Movado

Movado is an American watchmaker. It is best known for its Museum Watch. Movado means "always in motion" in Esperanto. The watches are known for their signature metallic dot at 12 o'clock and minimalist style.[2][3] Movado traces its origins to La Chaux-de-Fonds, Switzerland.

Not to be confused with Mavado (disambiguation).
Movado Group, Inc.
TypePublic
Founded1881 (1881), in La Chaux-de-Fonds, Switzerland
Founder
HeadquartersParamus, New Jersey, United States
Key people
  • Efraim Grinberg
  • (Chairman & CEO)
  • Sallie A. DeMarsilis
  • (Senior VP & CFO)
ProductsWatches
Revenue
  • US$ 567.95 million
  • (FY JAN 31 2018)
  • US$ 43.20 million
  • (FY JAN 31 2018)
  • US$ -15.23 million
  • (FY JAN 31 2018)
Total assets
  • US$ 645.38 million
  • (FY JAN 31 2018)
Total equity
  • US$ 470.34 million
  • (FY JAN 31 2018)
Number of employees
  • 1,000
  • (FY JAN 31 2018)
WebsiteMovadoGroup.com
Footnotes / references
[1]

History

Movado was founded as LAI Ditescheim & Freres SA in 1881 in La Chaux-de-Fonds, Switzerland, by Léopold Achille Isidore Ditesheim. In 1905, the company changed its name to Movado. In 1983, the company was purchased by North American Watch Corp, founded by Gedalio Grinberg, a Cuban-born Jew, who fled Fidel Castro's Marxist Revolution in 1960 with his family.

His son, Efraim Grinberg, is the chairman and chief executive officer of Movado Group, Inc. The North American President of Movado is Alan Chinich. In 2006, Movado celebrated its 125th year of watchmaking.

On February 23, 1999, Movado Group, Inc. completed the sale of Piaget business to VLG North America, Inc., for approximately $30 million.[4] In August 2018, Movado acquired watch startup MVMT, which was founded in 2013, for more than $100 million.[5][6]

Watches
Movado Delphino Series, two-tone black dial-face
Original "Museum" Watch, designed by Nathan George Horwitt, ca. 1955. Brooklyn Museum

Museum Watch

The company markets the Museum Watch, designed by the American designer Nathan George Horwitt in 1947. Influenced by Bauhaus, the watch dial has a very simple design defined by a solitary dot at 12, symbolizing the sun at high noon. It was first made by an American importer of Swiss watches called "Vacheron & Constantin-LeCoultre Watches Inc." (not the Swiss watchmaker Vacheron Constantin),[7] and later produced by Movado.[8] Horwitt's dial was selected for the permanent design collection of the Museum of Modern Art, New York, in 1960, the first watch dial awarded this distinction.[9] Movado finally settled with Horwitt in 1975 with a payment of $29,000 ($128,000 in 2015 dollars). Following Horwitt's death, Movado started heavy promotion of Horwitt and the design of the Museum Watch.[8][10][11] Photographer Edward Steichen called Horwitt's design "the only truly original and beautiful one for such an object". The single dot dial now appears in many of Movado's timepieces.

Other Watches

Some Movado watch models have names in Esperanto, a constructed language, such as Bela ("beautiful"), Belamodo ("beautiful fashion"), Fiero ("pride"), Brila ("brilliant"), Linio ("line"), and Verto[12] ("head top"). The company's name means "always in motion" in Esperanto.

In November 2015, Movado announced the release of the Movado Motion collection of fine Swiss-made watches, powered by the Manufacture Modules Technologies (MMT) MotionX technology platform. The collection includes the women's Bellina and the men's Museum Sport models.[13]

Movado Museum Sport Motion Smartwatch powered by MotionX

Brands

Movado Group's brands include Movado, Concord, EBEL and MVMT, plus licensed brands Olivia Burton, Coach, Hugo Boss, Lacoste, Tommy Hilfiger, Scuderia Ferrari, Rebecca Minkoff, and Uri Minkoff. Movado previously manufactured other licensed brands, plus previously owned Piaget.[14]

Sculpture

Movado commissioned Time Sculpture by architect Philip Johnson. The bronze sculpture with granite base, located outside Lincoln Center in New York City, was dedicated on May 19, 1999.[15]

References
  1. "US SEC: Form 10-K Movado Group, Inc". U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Retrieved April 7, 2018.
  2. "9 of the most beautiful, expensive luxury smartwatches you can buy". Business Insider. Retrieved 2018-12-04.
  3. "12 Chic Movado Watches for Women". Fashion Trends and Style Blog. 2018-01-04. Retrieved 2018-12-04.
  4. "Movado Group, Inc. Completes Sale of Movado's Piaget Business to VLG North America, Inc".
  5. Biggs, John (2018-08-17). "Movado Group acquires watch startup MVMT". TechCrunch. Retrieved 2019-04-01.
  6. "Movado to Pay More Than $100 Million for MVMT". JCK. Retrieved 2019-04-01.
  7. "Movado Museum Dial Watch Ready For A Return? Movado Thinks So: Its History & Horwitt's Struggle".
  8. The Museum Watch: 1958, Industrial Designers Society of America. Accessed January 8, 2009.
  9. Movado. "Movado | Heritage". Retrieved 10 October 2015.
  10. Cook, Joan. "Nathan Horwitt, 92; His Designs Included The Movado Watch ", The New York Times, June 20, 1990. Accessed January 8, 2009.
  11. "Wristwatch Face: Nathan George Horwitt (American, 1898-1990)", Museum of Modern Art. Accessed January 8, 2009.
  12. http://www.movado.com/
  13. Kristina Rodulfo (November 16, 2015). "Movado Debuts a Smartwatch that Actually Looks Like a Watch". Elle.
  14. "Movado Group Inc. – The Brands". movadogroup.com. Retrieved 2019-07-03.
  15. "Dante Park: Time Sculpture at Lincoln Center". nycgovparks.org. Retrieved August 10, 2016.
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