MOVADO M95 'DOT DIAL'

Name: MOVADO M95 'DOT DIAL'
Brand: Movado
Price: 6995.0 GBP
Availability: InStock

£6,995

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THE ESSENTIALS

MAKE: MOVADO
MODEL: M95
YEAR: 1950
BOX/PAPERS: NO/NO
CASE DIAMETER: 35.5mm
CASE MATERIAL: 14K GOLD
BRACELET MATERIAL: PLATED YELLOW GOLD
MOVEMENT: MANUAL WIND

Arguably one of the most beautiful chronographs we've had the pleasure of handling, this this M95 features an FB case and piston pushers - a true work of art. The subtle aging on the dial is a great contrast to the white too. For us however, it’s the two serpentine sub dial hands that steal the show, beautiful and very Movado.

The movement in this watch is something of a talking point, designed by the great Frédéric Piguet. He decided to invert the pushers whilst designing the movement, the bottom pusher starts and stops the chronograph whilst the top resets it, and after handling it for some days you'll likely still get it wrong - old habits die hard!

The watch is fitted it to a US made Hadley gold plated period bracelet with their ratchet glide lock system, a unique design indeed. The watch also looks great on a black or brown leather strap if you decide to dress us down.

Color

White

FRANÇOIS BORGEL

Few watches tell the world that you know exactly what you’re doing like an FB-cased M95. When one has spent years immersed in the vintage world, they start recognizing shared componentry. You recognize a Singer made dial. You know that Zodiac is running a Valjoux 7734. And you know that one of the greatest case makers in the world is named François Borgel. Or Jean-Pierre Hagmann, but that’s not relevant today. FB made the 1463 Tasti Tondi case and he made this: a quirky mid-50s chronograph in 14k yellow gold.

Case craft and lug shape is entirely responsible for how we interface with watches—how they wear, their degree of subtlety and many other feelings. This 35.5mm stepped-bezel job is in 14k yellow gold, a choice made largely for ease of importation in different markets, and features some of the earliest water resistance tech to ever surround a chronograph.

The applied numerals are in matching gold but the best bit are the chronograph hands, a bizarre design choice from this era known as Movado’s serpentine hands. Quirky, but classic.

The watch is not just a case, however. The M95 is one of the most charming vintage chronograph movements. Its pushers are inverted, that is to say that the bottom stop/starts and the top resets. That differentiation means all the cogs that you are used to seeing in a case back are in different places and you’ll often get it wrong out of habit. The calibre was entirely their own, a modular affair designed by Frédéric Piguet. In total, a bewitching and highly unique chronograph that oozes considered taste.

This example has a fantastic case with unusually full lugs. The dial is decent, it has light spots of corrosion and ageing around the numerals, but is overall in great condition for a seventy year old non-enamel dial.

Words courtesy of Hairspring.com

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