COLLECTING
Sketches for Caliber 25, and others
Each watch has a code and is in a binder. At right is an original catalog.
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 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
66 | INTERNATIONAL WATCH | SPRING 2019
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. 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