This watch

A superb example of Art Deco elegance and one of the slimmest pocket watches of its era, featuring an iconic two-tone dial and a high-grade Swiss movement retailed by a legendary London Jeweller But made by the Famous Movado watch company

This exquisite 1938 solid 9ct yellow gold open-faced pocket watch is a classic representation of the late Art Deco period. The watch's most striking feature is its ultra-slim profile, a technical achievement for a timepiece of its age, designed to slip seamlessly into a waistcoat or jacket pocket.

The handsome two-tone rose/copper and gold dial is utterly captivating, contrasting sharp black Roman numeral hour markers (with Arabic markers on the inner seconds track) and elegant, slender gold leaf hands. The dial is doubly signed

MOVADO (The celebrated Swiss manufacture)

THE GOLDSMITHS & SILVERSMITHS CO. LTD. / 112, REGENT ST. LONDON W.1. (The prestigious retailer)

The movement is a finely finished, high-grade 16-jewel, four-adjustments Movado Calibre 50N  This is a prime example of superior Swiss engineering, meticulously finished with bright finishing on the plates and bridges. The solid 9ct gold case features crisp hallmarks confirming its purity and date, and the heavy gold winding crown completes the luxury feel of this high end dress watch.

 Extra Points

Achilles Ditesheim at the age of 19 founded LAI Ditescheim & Freres SA in 1881.  With the help of 6 watchmakers, he built a workshop in the small village of La Chaux-de-Fonds, Switzerland.  In 1905 he renamed the company Movado meaning “always in motion” in the international language of Esperanto.  In 1947 Nathan George Horwitt created the single dot watch dial.  In 1960 Horwitts original design became the first watch dial ever to be accepted by the Museum of Modern Art, New York.  In 2017 Movado Group purchased the Olivia Burton brand based in London, one of the fastest-growing fashion watch and jewellery brands in the UK.  In October 2018 Movado Group acquired MVMT who specialise in selling quartz watches, sunglasses and jewellery.  The Movado Group also owns Concord, Ebel.  

The connection between Movado and The Goldsmiths & Silversmiths Company Ltd. is a classic example of a Swiss manufacturer supplying high-quality movements and finished watches to a prestigious British retailer for sale to its luxury clientele.

This relationship was particularly prominent during the late 19th and early 20th centuries, when many Swiss watch companies relied on major, high-end jewelers in London, Paris, and New York to be their primary retail outlets.

What We Think

This Movado pocket watch represents a fascinating chapter in 20th-century luxury retail. The dial clearly states it was retailed by The Goldsmiths & Silversmiths Co. Ltd. at 112 Regent Street, London W.1. This firm, founded in 1880, was one of the most prestigious jewellers in the world, renowned for its own silver and jewellery manufacturing (with factories in Clerkenwell, Sheffield, and Paris) and for stocking the finest watches money could buy. They were later amalgamated with the Crown Jewellers, Garrard & Co. Ltd., in 1952.

The fact that an independent Swiss manufacture like Movado provided a high-grade movement like the Calibre 50N to this major London retailer speaks volumes about Movado's quality and the sophistication of the British market at the time. This was a direct-to-consumer luxury product sold on the world-famous Regent Street, a hallmark of wealth and taste.

The watch's slim Art Deco design, with its geometric numerals and beautiful two-tone dial, perfectly captures the 'streamline' aesthetic of the late 1930s. It remains a stunning, functional piece of history today. A joy to service and to pass on to the next owner.

Spec Stuff