The Would-Be Donors: Gallet V72 and Wakmann V7734

[lhooq]

You just read "Valjoux 72" and "Valjoux 7734" in the title. Quick! What did you just picture in your head? Given where we are, you've likely imagined a manual-wind Daytona and a Tudor 7032, two of the hottest frankens that can be built. I can't think of a time when so many of these projects have been simultaneously underway, but Frankensteiners have been driving up the prices of these two movements in recent years. I'm one of them.

Ideally, I would want a clean, serviced movement housed in a hideous timepiece with no aesthetic or historical value whatsoever. Everyone has a limit of what's acceptable for salvage operations. I love a lot of vintage watches in addition to those two aforementioned chronographs. For example, it breaks my heart to see someone selling a gutted Heuer Camaro case, hands from a Longines diving chronograph, or the dial off of a Benrus Sky-Chief. Yet I wouldn't blink an eye scavenging the V72 from an unremarkable Clebar, or the V7734 from any number of ugly, 70s-era chronographs.

I thought I had the lines clearly drawn in my head, but here are a couple of recent acquisitions that gave me "Huntsman's Hesitation" moments. (Ooh, timely movie reference!) Both were purchased for their movements, but when the time came to send them to watch heaven... Well... I just couldn't do it! Now quick, Snow White: Run! Hide! Never come back!

Gallet MultiChron 12 (late 50s to early 60s?)

I won this Gallet at open auction, and intended to use it for a second Daytona 6239 build. Although the movement (see the top of this post) appeared to be in excellent shape, the exterior looked very well worn in the listing. The crystal was a thicket of scratches, while grime had built up on every surface and lined every edge of the case. The hands looked as if they'd been replaced, and were lumed with an unappealing shade of dull green. Also not helping matters was the icky Speidel Twist-O-Flex, which featured a ropey calendar window. As I was busy finishing off another 7032 (read about it soon), I didn't have time to work on the 6239 project. In the meantime, I made the mistake of wearing the Gallet, tacky expander bracelet and all. Guess what? It grew on me.

I started to see past the scuffed surface of the acrylic crystal, and realized what a beautiful dial it had. Busy, in the 1950s style, but crisply printed like a 1960s dial. Chapter, telemeter, and tachymeter rings were all present, while the subdials were remarkably clear. And those hands that I thought were replacements? I saw that they were the perfect length for the inner ring, and they were blued. Not painted or anodized blue, but actually flame-blued. No, these were original hands that had been relumed some time in the past.

I was still on the fence about using it for a 6239 build when I made the final mistake of researching the Gallet brand. Interesting read, until I got to the part about a certain racer wearing a Gallet at the Indy 500. It was Jim Clark who sported a black-dialed MultiChron 12. Ah, crap... Jim Clark is one of my racing heroes, and my second-favorite driver of the 1960s. (#1: Dan Gurney.) That earned the Gallet its life.

Now the first order of business was to liberate the MultiChron from its ugly Speidel shackles, and mount it on a nice, "vintage brown" Stowa strap. (These are cheaply bought directly from Stowa, and I highly recommend them.) Next, I had the case cleaned...

...and the crystal polished. All the better to see that wonderful dial and those lovely hands:

The Valjoux 72, incidentally, is running very strongly. I'm sure it would have made a fine Daytona.

Wakmann Chronograph (early 1970s)

This one started out as a mistake, but what a mistake! Again, it was an unremarkable watch in the listing, with a similar design to Breitling Datoras of the same era, but I had ID'd this Wakmann's V7734 movement and its precious 45-minute counter. For some reason, the price wasn't making a break from the $100 mark with less than thirty minutes left. I was distracted by a long telephone call when the auction ended, so I wasn't able to do my usual research on either the watch or the seller. Nevertheless, I bid $150 with 5 minutes to go. Twenty minutes later, I suddenly remembered the auction and saw that I'd won. That's when I started reading the description: "This Is A Very Good Looking Watch It Seems To Be Not Working. "

What does Charlie Brown say? Oh, right: "AAUGH!"

I wasn't looking forward to getting the package. When I did, I ripped it open to find a gold, tonneau-case chronograph in extremely good condition. I wouldn't call it NOS, but it wasn’t far off. There was barely a mark on the crystal, dial, or caseback. The dial looked as good as anything Singer had made in the 1960s, but with the added benefit of looking like it had been printed yesterday. Ditto the gold, blacked-out hands. The crown wouldn't wind the watch, but my watchsmith fixed it in less than five minutes. (Sorry for going fuzzy on the technical details, but I was ecstatic that it was actually working, and working well.) There was no dithering like with the Gallet; I decided right there to keep the Wakmann as-is. Besides, I could really use a gold watch in the collection.

The Wakmann came on a cheap, brown leather strap. I rooted through my Tropic collection, found a blue 18mm, and combined it with a rare, golden Tropic buckle.

This turned out to be a tricky color combination to pull off, so I chickened out and went with black rubber, instead.

Chronographs... I love 'em.

As someone who already has frankens of the 6239 and the 7032, it's a lot easier for me to go into historical preservation mode than someone who is aching to have that "Grail Daytona" on his wrist. I understand, and I'm not going to be the one to tut-tut and say, "How could you?" But if you appreciate the beauty of vintage designs, or care about the history of watches at all, please take a long look at the shell of your donor movement. Sometimes we could be a bit more superficial!

[redwatch]

Personally not much of a fan of gold watches, but that one is in superb condition! As for the Gallet, that is one amazing looking watch!!! Good call on preserving it! I think it's simply gorgeous! Too good looking to break apart for the movement.

[chiman12]

Very nice vintage pieces M! So glad that they weren't gutted for their movements. That Gallet really cleaned up well!

[woof*]

Ive been looking at Gallet's awhile. I love yours, where did you find an affordable one?

The prices I've seen have been pretty high. I didn't know about racing history. Yours came out really nice M

[urbanshogun]

Wow! Love the goldie.

Do you get all of your vintages on eBay? Also your pics make any watch look great!

[lhooq]

Thanks, everyone! I got the Wakmann many months ago, but only received the Gallet recently. It's what prompted me to write this post.

red: I like gold about as much as William Jennings Bryan. Other than this Wakmann, the only other gold watch I own is a hand-me-down, manual-wind Girard-Perregaux that looks VERY 1970s.

C: Thankfully, I have a fugly, late-70s Jules-Jurgensen that's on its way. I will rip it apart with pleasure.

woof/shogun: Yes, both watches were from eBay. Every now and then, I'll get something from a local collector, but it's mostly me poring over hundreds of vintage watch listings on a regular basis. (Possibly during work hours...)

Despite the claim and a signed letter from a Ford engineer, I've yet to see a picture of Jim Clark wearing the Gallet. I've got my fingers crossed this isn't a 1655 "Steve McQueen" situation, but it's a great watch, nonetheless--provenance be damned.