COLLECTING VINTAGE
However, out of all of Movado’s innovations, the two that stand
out to me the most are Movado’s first automatic chronograph with
Zenith’s El Primero movement (called the Datron HS 36 caliber at
Movado) and of course, the now-iconic Museum watch created by
Nathan Horwitt in 1947.
Unfortunately, the 1970s was a dark decade for Movado.
The Grinberg family purchased the company in 1983 and turned it
into the Movado Group with the aim of bringing back the spirit and
passion of the Ditesheim days.
THE MOVADO ARCHIVES
The official Movado library and archives are located in New
Jersey. Stephanie Riccoboni—who has worked at Movado for 12
years—is the librarian in charge. With such an in-depth knowledge
of Movado’s history, she works very closely with Movado’s master
watchmaker, the marketing team, and the business development
team.
After the Grinberg family purchased Movado more than thirty-
five years ago, the company began the process of developing an
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archive of historic vintage Movado watches. Movado continues
collecting pieces today and is constantly scouting auction houses,
private collections and even Instagram for timepieces.
It was fascinating to browse through a place with shelves after
shelves of reference books, drawers filled with caliber drawings
and sketches, piles of original sales catalogs, billboards, displays,
and other brand paraphernalia.
Today, the Movado Group has more than 1,200 vintage
watches (including pieces from Movado, Ebel, and Concord)—each
one carefully photographed and filed in photo albums.
These pieces are pre-mass production timepieces, assembled
by hand. They are an important resource for current designers of
the company to understand the history and heritage of Movado.
According to Riccoboni, the archive and library are for internal
use and serve as a source of inspiration for current collections.
It is telling that the design department is only a couple of steps
away from the library and archives. The company also stores all
the current supplier samples, from movements to materials and
everything in between. So it is a constant back and forth between