Movado: history, models and value

Founded

1881

Founder(s)

Achille Ditesheim

Headquarters

Paramus, New Jersey (Movado Group)

Owner / group

Movado Group, Inc.

Movado: origins and founding

In 1881 Achille Ditesheim, then about 20 years old, opened a small workshop in La Chaux-de-Fonds with a handful of watchmakers to make pocket watches. In 1905 the company built a new factory and registered the name Movado, from Esperanto, usually translated as "always in motion". From then on it made its own movements.

Founders and family

Achille Ditesheim (1861–1944) was soon joined by his brothers Léopold and Isidore. From 1886 the firm traded as L.A.I. Ditesheim, after the initials of the three brothers. The Ditesheims turned the workshop into an industrial watch manufacture and began making wristwatches around 1900.

Movado history and milestones

• 1912: The Polyplan, a curved watch with a movement built on several levels to follow the shape of the wrist.
• 1924: First agency in New York, the start of Movado's strong presence in the US.
• 1926: The Ermeto, a pocket watch in a sliding case; opening and closing the case winds the movement.
• 1938–1939: In-house chronograph calibres 90 M and 95 M.
• 1940s–1950s: Calendar watches such as the Calendograf and, from 1954, the automatic Calendomatic.
• 1947: Designer Nathan George Horwitt creates the dial with a single dot at 12 o'clock. In 1960 it enters the permanent collection of the Museum of Modern Art in New York, and the Museum Watch is born.
• Around 1970: Movado joins forces with Zenith and Mondia, and the head office moves to Le Locle. The Datron chronograph follows.
• 1970s: The group passes to Zenith Radio Corporation of Chicago and later to the Swiss company Dixi.
• 1983: North American Watch Corporation, founded by Gedalio Grinberg, takes over Movado; the company later becomes Movado Group.

Famous Movado models

• Museum Watch: black dial, one gold dot at 12, no numerals. The model most people own, made in many versions, mostly quartz.
• Ermeto: the sliding-case purse and travel watch of the 1920s and 1930s.
• Polyplan: the early curved wristwatch.
• M95 chronographs: vintage chronographs with three counters, made for decades.
• Calendograf and Calendomatic: mid-century calendar and automatic watches.
• Datron: the 1970s chronograph from the Zenith years.

Movements and technique

Before the quartz era Movado was a true manufacture. Its 90 M and 95 M chronograph calibres were developed with help from Les Fils de Louis-Elysée Piguet in Le Brassus, and later calibres such as the 470 family powered simpler chronographs. Most modern Movado watches use quartz movements.

Movado today

Movado is part of Movado Group, Inc., headquartered in Paramus, New Jersey. The group also took over Ebel and Concord at the end of 2003 and sells licensed fashion watches. Today's Movado watches sit in the entry to mid price segment, with design, especially the Museum dial, as the main selling point.

Movado prices on the pre-owned market

There are two very different markets. Modern quartz Museum watches are common and usually sell for a fraction of their retail price. Vintage Movado pieces are a different story: in-house chronographs with the M90 and M95 calibres, Ermeto watches in good condition, Polyplans and original Calendomatics attract collectors. For vintage pieces, an original unrestored dial, a correct case and a working movement are the main value drivers. Gold cases add metal value, while replaced dials or non-original movements lower it sharply.

How to recognise a genuine Movado

On a vintage Movado, the movement should be signed Movado (or carry a Movado calibre number) and match the dial. Many vintage dials have been refinished, so look for crisp, even print. On modern Museum watches, check the clean dot, the engraved caseback and the model number on the back. Copies usually give themselves away through light, poorly finished cases and sloppy printing. Read more in our guide on how to spot a fake watch.

What is your Movado worth?

Whether you have a modern Museum or a 1940s chronograph, send us photos for a free watch value estimate. For inheritance, divorce or insurance purposes, you can order a signed watch appraisal.

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