Mathey-Tissot

 By Bruce Shawkey

Edmond Mathey-Tissot established his watchmaking business in the village of Les Ponts-de-Martel in 1886. Mathey-Tissot is an independent watchmaker, with headquarters located in Geneva. Mathey-Tissot is not associated with Tissot, another Swiss watchmaking firm.

Mathey-Tissot initially specialized in "repeater" watches, timepieces that chime the hour and half hour. Soon afterwards, the company produced chronographs. During World War I, Mathey-Tissot supplied the United States Army Corps of Engineers with precision chronographs. Gen. John J. Pershing, Commander of the United States Expeditionary Forces, selected Mathey-Tissot as the watch to award to members of his staff.

In addition to its regular business of producing fine watches for jewelers throughout the world, Mathey-Tissot before and during World War II turned out thousands of timepieces for the United States armed forces and the British Navy.

The company is still in business to this day, and maintains a website at www.matheytissot.com. Here are some images of Mathey-Tissot watches through the decades:

Gallet

 By Bruce Shawkey

Gallet can trace its roots all the way back to 1466 when Humbertus Gallet tinkered with various metals and was recoreded in various census records as a horloger or clock maker. The Gallet company went to great pains and expense to trace Gallet's geneology to gain bragging rights as the world's oldest watch company.

But the real story of Gallet began in 1826 when Julien Gallet (1806–1849) founded his company in La Chaux-de-Fonds, Switzerland and began distributing pocket watches all across Europe.. In 1855, Julien Gallet's son Léon (1832–1899) further expanded distribution to help meet Europe's increasing demand for watches. In 1864, Léon's brother, Lucien Gallet (1834–1879), established the company's first U.S. 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 U.S., the company began its expansion into the American market.

Due to the American consumer's preference for domestically styled products, the Gallet Company created numerous new lines to effectively compete with American brands. While the names that appeared on the dials and the overall appearance and function of these watches were tailored to American tastes, all cases and movements continued to be produced in Gallet's La Chaux-Fonds workshop. Each of the numerous brands were designed to target a different demographic. Lower priced watches were supplied to the average working man, as well as expensive high-grade and complicated timepieces in solid gold cases for the wealthy. By the end of the 19th century, Gallet selling more than 100,000 timepieces per year and was beginning to transition into wrist watches.

I want to take a break here and talk about of the first wristwatches for which Gallet supplied the movements. 

A while ago, my friend Stan Czubernaut found what he believed was one of the first wrist watches ever made. It was made by Gorham Co. for members of the European Mounted Infantry so that the time could be read while riding a horse without the tricky maneuver of pulling out a watch of  the soldier's pocket . A date marking on the underside of the dial was engraved 8/94, which meant the watch had been built in August of 1894. Gorham Co., was located in New York, NY.  They offered the watch for $15. The true identity of the watch movement was Gallet. This beats the old record generally believed to be held by Omega, which is confirmed to have made a man's wristwatch in 1903. Stan completely restored the watch and sold it with what was believed to be the original leather band, as it was sewn right on to the watch. It was quite fragile, as you might expect for being 124 years old, but it was all there, including the buckle. Stan even contacted the Gallet company, and they were anxious to cooperate with Stan's research, but were unable to find anything in their archives. Stan was able to find to find the ad from Gorham in an obscure Wiki-journal that read Gallet made "bracelet watches" for members of the European Mounted Infantry in this year, but none has ever surfaced. Way to flush out those details, Stan!

 OK, back to the history of Gallet:

When the worldwide economic downturn of the 1930s caused international trade to plunge, Gallet changed its focus to the manufacture of professional-use timepieces (hand-held timers and chronograph wristwatches) to allied military and industrial clients during the years leading up to and through World War II. During this period, the Gallet's sales again surpassed 100,000 units annually. A wartime Gallet timepiece of particular renown was the Flight Officer time-zone chronograph, which is still being produced today. 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. In Gallet produced the Multichron Petite. The Petite is one of the first wrist chronographs engineered exclusively for enlisted women assigned to technical and scientific tasks during World War II. Powered by the 10 ligne Valjoux 69 movement, and measuring only 26.6mm in diameter, the MultiChron Petite became the smallest mechanical chronograph ever manufactured.

With the end of World War II, and the death of Georges, son Léon Gallet assumes management of the Gallet Company. Only minor changes are needed to transform the appearance of Gallet's military style watches into trendy chronographs for sportsmen and civilian pilots.After the war, Gallet's reputation spread to civilians and professionals in the fields of aviation, sports, medicine, and technology. Their success continues through the '50s and well into the '60s.

The '70s brings with it the quartz crisis, and Gallet is not spared. Upon the death of Léon Gallet (1899–1975), sons Pierre and Bernard assume management of the company. They acquire the Racine Company, which has been struggling as well.

The history of Gallet bounces around from owner to owner for the next couple of decades, but is eventually acquired by David Laurence, who becomes a sort of patron saint for Gallet. He goes to great lengths to restore Gallet's standing in the watchmaking making pantheon. His efforts include sponsoring a temport exhibit at the the National Watch and Clock Museum featuring numerous personal timepieces and accompanying stories of those who have served their countries for the last 250 years. Watches in the exhibit included George Washington's pocket watch, the Gallet chronograph worn by Fred Gerretson while serving as war photographer during the Invasion of Normandy, and the Gallet wristwatch worn by 2nd LT James Richard Hoel when his plane was shot down in the Netherlands by the Germans during WWII. Hoel was sent to the prison camp Stalag Luft III, about 100 miles southeast of Berlin, which was portrayed in the 1963 movie "The Great Escape". He was among the imprisoned officers who helped dig the tunnels as depicted in the movie.

With the support and assistance of David R. Laurence, NAWCC installs a permanent exhibit entitled "At Arm's Length: The History of the Wristwatch". The exhibit provides a comprehensive view of the evolution of the wristwatch, from the small pocket watches that were first strapped to the wrist in leather holders, through the numerous technological advancements in wristwatch functionality during the 20th century, and concluding with the wrist-worn timekeeping marvels of the present day. 

let's look at some of Gallet's wrist watches through the decades.

Watch Hands

 By Bruce Shawkey

We don't often think of watch hands, but truly, watches would be pretty worthless without them. Here's a company that specializes in watch hands. The one at left looks like a hand for a character watch, maybe a particular famous mouse of the Disney corporation? The ad is from a 1975 issue of Europa Star magazine:

Case Design

 By Bruce Shawkey

In the '70s, wristwatches were taking on all sorts of innovations, what with the invention of the quartz movement. And of course, the market for mechanical watches was still very much alive. Enter the "FIBO" watch case company. They advertised in Europa Star magazine. Their cases were made of stainless and base metal. They apparently were not in business for very long, but they made some interesting cases. Check out that one on the second ad shaped like a guitar.

Ogival

 By Bruce Shawkey

Ogival was founded in La Chaux-de-Fonds in 1929. By the 1970s, they sold mass-market and upscale watches with the Ogival and Mirvaine brands. In 1979, Ogival took over bankrupt Ulysse Nardin, selling it in 1983.

Must have been pretty powerful to have taken over prestigious Ulysse Nardin.

Have no idea what "battle-time" means. The movement has an Incabloc shock protected system, so I assume batle-time means the movement is protected from battlel!

One-of-a-Kind Watches

 By Bruce Shawkey

Saw this interesting article in Europa Star magazine:

Goldsmith creates one-of-a-kind watches

Schlegel & Plana are famous in Switzerland and throughout the world for the exceptional beauty and quality of their jewellery creations. They have now acquired a similar reputation in the highly competitive sector of precious watches. Little by little, they have entered the ranks of the most famous names in "de luxe" models. Their SP model is already assimilated on many markets, especially in the Middle East, where it has come to represent a type of jewellery richly decorated with brilliant-cut diamonds and gemstones. The watch is often the centre and provides a pretext for breathless feats of goldsmithry. Some of these unique pieces are illustrated here. as splendid and harmonious as anything made by the greatest masters of our times. Each one is not only a beautiful ornament but serves to highlight any collection devoted to contemporary art. 

Quartz vs. Mechanical

Saw this very thoughtful editorial in a 1976 issue of Europa Star magazine. It talked about the coming age of quartz watches, and whether they would replace mechanical watches. Time would tell us that both kinds of watches can exist in harmony. There are those who value the accuracy of a quartz watch, and those who prefer the warmth and tradition of a mechanical watch. I find it interesting that the article predicted LED watch would not last long due to their power drain. In any event, here's the editorial:

Until When Will Watches Remain Watches

Almost two months have passed since the closing down of the big spring fairs. What conclusions can be drawn from these events which everyone had been waiting for with mixed feelings of apprehension and hope?

One thing is certain: A recovery has taken place but on a relatively modest scale. Buyers from the whole world over who went to Switzerland and Germany paid very special attention to the collections that had been prepared for them. More than ever, they compared prices and models and the resulting orders were never the result of chance.

The password seemed to be CAUTION. Caution before a market still convalescing from the dread disease that had struck it down so suddenly, caution before the pitiless struggle waged between mechanical and electronic calibers, often in the frame-work of the same concern. In this war between traditional watches and the various new quartz systems with digital or analogue displays, no real decision has yet taken effect this spring. 

While there is no doubt that electronic watches have gained a solid foothold on the market and are now accepted by the great majority of manufacturers and distributors, it is certain, too, that mechanical watches, especially automatics, are far from having said their last word. The trend seems to be towards a harmonious division of the market that will take place when the fever arising from a novelty owing its immense popularity to a slightly mysterious technology has abated somewhat.

 It must be noted, however, that the industry which, with a few exceptions, seemed to hesitate to follow its American competitors, on the burning territory of electronics, has now made its choice. In an astonishingly short lapse of time, the powerful concerns of this country have assimilated the lessons of its adversaries and succeeded in turning out models of excellent timekeeping performance and reliability.

So much so that it can be said today that Switzerland will soon be taking the lead again in the field of electronics, at least where high-grade products are concerned, especially those models equipped with liquid crystal display. The situation is different in the sector of watches with LED display produced on a large scale. Prices here have dropped in a spectacular manner and there will certainly be some surprises in the future. It is thought generally in the trade that the present vogue for this kind of display which usually requires a pusher to be depressed and consumes a lot of electricity, might be short-lived and diminish progressively as more perfected systems of permanent display come on the market. In any case, for how long will the solid state watch still deserve the name of watch? The growing number of functions in prototypes presented by manufacturers cause this question to be raised seriously. Are we not at the eve of a fundamental mutation in time-keeping instruments leading to something infinitely more complex? We only have to wait for the future to supply the answer.