vintage inspiration and modern innovation—always in motion, so to
speak.
The library conducts other projects like digitalizing handwritten
references and documents. The archive department also monitors
auctions to identifying what vintage Movado watches are being sold
and at what prices.
While the department does not officially authenticate Movado
watches (like Patek Philippe does with its “extracts from the
archive” service) the Movado team is always ready to help when
people reach out to the company for information.
Thanks to the archive and reference library, Movado launched
the 1881 Automatic in 1990 to mark the 100th-year anniversary,
which included designs similar to the original Movado Curviplan,
Calendomatic, and other vintage models. Furthermore, Movado is
able to offer the Heritage Series collection, which pays tribute to
the designs of vintage watches like the Calestograf, Calendoplan or
the Datron, but produces them to suit modern expectations.
The archive department is key to modern-day Movado. New
members of the design and product development teams are
expected to spend time doing their homework by studying the
archive and library extensively to discover and appreciate the spirit
of the company and the fundamentals of the watches. Stephanie
Riccoboni and the library/archive department are really the
gatekeepers to both Movado past and present. It is where Movado
treasures are kept. There is a real sense of pride among the people
who work at Movado.
Riccoboni says it best when she commented that the archive
is, “A reminder of the people who came before us and committed
themselves to a product that we are responsible to carry forward.”
I left the Movado headquarters with an even greater
appreciation for the company. I am happy to report that the current
custodians of the brand are genuinely carrying on the spirit of the
Ditesheim family.
Laurent Martinez is the proprietor of Laurent Fine Watches
Greenwich, Connecticut. Read more by him at blog.laurentfinewatches.com
or visit his store’s site at www.laurentfinewatches.com
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