Movado

Movado watches find their origin in a company founded in 1881 by Achille Ditesheim, himself from a family of the watchmaking elite of La Chaux-de-Fonds and who owns several companies in the sector.

In 1892, brothers Leopold, Achille, and Isidore merged their separate businesses to create “L.A. & I. Ditesheim, Manufacturers”. It was one of the first modern factories following the watchmaking crisis of the 1870s. This marked the beginning of their success.

Within 20 years, the company had more than 80 employees and was internationally recognized for its wide variety of pocket watches. The company began producing wristwatches, and expanded further in 1905, now having over 150 employees. It was then that the company was renamed Movado, which means “always on the move” in Esperanto.

Their first chronometers were produced in 1925 and the first waterproof watches in 1935. In 1946, the first Movado watches with calendar and automatic movement were produced.

In 1947, a designer named Nathan George Horwitt invented a watch with a mysterious dial. The designer claims to belong to the Bauhaus school, a movement founded in the 1920s in Germany.

The big idea of ​​the Bauhaus was to no longer make a distinction between the fine arts and the applied arts: To create objects that were aesthetic, functional and innovative at the same time, so that art could enter everyday life.

The dial was, meanwhile, monochrome and completely devoid of any scale. There was therefore on this watch neither indexes, nor numbers, nor any marks other than a simple golden disc placed at noon. This “sun” combined with the position of the hands was enough to tell the time, like a sundial. In 1959, the Museum of Modern Art in New York (MoMA) decided to acquire a copy for its permanent exhibition. A new consecration for the La-Chaux-de-Fonds brand, which becomes the first watch brand to be exhibited in an art museum. The iconic “Museum” line takes its name from this performance.

Movado watches are now present in more than twenty museums around the world and their minimalist and timeless style continues to fascinate lovers and collectors of watchmaking and design.