This article will focus on everything Movado, a Swiss watch brand that has been around for more than a century, and continues to enjoy popularity today. We’re going to cover the essentials: its history, reputation, and quality, just to name a few.
If you’re thinking about getting your first Movado watch and still have yet to learn about the brand, we’ll help you make your search easier. Because the brand has a lot of styles and collections to choose from, this article will let you narrow down your search.
The company was originally called LAI Ditescheim & Freres SA, which was founded in 1881 in La Chaux-de-Fonds, Switzerland. It was in 1905 that the name was changed to Movado, and in 1983 when it was acquired by American company North American Watch Corp.
The Movado Group is one of today’s premier watchmakers, manufacturing and distributing watches for the following companies: Movado, Ebel, Concord, Olivia Burton, Coach, Hugo Boss, Lacoste, Tommy Hilfiger, Scuderia Ferrari, Rebecca Minkoff, and Uri Minkoff.
Movado watches are Swiss-made. The company has manufacturing facilities in Switzerland and corporate headquarters in New Jersey.
The company’s watches are available all over the world. With watches all over North America, South America, Europe, Asia, and the Far East.
Movado has both luxury Swiss watches and what the brand refers to as “accessible fashion watches.”
The watch model that Movado is widely known for is the iconic Museum Watch, an elegant and unique watch that continues to be popular to this day. Designed by American designer Nathan George Horwitt in 1947, the timepiece was influenced by the Bauhaus art movement.
The design is one gold dot placed on 12 o’clock, which symbolizes the sun during high noon. Horwitt is quoted in the Movado website as saying: “We do not know time as a number sequence…but by the position of the sun as the earth rotates”.
This watch has become so iconic that it was selected to be part of the permanent collection of the Museum of Modern Art in New York City in 1960–the first watch that was ever given such distinction. It’s already the reason why it’s called a Museum Watch.
Today, these watches have different versions of the Museum Classic: 28mm or 40mm with different types of bracelets (stainless steel, mesh, crocodile-grained leather, and PVD-finished link bracelets), and different dials (black, blue, white mother of pearl). Some also have diamond markers, like the 28mm Women’s Museum Classic and the Men’ Museum Classic, which both have 11 markers.
Explore Movado’s website see all the available models.
If you are interested in watches that came before the Museum and other modern Movado timepieces, this article about the company’s “overlooked history” is a must-read.
The Museum may be Movado’s most popular collection, but the company also has a number of collections, most of which we’ll discuss in this section.
Women’s Movado Watches
Bangles Style
Movado has many models of bangle-style bracelets for women. The Aleena, Amorosa, and Rondiro are excellent for women looking for bangle-style bracelets. These are excellent for dressy occasions—the Amorosa, in particular, has stunning 18 diamonds on the bracelet.
There’s also the simple yet elegant 25mm Bela, which is what Movado refers to as a “fashionably slender bangle-style watch.” This watch has a PVD stainless steel case with sleek rose gold dot and hands. The Kora has the mother of pearl dial, and has different models—one has a yellow and gold PVD-finished case, and another has 11 diamond markers.
For those who prefer a thicker model, there’s the Masino, which is available in black and blue dials and gold PVD and plain stainless steel link bracelets. This one has models for men and women (40mm and 26mm), and has a women’s model lined with diamond hour markers.
One of Movado’s celebrity ambassadors is Kerry Washington of ABC show “Scandal.” She has been a partner of the brand since 2005. She has been spotted wearing different Movado watches in the show, with her Olivia Pope character gaining the company new fans.
Talking about the brand in an interview, Washington said: “The more I learned about the company and the more I met the people here, it just really felt like an authentic fit for me. I think so much of what Movado stands for are things that I aspire to in my work and in my life…elegance and classic design but with a modern flair.”
Men’s Movado Watches
Museum Watches
The collections that have the Horwitt’s single dot design are the Modern Classic and the Museum Classic, both of which have a wide array of designs and sizes to choose from. If you’re looking for Movado Museum style with an updated look, there’s the Moderna, which is a men’s watch that has the iconic look but has a unique, extended cube-shaped lug. This is available in two designs: stainless steel or gold-plated stainless steel.
There are also collections that pay homage to the company’s rich history. One is the Movado 1881 Automatic, which is the company’s tribute to the year that it was founded. The watches in this collection have the classic Museum dot at 12 o’clock but has stamped hour markers and minute index.
There’s also the Movado 70th Anniversary Special Edition watches, which commemorated the 70 years of the iconic Movado dial. There’s are two ultra slim versions—a 35mm with a white dial for women (edition of 300 pieces), and a 40mm with black dial for men. These both have calfskin straps and a commemorative steel case-back.