Hi OF folks! was wondering if any gallet experts can chime in on this piece here? Dial condition looks superb and overall in good shape, which got me just a little curious. could this be a redial? movement checks out?

Thanks in advance!

 

The dial looks original to me, one of the later 1970's variants, here's a decent resource, although the pricing is a little optimistic IMO

http://www.galletworld.com/gallet_chronograph_watch_flight_officer.html

 

thanks for sharing. interestingly, this particular dial does not feature in the catalogue.

 

Sold on eBay. Did you pick it up?

 

That seller makes me nervous with all the unsubstantiated claims about receiving unique undocumented pieces directly from the CEO of Gallet.

 

Like Some dealers in Milan on another of our favorite brands ...

 

There is information out there to support a number of the claims.

I'm new here and unsure of the etiquette and/or policy concerning providing a link to another watch site where one can seek out more information some of which has been verified.

I'll send a link to anyone who sends me a PM.

Cheers,

Joe

 

We seek to understand. Knowledge is power. Why not post here? Is Gallet like the Free Masons?

For more look to the revelations in the UG sub forum.

 

These watches have been extensively discussed on the wus vintage forum, which may be what you are referencing. While some of the examples are certainly legit, there is no verification of the seller's claims of special provenance, and many of the pieces are "unique", "NOS", and highly questionable, and some have apparently fake military engravings. Combined with the fact that her husband is a Gallet executive, and they have access to an enormous stock of old spare parts, common sense says that these watches must be viewed with healthy skepticism.

Instead of saying that some of the watches have been verified, I would focus more on the fact that some of them are very clearly incorrect. It's easy enough to sell a few legit watches as a way to build confidence in the fakes/frankens. So while some may be ok, a buyer would be very foolish to by a one-off NOS piece with no written provenance solely based on the word of someone who claims to have received it directly from someone at Gallet. Just think about what you would say to a potential buyer when you try to re-sell the watch in the future.

 

What I would recommend then is do what I have done and read every post in this thread:

https://forums.watchuseek.com/f11/gallet-co-crosscheck-possible-fakes-frankens-4661155.html

After having done so, draw your own conclusions.

As a relative newcomer to this field, I would not presume to 'speak' authoritatively on this issue.

In the 18 months or so that I have been avidly reading related subjects, I have seen a number of people who hold themselves out as knowing something, later to be humbled and having to admit to having been mistaken.

For example, I recall one or two people finding a Gallet Multichron 12 being deemed suspect based on the fact that the diameter of the hours subdial counter hand inner circle being larger than the inner circle of the small seconds and and small minutes counter hands only to have WatchFred provide numerous real-world examples of Gallet watches where the hours subdial hand is generally larger in diameter when compared with the other two subdial hands. The story may be found within the above-captioned thread.

Cheers,

Joe

 

Agree, important thread, especially if you're considering buying something like this:

 

Yes, it's worth reading, and there is a lot of useful information, but that is not the point I was making.

The issue is not whether a particular detail or a specific watch is correct or incorrect, but an ongoing pattern of selling undocumented unique NOS pieces by company insiders (mixed in with some legit pieces). Even if these pieces were factory original (which is unprovable), they are at best one-off examples with no documented provenance. It's the classic "prototype" joke, and I think that experienced OF members will get the point.

 

Can you post a link to the listing?

 

I take your point . . . and healthy skepticism is a good thing. It may well be that some of the watches being offered by OoV are assembled from original parts and were never part of any production run. Caveat emptor.

Taking things a bit further, I've searched Instagram and there are 104 Gallet F.O.'s there and not a one has the same type of syringe hands as the example sold on Ebay. Mind, there are four with syringe hands but not of the same type.

Does this prove anything? Not really. But it would be reassuring when considering the purchase of a vintage watch to be able to find a number of examples that look nearly identical where it counts.

Dauphine hands are more expected as seen here:

https://www.chrono24.com/gallet/flying-officer-chronograph--id8740199.htm

Cheers,

Joe

 

@Joe_A ... thanks for jumping in with the WUS thread. I am reminded of discussions on the UG forum. Like Gallet, UG exists as a shadow of its former self in the market. Perhaps Gallet is trying harder to regain their mojo. Also it is very obvious that folks have amassed an inventory of parts of both brands and are launching “prototypes” and nice Franken into the market. I have three Gallet myself, two from trusted sellers and one, well I dodged a bullet. Thanks for the wake up call!

 

Nope, didn’t. After more researching, decided to pass. And anyway the bidding shot up dramatically in the closing minutes. Very surprised it closed so high...

 

Vintage GALLET FLYING OFFICER / FLIGHT OFFICER Pilot's Chronograph - Circa 1970s


https://rover.ebay.com/rover/0/0/0?mpre=https://www.ebay.com/ulk/itm/232943799438

 

The price of the one that sold on Ebay was actually higher than the asking price for the one currently on Chrono24, one which seems to be a good example as seen below.

There is a second one on Chron24 with cathedral hands . . . and doubt has been expressed as to whether Gallet produced an F.O. with such hands and with the spelling of the city "San Francisco" spelled as it is today.

It seems that most of the F.O. watches deemed by many to be the genuine article F.O. watches spell the city as "San Francisko." Note also Tokio and Bagdag - spellings found on watches viewed by experienced collectors to be authentic.

All of the above does not prove anything one way or the other, of course.

 

Those later Landeron-powered FO pieces are not appealing to me personally. I find the dials unattractive the case is utilitarian, the hands look odd, and the movement is entry-level. However, I do love the first generation snail-dial Venus 150 version, even though they are small.

 

I'm not attracted to the newer F.O. watches either but the one you posted is appealing.