Gallet Multichron Service - Never returned

[JG7684]

Hello all,

Looking for help in tracking down my Gallet MultiChron 12 that was sent to the MultiChron Service Center in Georgia on November 03, 2021. I know they ceased operations and moved to Florida. I have received sporadic communications from them and obviously promises that were not kept. They are now supposedly operating under the name of the ChronograFIX Timepiece Service, but there is no on line presence for that entity. When I originally sent it in, I spoke to David Laurence, who assured me it would be back in a year. The number I have for him is no longer working, and obviously the phone number for the business is defunct. I have done some deep dives into the owners, both current and former and found that almost everyone, David Laurence, Amanda Slaz, Larry Slaz, are all in Florida. Finding a good current address has been difficult. They have not ever responded to my emails, and when the phone number was active, never once answered the phone after they got my watch and my $950.00. Looking for any help in tracking down my watch or the folks that have it.

It is a beautiful watch that belonged to my wife's uncle.

Any help is appreciated.

JG7684

 

[Joe_A]

Hi JG,

You may consider placing your inquiry over at the FB Group, "Vintage Gallet & Excelsior Park Watches," where you may find others who have a similar experience. The group was established by Dan Horton and I assist there as a moderator.

Here is what I can say from personal knowledge or from what I feel are reliable second-hand sources.

The owner of the Gallet Brand was Walter Hediger and an investment group based in Zollikon, near Zurich. From what I gather, the brand name/IP was acquired by Breitling which also bought the rights for Universal Geneve:

Breitling To Relaunch Gallet Confirming Ambitions To Become Multi-Brand Watchmaker

Gallet, once known for robust, sporty chronographs, will return at a mid-level price point in 2026, says Breitling CEO Georges Kern.

www.hodinkee.com

https://www.forbes.com/sites/robertanaas/2025/03/18/breitling-acquires-another-historic-brand-gallet/

A separate Gallet entity was established in the US some years ago where David Laurence and Amanda Slaz (Laurence) were officers. As far as I am able to determine, there never was a Larry Slaz, purportedly a brother of Amanda Slaz. From research I have done of information in the public domain, DL and AS appear to have used a number of alias names over the years. I and others believe that Larry Slaz was just another alias for DL.

After a rift appears to have developed between Walter Hedigar and DL/AS, the two were fired and the entity in the US ceased to operate. I've heard second-hand from others that property had gone missing.

The above is as much as I wish to say on the subject without getting into wider areas of speculation or hearsay.

It seems very unlikely that anyone who has not had watches returned that were once sent to the independent group once using the Gallet name in the US, will get their property back.

The DL/AS team may now reside outside the US.

There is still some DL/AS activity showing on the Internet, if one digs a little for it:

https://aslaz.com/

About

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One may draw one's own conclusions . . .

Cheers,

Joe

 

[JG7684]

Joe A,

Thank you so much for your response.

I will definitely be researching further on FB. I am not a FB person but will enlist the help of others. Awaiting approval for the group as we speak.

I did reach out to Breitling 6 months ago and although polite, were no help. They said that when they acquired the Gallet brand, they specifically excluded the Gallet Service Center and any association with them from the sale. I suspect they knew there were issues and did not want to be so entangled.

I will be doing some further research.

One thing I will be doing is looking for their (Laurence, Slaz) online presence on watch resellers. If anyone has bought a watch from them and knows their user names / resellers, I would much appreciate the information.

Again, thanks for all the information.

JG

 

[Joe_A]

You've been approved. ;-)

The Gallet service center seems to have actually been little more than a shipping and receiving location.

They subcontracted work out to a couple of local watchmakers. One fellow, Lu Liang, was a regular, but alas Lu passed away on November 26, 2020 and their service seemed to have gone downhill afterward.

Before I knew any better, I had one very bad experience with "them" having sent the same watch to "them" three times. Each time it came back it ran worse than before sending it to them. At the time, I was reluctant to say much publicly as one bad experience should not be a reason to damage a business reputation. At the time, I was on cordial terms with David, but eventually I felt there were integrity issues with him.

Afterward, there developed a number of publicly expressed disappointments by others. I ended up paying double for service as I sent the watch to RGM in Mt. Joy, Pa. When the watch came back from Roland & Co., it ran very well. When I asked what they found, I was told the watch was dirty and it looked like it had never been serviced. At least the Gallet people did not destroy it, causing it to be unserviceable.

I am sorry to say that I do not think you will be able to get your watch back, but of course, I hope to be wrong.

Cheers,

~ Joe

 

[Watchyouwant]

JG, after 45 Years in this line of collecting, I can only advice you to stop now and learn a lesson. Nothing at all will come out in your favour. Only more disappointment and more bad feelings. If you need these for get you going, proceed.
If you need peace and positive things in your life, stop now.
Crooks will always be Crooks and they often end up broke in Watch Collecting/Service / Sales.
Go to your next Ocean Beach and walk barefoot in the Sand and Saltwater; watch the ever changing pattern of the Waves and you will know, how small und uninteresting our Sorrows are.
KInd regards from Australia. Achim

 

[Joe_A]

Sound advice, Achim . . .

 

[Stephanerunge]

Hi everyone

I'm going to tell you what happened to me with Gallet and David Laurence and "his wife."
It's pretty much the same story as JG's.
I even discussed it with Joe_A on a website about three years ago.
But in my case, it had a happy ending. I sent two watches, a Decimal and a Multichron, both managed by Excelsior Park. The shipment was dated March 20, 2020, the beginning of the Covid crisis, and I received my watches back, one in November 2023 and the other in May 2024. You can imagine the anger that consumed me, and even some sleepless nights during those three or four years.
I managed to contact them several times, but without success, until the day "Larry Slaz" called me himself. He wanted my address, which hadn't changed. The watches had been properly serviced. So JG, there's still a glimmer of hope for you, though I can't guarantee it. As our Australian friend Achim said “take it easy”and keep us updated.

Stephane

 

[mc1]

Surely this is criminal activity? Can you lay a police complaint or hire someone in that area to track these people down. We're talking about a 4 to 5k watch ? plus the funds sent to service it and that would be enough for me to seek a positive outcome my way. Is this called wire fraud in the states ?

 

[Joe_A]

Surely this is criminal activity? Can you lay a police complaint or hire someone in that area to track these people down. We're talking about a 4 to 5k watch ? plus the funds sent to service it and that would be enough for me to seek a positive outcome my way. Is this called wire fraud in the states ?

It's undoubtedly complicated.

Where would one lay the complaint?

Wherever they may be, they are likely no longer in Georgia or Florida.

I think the DL/AS team have been on the run.

You'd have to find them and serve them with a summons in the appropriate jurisdiction and then prove that they committed a criminal act or acts, assuming one could get them to show up in court. Bearing in mind that watches were shipped to a corporation or an LLC rather than to an individual, one would have to be able to prove intent to defraud or engage in a criminal activity on the part of the officers/shareholders. This is where Achim's advice comes into play. It would cost time and money and the chances of retrieving anything would be very small. I doubt that they have much in the way of visible or 'reachable' assets.

Cheers,

~ Joe

 

[JG7684]

Thank you to everyone that has responded. I have done some extended dives into business records, Facebook and other areas. I found some interesting avenues of investigation. I do appreciate the well wishes and concern.

If you go to the Gallet Collector Page on Facebook, there is a heartbreaking case of a man who sent in the watch his father wore in the Pacific in WW2, and not returned. I don't know if he has gotten it back since his last post in October but that is just terrible. If he gets his watch back, I would be happier than if I got mine! I know there are others that have posted on the Gallet page, and I will get their information after I wade thru all of the posts. I have also posted in the NAWCC Forum, with my original post (updated with information from you wonderful folks).

I am not sure how I am going to proceed, but if I can put together a significant list of people who are still waiting for their watches, I might be able to do something with that. I agree that venue may be an issue if legal action is initiated. I would like that to be a last resort. I am still willing to consider that after the move, this is a case of poor record keeping or watches that are no longer with their packaging, making it hard to get back to owners. Initiating civil contact with DL/AS is the best way to move this along. I simply want my watch back and don't care about the money or if it was repaired. If I can get some watches back for other people, that is an even bigger win.

JG