1940's Vintage Movado Manual Wind Watch Gold Plated 15 JEWELS Cal 470 9341 37MM

The company that became Movado was founded in La Chaux-de-Fonds, Switzerland in 1881 by a 19-year old entrepreneur, Achille Ditisheim. In 1885 two of his brothers, Leopold and Isidore joined him and the name of the company became L. A. I. Ditisheim from a combination of their initials. It later became L. A. I. Ditisheim & Frère when another, unnamed, brother joined

In 1905 the company adopted the name Movado, meaning "always in motion" in the international language of Esperanto. The advert reproduced here from a 1907 Swiss trade journal shows the name L. A. I. Ditisheim & Frère and a hand holding a watch, a trademark that appears in many Movado watch cases. The advert says that the company makes precision lever watch movements in sizes from 9 lignes to 24 lignes and specialises in 10 and 19 ligne extra thin movements, and repeaters of all sizes. Registered trade marks are given as "Chemin de Fer International", Mistral, Record, Sureté (safety), Movado, and Apogée. Movado registered many more trademarks over the years. In 1912 Movado created the Polyplan, a revolutionary, patented movement constructed on three planes to fit a case curved to follow the wrist. In 1914 Movado developed their "Soldier's Watch" with an integral protective grill or shrapnel guard in a shrewd anticipation of the forthcoming conflict. This was a very successful product for Movado, and it is believed that they sold some 2,000 each year during the First World War.

Movado is one of the most fascinating and undervalued of all the major vintage wristwatch brands. Founded in 1881 in the Swiss town of La Chaux de Fonds, this was a brilliantly innovative company, working to the highest possible quality standard. Its name, meaning “always in motion” in Esperanto, couldn’t have been more appropriate for a concern that contributed so much to the wristwatch genre in the early 20th century and today doesn’t get a fraction of the recognition that it deserves. 

Despite its remarkable history, largely because the current incarnation of the house is very low key and the fact that the Movado name is, unlike Rolex, Omega, Jaeger LeCoultre and the rest, not recognised by the general public in the street, its vintage output can be purchased for very modest sums of money. 

Movado is a true vintage watch brand in the traditional sense, rather than falling into the modern classics category. By this, we mean that its golden age occurred between World War I and the very early 1960s, rather than it being revered, like Breitling and Heuer, predominantly for models introduced significantly after World War II. Demand for vintage watches by these latter two brands has largely developed in the last fifteen years whereas even back in the early 1980s when the antique wristwatch scene was still very much in its embryonic stages, Movado was already established in the minds of pioneer collectors as being of comparable importance to Rolex and Omega. 

In the 1920s, Movado registered a huge number of patents in relation to its wristwatch movements. The firm was at the vanguard, constantly breaking new ground and supplying new and ever quirkier products to a wealthy clientele in search of something they hadn’t seen before. It was this innovative streak, combined with top notch build and finish quality, that undoubtedly led to Movado movements being used, along with those by Jaeger LeCoultre, by the famous Parisian jewellery house Cartier. The working relationship between Cartier and Movado proved so effective for both parties that it continued even until the 1950s, and over the years, we have bought and sold several Kingmatic models with their original dials carrying the Cartier signature. 

One of the most charming vintage Movado products isn’t actually a wristwatch at all. Introduced in 1927 with a flourish of publicity, the Movado Ermeto was a small clock that was carried on the person, with an ingenious case that when opened, served to automatically wind the movement. Almost uniquely, Movado advertised the Ermeto as being a unisex watch, showing male golfers and sportsmen alongside elegant ladies dressed in the art deco fashions of the day. Movado promoted the Ermeto as a new genre of portable timepiece that would usurp the wristwatch. This rather ambitious objective didn’t come to fruition, but certainly, the Movado Ermeto is one of the all time greats that must be represented in any serious collection. Going off at a slight tangent, it is interesting to see how the Movado Ermeto seems to exert a pull over people, with many buyers initially only intending to acquire a single representative sample and then going on to accumulate many of the different variants. The celebrated artist Andy Warhol was a noted Movado Ermeto collector, with six of these included in the April 1998 auction of his personal art and antiques held in by Sotheby’s in New York following his death. Closer to home, HRH Prince Charles had one of his vintage Movado Ermetos stolen, along with some rather intimately themed cufflinks, in 1994 by a cat burglar who raided St James’s Palace. Fortunately, the missing items were discovered in northern Italy and later return to him by the police. 

In the immediate post-war period, Movado launched its so-called “museum watch”. Offered from 1947, this was the product of Bauhaus inspired designer Nathan George Horwitt, its distinctive feature being a jet black dial on which the only form of decoration was a circular marker at the twelve o’clock position. Its name came about because of Movado’s reputation as being the brand of watches that was favoured by major museums in their collections. We have to come clean and say that the Museum Watch has never aesthetically appealed to us, though we accept that it is a design classic and have sold several of them to delighted buyers in the past. If we were in the market for a representative sample of Movado’s best work, we would look further back in time than the Museum Watch and try to acquire a tidy pre-war piece.

Having advised the purchase of a Movado manufactured before World War II in the previous paragraph, there is now going to be a contradiction and a recommendation that the 1950s Movado Kingmatic is something of an essential inclusion in any collection that charts the development of the self-winding timepiece. This was one of the really great automatic watches offered in the immediate post-war period and contains a movement that is in every way the equal of its rivals from the same era by Rolex, Jaeger LeCoultre and Omega. 

This is a beauty. It is very rare to find a watch this old, and with Movado the documentation is not that clear, so i have some dating this to 1920's and most to the 1940's. since the 15 jewel version of this movment came first and got replaced later by the 17 Jewel. Defiantly a collector watch. Please look at all the pictures, as they are part of the description. This is a highly collectible watch. Very few left with this rare movement. Sure, to increase in value overtime, and a great addition to your collection. The condition of the watch is the same as it appears in the photos.  The watch is working  and is part of our new Certified Pre-Owned CPO Program. Contact me if you have any questions first.