Movado Watches

The Movado company has always differed from others and only gained from it. The company was founded by a 19-year old watchmaker, Achille Ditisheim, from La Chaux-de-Fonds. The business went well and in 1886 two brothers worked at the company. In 1897 its staff consisted of 80 workers.

At the end of the 90s of the 20th century the company manufactured in-house calibres and constantly complicated movements. At the beginning of the 20th century the company registered many patents and received a lot of prizes for run precision and at the same time the Ditisheims gave a new name to the company “Movado” what meant “always in going”.

Like many watch producers, Movado strove to make watches thicker and thicker. In 1912 the company started to launch original but elegant timepieces whose movement (calibre 400) was designed in some planes and for that was given the name Polyplan. On two sides the movement turned downwards and perfectly fitted the case. The calibre 400 was rather big by the then measures and big balance gave high precision. In 1921, generally, men still wore pocket watches so the Polyplan became rather significant achievement for the company.

The next important milestone of Movado history was the Ermeto watch appeared in 1926. Its case was leak-proof and protective but easy to open in both ways. Movado's owners hoped that they would oust rather new wristwatches but their hopes were never to be realized. Movado watches had great success but the third era in the horology has not come. Despite that the company's timepieces had quite a few admirers and their production continued right up to 1985. During the 30s – 40s Movado manufactured original watches but following the market trends: first they made waterproof watches then self winding.

In 1947, the designer Nathan George Horwitt, a Russian by birth and having lived in New-York, created the Museum Watch watch. According to the Bauhaus style, Horwitt set himself design of the watch as an object that would have shown time absolutely simple with the help of minimum quantity of graphic indicators. And he invented a big round watch with a very narrow rim and a black dial without hour markings, only at 12 o'clock position there was a circle, a symbol of the sun. The time was read by two small hands concerning this 12 o'clock mark. A photographer and curator of the museum, Edward Steichen, saw the watch and wrote Horwitt: ”Your dial, to my mind, is the single example of original and beautiful design from all I have seen”.

There are some versions of what next has happened. Some say that in 1948, contrary to copyright, Horwitt's watch was produced without permission and payment to him, and he allegedly went to law. Another version is that during ten years Horwitt was unsuccessfully trying to sell his product to more than ten different companies. One thing we know for sure: in 1959 the Museum of Modern Art, located in New-York, exhibited a prototype of the watch and afterwards it was a part of the permanent exposition, where the name of the watch came from.

In 1962 the Movado company acquired watch design rights. In three years more, serial production of this model started and since it had success with customers for long. Over the 60s – 70s the Museum Watch's look changed: sometimes its case was rectangular, sometimes  - oval; the dial range of colours varied from yellow to orange, from blue to white. In the beginning of the 70s the company began collaborating with the Zenith company and in the end became its member but the Museum Watch was not taken out of production. In the watch the chief thing was the dial, for that reason the model easily outlived the quartz crisis of the 70s – 80s. It had the all-time black stylish foundation.

In 1983, a pioneer of the American horology and a Cuban by birth, Gedalio Grinberg  bought up the Movado company experiencing hard times from the Swiss Dixi company which had purchased Movado and Zenith still in 1978. Grinberg, a great lover of art, was attracted with beauty and history of the Museum Watch. 

Gedalio Grinberg wanted this watch to associate with the art, and together with his son Ephraim organized the big advertising campaign. Soon the Museum Watch became a sample of luxury and culture of the 80s. The watch changes its look today: with the revival of mechanics it has been given a mechanical filling.

Thanks to the dial, the watch became the trademark of the company all over the world. All Movado watches have a distinctive feature – one gold point at 12 o'clock position symbolizing the sun at the height. Moving of hands symbolizes moving of the Earth in the orbit. The brand is recognizable thanks to strict elegance and pure lines that also guarantee great popularity to the brand in the whole world.
The Temo, Red Lable, Faceto, Esperanza, Metio and Safito collections both for men and women perfectly reflect aesthetic minimalism. Their community is the round dial a la Classic Museum. Cases are made of high-quality stainless steel. Dials are protected by a sapphire glass. Models are equipped with Swiss quartz movements. Uniqueness of these watches are slightly visible case design, buckles and straps.
The Eliro collection deserves special attention. A rectangular case perfectly fits a wrist and that makes it very comfortable in addition it has a very flexible alligator leather or high-quality rubber strap.

Classical sports lines of watches from the Junior Sport and Series 800 collections combine quite harmonically with bold and modern design. An improved steel bracelet and a durable folding clasp are functional features containing in Junior Sports watches. Chronograph models feature a black dial and Arabic numerals. Watches from the Series 800 collection have a stainless steel case, a thermorubber strap or a steel bracelet with flexible plaiting. The mark located at 12 o'clock position has the same Movado Museum design.

There are also elitist Movado watches decorated with brilliants or gold plated. Just that model Juro line includes élite watches performed in modern sports style with brilliant hour markings. Bracelets are arranged in successive alternation of steel and gilded components. Among women's models the Ono collection is the best one. Very elegant silver and gold bracelets of these watches consist of rings marked with the company’s main symbols of the Movado Museum. The traditional point inside of each ring is indicated with skilfully polished brilliant.

The watch Skeleton Dot line is an exclusive collection of over the Movado's whole 100-year history. Through a small window on the dial the movement itself is seen.

In 1990 the French artist Arman made original design for the The Color of Time model. Its hands have a form of an artist's brushes and markings are like many-coloured strokes.

In 1991 the Elapse, Eclipse, Ellipse watch with three dials of modern design independent from one another was on sale. The Bill-Time series showed a vivid play of various colours of dials and bracelets.
Today Movado watch collections include various models featuring original design: a glossy  stainless steel case, a round dial, a strict leather strap and a sapphire glass.

And nowadays Movado timepieces are rathert popular. Creative approach, quality and century tradition that is all give watches special style over which the time has no power.