![]() ![]() It’s powered by the caliber 475 (a derivative of the Movado 470) and displays the hours, minutes, seconds, day of the week, date and month. The Calendograf, more commonly known as the “ Movado triple calendar“, was introduced in 1938, and remained in production until 1954. Separating these three iconic Movado models was the type of movement they mounted, and therefore the type of complication they displayed. The Calendograf, Celestograf and Calendomatic The M90 was first released in 1938, and was in production all the way until 1965, meanwhile that M95 was first made just a year after the M90 (’39) and was mounted on Movado’s watches until the early 1970s: when the brand began their collaboration with Zenith (1969). One easy way to tell the difference between the two is that the M90 has 2 sub-dials, whereas the M95 sports 3. ![]() Towards the end of the 1930s, Movado introduced chronographs into their portfolio for the first time, all mounting totally-in-house movements: these were the M90 and the M95. Movado’s most important Chronograph Movements This moment of brilliance allowed the movement (and subsequently the case) to adopt a splendid and curvaceous shape, far more pronounced than any other watch. The Polyplan name derives from the multi (poly) level shape and design of the movement: arranged in three distinct layers. The story goes that this revolutionary idea came about when Isidore Ditesheim expressed his desire to create an ultra-ergonomic timepiece, which really and truly “conformed” to the wrist. Of these numerous patents, the most important was the Swiss Patent N☆0 360 of June 7th, 1912: the Polyplan. One metric to prove this was the sheer number of new patents that they registered between 19. The early 1900s was a period in which Movado really thrived when it came to horological innovation. ![]() Movado’s Curvaceous Cases: the Polyplan & the Curviplan Given these tools, resources and increased workforce, they began mass (for the time) producing ladies’ watches.īetween 19, Movado grew steadily to reach the 300+ headcount in the factory, becoming a real “giant” in the Swiss watch industry, both for workforce, but also in terms public perception. This bold and innovative move proved successful: the revolutionary equipment boosted productivity, and by extension, increased its workforce size.Īnother benefit that their investment brought was that it allowed Movado to manufacture the previously outsourced components. Right from the onset, Movado proved itself to be a very avant-garde watchmaker, as they were one of the first horological companies to invest in electrically-powered machinery. However, it would be another two years before the company officially traded under that name. The first recorded use of the now iconic term, “ Movado“, can be traced to the 2nd of May, 1903. Ditesheim, fabricants”, after the three brothers: Léopold, Achille and Isidore. During this time, the company operated under the name “ L.A.&l. In its early years, the watch company’s operations were limited to mounting and assembling movements (which came from third parties) into their pocket watches. This is definitely an extraordinary achievement when you consider that in those same years, watchmakers of the likes of LeCoultre employed 100, meanwhile Audemars Piguet had just 10 watchmakers. The year is 1876 (yes, we said 1881, but hear us out), and the Ditesheim family had just moved to La-Chaux-de-Fonds, not only to escape the Franco-Prussian war, but also to pursue their dream of setting up a watchmaking company.įive years later, in 1881, once Achille Ditesheim completed his horological studies, the dream finally started to become a reality in the form of a modest laboratory, which, over the course of a couple of years, grew to be a full scale factory in 1897, employing 80 people. On a personal note, before we dive in, I find it rather sad that, given its rich history and quality of its timepieces, Movado’s watches aren’t receiving the amount of attention, credit and value that it most certainly deserves: especially when, as you will learn in this article, you consider how innovative this watchmaker was. To fully understand this choice, and this brand as a whole, we need take a few steps further back in time: more precisely, to 1881. Why is that important? It’s Esperanto for “ always in motion“, which is perfectly representative of the watchmaker’s unending committent to horological innovation. In 1905, the Ditesheim brothers started the story of “ Movado” watch company.
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