Gigandet - Valjoux 72C - Triple Calendar Chronograph - Tropical Dial - Circa 1946-1952

After the Second World War, Swiss watchmaking returned to what it did best. The great ebauche houses of the Vallée de Joux had kept their workshops running through the conflict and emerged from those years with movements of exceptional refinement. The triple calendar chronograph was among the most ambitious complications of that era: a watch that measured elapsed time to fractions of a minute while simultaneously tracking the day, date, and month, all driven by a single hand-wound movement. Valjoux introduced the 72C in 1946, adding a full triple calendar to the already celebrated Valjoux 72 platform, and the watchmakers who received it understood immediately what they were working with. The Gigandet triple calendar chronograph was among the earliest watches ever built around the 72C, and this example is almost certainly from the first years of that production.

Charles Gigandet was a watchmaker and manufacturer based in Tramelan, Switzerland, one of the small towns in the Bernese Jura that had been producing precision movements since the seventeenth century. In New York City, Gigandet operated under the name Wakmann, which served as both his American retail and distribution arm and as the exclusive United States importer for Breitling from the early 1950s onward. The watches Gigandet produced under the Wakmann name occupied the upper tier of the American market, triple-signed across the dial, the movement bridge, and the caseback, a practice that documented quality and provenance at every level of the watch. The triple calendar chronograph was Gigandet and Wakmann's most important reference, and the movement they chose for it was the Valjoux 72C. This watch carries only the Gigandet signature, not the Wakmann name, placing it before that American branding was established. The caseback construction confirms it further: where later examples use a simple snap-on back, this one is an inset caseback fitted into the case body itself, a more refined construction detail found only on the earliest examples.

The Valjoux 72C is, in the language of collectors, a grail movement. Introduced in 1946 as the calendar variant of the legendary Valjoux 72, it combined a column-wheel chronograph with a full triple calendar displaying day, date, and month, all in a manually wound ebauche of exceptional quality. The column-wheel mechanism it uses is architecturally related to the Omega Calibre 321, the movement that went to the moon in the Speedmaster. The Valjoux 72 family powered the Rolex Jean-Claude Killy triple calendar chronograph, one of the most sought-after vintage Rolex references in existence, and the same caliber in its 72C form powered this Gigandet at a fraction of the price. The movement in this watch is rose gold plated throughout, visually as impressive as it is mechanically, and it carries the full triple signature: Gigandet on the dial, Charles Gigandet Tramelan Swiss on the inner caseback, and signed again on the chronograph bridge.

The dial is unlike anything I have ever seen. Where most surviving Gigandet and Wakmann triple calendar examples carry silver or cream surfaces, this one has developed an extraordinary tropical patina over its seven or more decades, shifting across the main surface and the three recessed sub-registers from warm amber through bronze to a deep peach gold, the transformation entirely organic and entirely irreversible. The three recessed sub-registers sit within that patinated ground with their own concentric guilloché surfaces. Applied arrowhead hour markers ring the chapter ring. The outer chapter ring carries bold blue Arabic numerals, an arresting configuration that has not been documented on any other known example of this reference. The day and month windows sit flanking the signature below twelve o'clock. The case is a large round stainless steel form with the date corrector pushers on the left side. The watch is presented on a blue suede leather strap with tonal stitching.

The watch has been fully serviced. The movement was completely disassembled, pivots cleaned with pegwood, all jewels oiled including the balance jewels, and the movement reassembled and regulated. The chronograph functions operate correctly. The case shows age-related wear consistent with its era and has not been polished. The tropical patina on the dial is entirely original and untouched.

Terms: Please review all photos carefully as they are a part of the listing. This is a vintage timepiece. Accuracy, power reserve, and water resistance are not guaranteed. Vintage watches may require periodic service. Performance can vary with wear, temperature, and position. This watch was not designed or tested for water resistance and care should be taken to keep it away from water, moisture, and humidity during wear.

Because this watch has been fully serviced, I provide a one-year limited warranty on the movement. If the movement develops a functional issue under normal use within one year of purchase, I will repair it at no cost for labor. This warranty does not cover anything related to the case, dial, hands, crystal, pushers, crown, bracelet, strap, or cosmetic condition, and it excludes any issue caused by external factors including but not limited to impact or dropping, case damage of any kind, shock, improper use, tampering or attempted repair by anyone other than me, water or moisture exposure, humidity, condensation, magnetism, corrosion, or loss of parts. Please note that this movement was produced during an era when shock protection did not exist in watchmaking. Broken jewels resulting from impact are not covered under this warranty. Any shipping costs associated with warranty service are the buyer's responsibility unless otherwise agreed in writing.

All sales final.