Léon Gallet

Léon L. Gallet (1832-1899), eldest son of Julien and patriarch figure of the growing company. "Gallet Group Inc. - Gallet Geneva 1685 - History" (part 2), Gallet Group Inc., 2007, webpage: [http://www.gallet.ch/history.php?page=history&part=2&i=h Gallet-hist] .]

The company premises at Rue du Parc in La Chaux de Fonds became too small, and expansion was made by acquiring the company Grumbach & Co., formerly producing watches of the brand name Electa. Gallet & Co. was renamed as the Electa Gallet Watch Manufactory. Léon L. Gallet played an important role in the social life in La Chaux-de-Fonds. Together with Longines in St. Imier, he founded the "Intercantonal Company for Industrial Development of the Jura area". Upon his death, Léon Gallet bequeathed a sum of 43,000 Swiss Francs (today equivalent to 1 million Swiss Francs or approx. 740,000 US dollars) to his hometown of La Chaux-de-Fonds, of which 25,000 Swiss Francs were earmarked to build the International Watchmaking Museum. Donated by Léon Gallet’s son George, the museum now houses a collection of over 100 of Gallet's most complicated and valuable timepieces, including the world's first wristwatch, produced in 1899 for mass consumption.. Léon Gallet also commissioned architect René Chapallaz, Le Corbusier's architecture teacher, to design "Villa Gallet". Situated in "Parc Gallet" in the southern part of La Chaux-de-Fonds, "Villa Gallet" still retains its original name and is considered as an important historic contribution to the "Art Nouveau" movement of the late 1800’s. [cite book |title= L'Inventaire Suisse d'Architecture: 1850-1920, Volume 3, Bienne, La Chaux-de-Fonds, Coire, Davos|year= 1982|publisher= Société d'Histoire de l'Art en Suisse|location= Bern|isbn= ] .

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