1950s Movado 18ct Gold "Calatrava" Bumper Automatic 32mm
Ref: 8404
Specification
Lugs : 17mm
Condition : Pre-Owned
Box & Papers : None
Case Material : 18ct Yellow Gold
Warranty : 12-Months NON-Waterproof Warranty
Points of Mention
This watch is sold as watch only and therefore comes without its box and paperwork. It comes paired with an 18mm leather strap secured by an 18ct yellow gold pin buckle. The watch is from Circa 1950s and is in worn, vintage condition. As you can see from the photos, it is in overall great condition for its age; however, its original attributes are beautifully preserved with even patina. The watch comes with our 12-Months NON-Waterproof Warranty.
For more photos see here - https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1N-zppb8wTR_jeBWMJ2mNC0qNj8FUApEF?usp=drive_link
4K YouTube video, skip to 24:06 - https://youtu.be/RL6FKmv4bh8
The Watch
Here we have a classic 1950s Movado 18ct Gold "Calatrava" Bumper Automatic with a curvaceous 18ct Yellow gold 32mm round case. The case gently curves toward the elegant horned lugs. Its smooth flanks lead to a lug-to-lug length of 38mm and a case thickness of 9mm, ensuring a comfortable fit on the wrist. On the right side is a domed coin-edged crown. A polished chamfered bezel holds a domed crystal above the off-white/cream dial and has an outer minute track of pips surrounding attractive applied gilded Arabic numerals and faceted indexes marking the hours. The hour and minute hands are tapered alpha-shaped. At 6 o’clock, a sub-seconds with decorative engine turning; at 12 o’clock, we have the Movado motif and “Automatic” completes this sophisticated timepiece. On the reverse, an 18ct yellow gold snap-on case back, inside an early in-house bumper Automatic Movado Cal. 115, 17 jewels movement. It comes paired with an 18mm leather strap secured by an 18ct yellow gold pin buckle.
Personal Note
I am regularly asked what I think is underrated and underappreciated in the vintage watch world and my answer is always vintage Movado & Mido, the value is insane and the designs are beautiful, though collectors are certainly waking up to the two brands so snapping up great examples whilst you can is a must! This beautiful Bumper Automatic 18ct Gold Movado 'Calatrava' is incredible on the wrist, paired with a beautiful strap and an 18ct Gold Buckle, you'll be hard-pressed to find better. I would not hesitate to add this gem to your collection today!
The Brand
Achilles Ditesheim, at the age of 19, founded LAI Ditescheim & Freres SA in 1881. With the help of 6 watchmakers, he built a workshop in the small village of La Chaux-de-Fonds, Switzerland. In 1905, he renamed the company Movado, meaning “always in motion” in Esperanto's international language. In 1947, Nathan George Horwitt created the single-dot watch dial. In 1960, Horwitt's original design became the first watch dial ever to be accepted by the Museum of Modern Art, New York. In 2017, Movado Group purchased the OliviaBurton brand based in London. It is one of the fastest-growing fashion watch and jewellery brands in the UK. In October 2018, Movado Group acquired MVMT, which specialises in selling quartz watches, sunglasses, and jewellery. The Movado Group also owns Concord, Ebel.