Movado Triple Date Cal.475 18ct 1949

Movado

Movado was founded in 1881 under the name LAI Ditescheim & Freres SA in La Chaux-de-Fonds, Switzerland. The founder of Movado watches was Achille Ditisheim, a gifted watchmaker who worked with his 6 employees manufacturing all of the watches by hand. Movado watches received acclaim around the world at different trade fairs over the coming years.

Description

Here we have a wonderful unrestored Movado gent’s watch from 1949 with a triple date calendar. This is a classic and an excellent 1940s example of some of the outstanding work Movado created. This watch shows very few signs of ageing, which is one of the reasons we have to decided to leave this watch alone to keep this watch completely original and retain some of its charm.

The Dial

This dial is beautifully symmetrical, well balanced and proportioned. The dial itself, in white, contrasts wonderfully with the yellow gold case, original gilt ‘lance’ hands and a mix of stud hour indices and original standard Arabic numerals. The dial is simply signed with ‘Movado’ at the very top below 12. Even though this watch is completely original and unrestored, it is in wonderful aged condition. Typically, a dial of this age will suffer from fading, staining, pitting, spotting and scratches, but this dial looks simply wonderful.

The dial may look a little complicated, but actually conveys a lot of information quite simply and beautifully. The dial carries a triple date design, which is one to which most of the top watch houses adhere. The window you see at 3 indicates the month of the year, the subsidiary seconds dial is at 6 and the  window at 9 indicates the day of the week. This watch also has an outer rail track which indicates the date of the month.

As this dial is in original, unrestored condition, this has been left untouched by our restoration team due to its superb condition. Usually, we restore the dials of the watches we sell, however we decided in this case to leave it alone, due to its unusually good condition and to retain its originality and charm for those who prefer this. It also helps to contrast with almost all of the other watch dials you see on our website, which have been restored. The hands, likewise, have also been left in their original untouched condition.

Please note, studio lights, professional-grade digital cameras, and macro lenses can be very unkind to an unrestored vintage watch dial. Also the dial here measures less than 1.25 inches across, so the image you’re seeing may be between 5 – 25 times larger than the watch itself. Therefore please keep in mind you are seeing many tiny flaws which cannot be seen, or will be very hard to see with the naked eye, even under close examination. Suffice to say, on the wrist, in natural light, this dial looks much better and carries a great deal more charm than the photographs portray.

The Movement

The watch carries its original Movado Calibre 475, 15 Jewel hand-wound movement which is in tip-top condition following a thorough overhaul and service by our vintage specialist watchmaker. This means the movement has been completely disassembled, cleaned, inspected and rebuilt using only original parts where required, before careful calibration and testing. Upon return to stock, the watch is now running to within +9 seconds per day, which is outstanding for any vintage watch of this age! When fully wound, this movement also has a 36-hour power reserve. It has been very well maintained and cared for and is in sparkling condition.

The movement is signed ‘Movado’ and ‘15 Jewels’.

These movements are strong, accurate and very reliable, making it completely practical and appropriate for regular everyday use. Our watchmaker has indicated this particular movement is in top condition and with regular servicing, every 3 years we fully expect this watch to run very happily for many more decades to come! We are therefore very pleased to offer a 12-month warranty on this watch movement* and servicing in the future, as required.

*Please note – our 12 months’ warranty is only applicable if the full list price is paid.

The Case

The totally original, 18ct yellow gold case measures 33mm in diameter, excluding the correct unsigned crown. The case is of a heavy three-piece design with a press-fit case-back and carries attractive facetted lugs. The overall impression is of a classic 1940s design. It is solid, elegant and of obvious very high quality.

This watch case has been carefully inspected for fatigue marks and there are none. It is very rigid and the case-back and bezel are a nice tight fit. Importantly, it is of full thickness and has never been inscribed.

Inside the press-fit case-back, we find all the markings are correct and as expected with  ‘Made In England’ plus the A.L.D. Dennison manufacturers stamp. Birmingham UK 9ct hallmarks date the watch case to 1949. The case-back also carries the Movado serial number 298101.

As ever, our standard advice applies: Vintage watches should be kept clean and dry at all times.

The Strap and Buckle

The watch is fitted with a high quality brown crocodile strap and a plain gold plated buckle. However, if a different colour or style of strap is preferred, please let us know and we will do our best to oblige, free of charge. We carry tan, conker, dark brown burgundy and black straps in stock, in plain padded leather, alligator, crocodile or lizard skin.

Box and Papers

Although there are no original papers with this watch, the reference numbers, markings, signatures and hallmarks are all correct, dating this watch to 1949.

Detailed particulars will be included with our purchase receipt for your interest and security. A separate insurance valuation for the replacement value of this watch will be provided at the time of sale along with our unique ‘Lifetime Authenticity Guarantee’ which states: “If this watch proves to be anything less than 100% genuine, authentic and original, a full refund will be given at any time”.

The high quality hardwood presentation box shown in the photographs is included.

Payment and Delivery

If you would like to pay by bank transfer, we will be pleased to assist you with this. Similarly, if you wish to pay by International SWIFT or Bank Wire Transfer we will provide you with our BIC / Swift number and our IBAN number.

Please check the import duties and any taxes your government may apply, these are different for each country and, unfortunately, out of our control.

We understand there may be some ‘loopholes’ that may help you avoid these charges; however, attempting to use these could impact our ongoing ability to serve our growing international customer base.

For those who happen to visit London on occasion, we are, of course, more than happy to store your watch until we can meet you in our offices in Kensington, London, and hand your watch directly to you there.

As with all our watches, this watch will be sold under our 14 days no-quibble sale or return policy.