, but the destinations have been revised to include 24 current locations, ranging from major international hubs to more remote places.
The new Flying Officer is available in two versions, both featuring a 40 mm stainless steel case: the Flying Officer Automatic 40, a three-hand model, and the Flying Officer Chronograph 40, which adds a chronograph function. Both versions share the same case design, featuring 20-mm lugs, a screw-down case back, a domed sapphire crystal with anti-reflective coating on both sides, and water resistance up to 100 meters.
Flying Officer Automatic 40
The Flying Officer Automatic 40 is the three-hand version of the new collection. It is available with a dark blue or orange dial; the latter is inspired by the patina found on a vintage Flying Officer model.
Inside the case is the Gallet 17, an automatic movement based on the Sellita SW200. The movement measures 25.6 mm in diameter, is 4.6 mm thick, and offers approximately 38 hours of power reserve. The dial features a date window at 3 o’clock, while the bezel retains the ring of city names that characterizes the Flying Officer.
The case is 10.67 mm thick and measures 47.49 mm from lug to lug. The strap system is designed for easy interchangeability: leather, rubber, and fabric versions are available, in addition to a steel bracelet with a quick-release clasp and micro-adjustment. The price is €2,600 with a strap and €2,800 with a bracelet.
Flying Officer Chronograph 40
The Flying Officer Chronograph 40 adds a chronograph function to the same design. It is available with a black or light blue dial, both featuring tone-on-tone sub-dials, and retains the city ring that allows you to keep track of different time zones.
It is powered by the Gallet 23, an automatic caliber based on the Sellita SW510. The movement measures 30 mm in diameter and 7.9 mm in thickness, operates at 28,800 vibrations per hour, and offers approximately 65 hours of power reserve. The chronograph allows for timing intervals of up to 30 minutes.
The case retains a diameter of 40 mm but increases in thickness to 15.02 mm, with a lug-to-lug width of 47.55 mm. This version is also available with interchangeable leather, rubber, and fabric straps, including the green “field” strap paired with the orange dial, or with a stainless steel bracelet. Prices start at €4,100 with a strap and go up to €4,300 with a bracelet.
Gallet Multichron Pilot
The Multichron Pilot draws inspiration from one of the most iconic chronographs in Gallet’s history, a model that debuted in the late 1960s and was designed with a strong aviation-inspired aesthetic. The original combined a chronograph, a rotating 12-hour bezel, and tachymeter and telemeter scales. The new version retains some of this design language, though it eliminates the tachymeter scale and updates the dial layout.
The stainless steel case measures 42 mm, making it the largest of the new Gallet models introduced for the relaunch. The bidirectional bezel in brushed steel allows the wearer to keep track of a second time zone, while the telemetric scale on the inner ring enables the calculation of the distance to an event based on the difference between the moment it is seen and the moment its sound is heard. The tachymeter scale found on the historic model, however, has been removed.
The chronograph is powered by the Gallet 23, an automatic caliber based on the Sellita SW510, with a frequency of 28,800 vibrations per hour and approximately 65 hours of power reserve. Unlike the Flying Officer Chronograph, the Multichron Pilot features a date window at 6 o’clock.
The dial is available in two configurations: black with white sub-dials or blue with black sub-dials. The hour markers and hands are coated with luminescent material, while the chronograph pushers feature a pump-style design reminiscent of vintage timepieces.
Like the Flying Officer, the Multichron Pilot also features the quick-release strap system developed for the new collection. The price is €4,100 with a strap and €4,300 with a bracelet.
Gallet Multichron Sport
With the Multichron Sport, Gallet shifts its focus from aviation to the world of racing. The model draws inspiration from the Multichron chronographs used in motorsports, including the Multichron 12 Scientific, and incorporates their design through a tachymeter scale designed for measuring speed.
The 41 mm stainless steel case features chronograph pushers that are lower and less prominent than those on the Multichron Pilot, giving it a more compact profile.
The dial is available in dark blue with black sub-dials, or in black with white sub-dials. In both versions, orange accents, from the central seconds hand to the sub-dial hands and the “Multichron Sport” lettering, add a touch of contrast to the chronograph’s design.
Inside is the Gallet 23 movement, based on the Sellita SW510, with a 65 hour power reserve and a frequency of 28,800 vibrations per hour. The Multichron Sport also features the quick-release system common to the new collection. The price is €4,100 with a strap and €4,300 with a bracelet.
Gallet Classics
The collection most closely tied to the brand’s history is the Gallet Classics collection, created to celebrate the bicentennial in 2026. Unlike the three main lines, the Classics collection focuses more directly on Gallet’s historical legacy and was developed with input from historians, collectors, and enthusiasts of the brand.
The collection includes three 38 mm chronographs, all hand-wound and inspired by iconic models from the Gallet archives: the Tribute to Multichron Yachting Big Eye, the Tribute to Multichron 45, and the Tribute to Silverlight.
The connection to Breitling is particularly evident from a mechanical standpoint. All three models feature the Caliber B09, a hand-wound chronograph movement from Breitling that offers approximately 70 hours of power reserve. The three models also share a 38 mm stainless steel case and the option to choose from various straps with a quick-release system.
Tribute to Multichron Yachting Big Eye
The first of the three Classics draws on Gallet’s nautical heritage and the chronographs developed in the 1960s for regattas. The historic Multichron Yachting Big Eye featured a large counter dedicated to the countdown, designed to make the minutes leading up to the start immediately legible.
The new version retains this feature with a white dial featuring black Arabic numerals, flanked by a small seconds sub-dial and a large countdown sub-dial. The latter is divided into dark blue and red sections, creating a striking contrast with the rest of the dial.
The hand-wound B09 movement offers approximately 70 hours of power reserve, while the stainless steel case measures 38 mm. The price is €6,100.
Tribute to Multichron 45
The second model draws inspiration from the Multichron 45 chronographs, which were used in the past for activities related to racing and aviation. The new Tribute retains this more instrumental character with a black dial featuring both a telemetric scale and a tachymeter scale.
The hour markers and hands are coated with luminescent material, while the tone-on-tone sub-dials keep the dial legible without making it look cluttered. This model also features a 38 mm stainless steel case and the hand-wound B09 caliber with a 70-hour power reserve. The Tribute to Multichron 45 is priced at €6,100.
Tribute to Silverlight
The collection concludes with the “Tribute to Silverlight,” inspired by the Multichron Navigator and featuring a more elegant design than the other two Classics models. The historic model stood out for its orientation system and a dial with an unusual design. Gallet reinterprets these elements with a silver sunburst dial, on which stylized black Arabic numerals stand out, preserving the model’s vintage character.
The Silverlight also features the B09 manual-winding movement, with a power reserve of approximately 70 hours, housed in a 38 mm stainless steel case. The price is once again €6,100.
Our Conclusions
Gallet’s comeback comes with a project that carefully draws on the brand’s history, without limiting itself to simply reissuing its best-known models. The Flying Officer and Multichron bring back to the catalog names that have accompanied Gallet through different eras and sectors, while the Classics collection offers an even closer connection to the brand’s historical production, thanks in part to the choice of manual winding and the B09 caliber.
It’s interesting to see how the brand has chosen to make a fresh start with contemporary dimensions, quick-release systems, and a design intended for everyday wear that coexists with elements drawn directly from the archives. The bezel featuring the cities from the Flying Officer, the scales on the Multichron Pilot and Sport, and the large sub-dials of the Yachting Big Eye are all part of a design language that is truly rooted in Gallet’s history.
After years of absence, the name is thus returning to watch store windows with an already quite extensive collection and backed by Breitling’s infrastructure. Only time will tell how this new Gallet will be received, but the starting point is clear: the brand has chosen to make its comeback by first and foremost drawing on what it has built over its two centuries of history.
by Francesco Marrari
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