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Movado, a company whose name means
"always in motion" in Esperanto, began its life in 1881 in a small workshop in
La Chaux-de-faunds, Switzerland. Founded by talented watchmaker Achille
Ditisheim and his team of six employees, all watches were manufactured and
assembled by hand.
By 1899, their hard work and determination had paid
off. They were awarded six first-class Official Rating Certificates in their
class, and in the following year, they were awarded the Silver Medal at the
Universal Exhibition in Paris.
By 1905, the company had settled on
its now famous name, Movado, and began in earnest its now famous pursuit of
excellence in design and function. They won the 1910 Grand Prix Exhibitions in
Paris, Rome, Brussels and Rio de Janeiro for their introduction of 8 ligne
wristwatch movements. The introduction of the Polyplan watch in 1912 took the
watch community by storm, and these watches are highly sought after at auction
today.
In 1947, American designer Nathan
George Horwitt created the first Museum Watch. It featured an uncluttered dial,
with a simple gold dot marker at the 12:00 position. He likened the design to
that of a sun-dial, like recognizing the sun at its zenith at high noon. Movado
later teamed up with designers and artists such as Andy Warhol to create
one-of-a-kind limited edition watches, which reside in museums, galleries, and
collections today.
Movado is returning to its roots
today. It has re-introduced the KingMatic series, which was originally
introduced in the 1950's, and featured the first automatic movement and sweeping
second hand, both driven from a central rotor. Today, the KingMatic features an
all stainless steel case, stainless steel or leather bracelet, sapphire crystal,
automatic movement, and is water resistant to 50 meters.
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