Wristwatches · Wristwatch
Movado Calendograph 'Pink Gold', 1940s
- Maker / attribution
- Movado (maker)
- Date
- 1940s
- Historical period
- Golden Age of Mechanical Watchmaking (1900 – 1945)
- Country of origin
- Switzerland
- Object type
- Wristwatch
- Materials / technique
- gold
- Stock no.
- 40992709
- Credit line
- Dealer listing, Analog/Shift (40992709)
- Catalogue title (original)
- Movado Calendograph 'Pink Gold' (English)
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Record summary
Catalogued by Analog/Shift (dealer), New York (stock number 40992709), this is a wristwatch by Movado, made in Switzerland, dated 1940s. The Atlas places it in the Golden Age of Mechanical Watchmaking period (1900 – 1945) of its Wristwatches collection. Materials and techniques recorded by the source: gold. The record is illustrated with 6 photographs.
Assembled from the source record's structured fields. Dates and attributions are given as the source states them; where a field is missing the Atlas leaves it blank rather than estimating.
Catalogue description
Dealer description — Analog/Shift
Today, Movado is often associated with its sleek, minimalist Museum Watch — a modern design icon. But from the 1930s through the 1960s, the brand’s reputation rested on something else: serious watchmaking chops. During those decades, Movado was producing rugged, technically advanced timepieces that could hold their own against the likes of Rolex, Omega, and Longines. By the mid-1930s, the brand was already experimenting with water-resistant cases, and by the 1960s, its Sub-Sea line had evolved into a full suite of divers and chronographs designed for real-world performance. These were not watches for fashion — they were built to go places, to time things, to be used. This Calendograph, dating from the 1940s, is one of those gems that reminds you just how good Movado once was. Framed in an extremely rare 18K pink gold case, this piece flaunts stunning 'Breguet' numerals, pointer date outbound, calendar functions displayed through apertures, and a snailed running seconds at 6 o'clock. The multi-tone dial has developed a lovely patina speaking to the piece's incredible history. Under the hood beats Movado’s Calibre 475 , a hand-wound triple-calendar movement that utilizes an early quick-set function. Perfectly proportioned and rich with history, this Calendograph captures everything we love about vintage watches — craftsmanship, charm, and a dash of character. Try it on, and you’ll see why Movado was once among the best in the business.
Historical context
Golden Age of Mechanical Watchmaking (1900 – 1945)
The wristwatch displaces the pocket watch; waterproof cases, self-winding and grand complications.
The wristwatch overtook the pocket watch. Military use in the First World War, aviation, water-resistant cases (1926), automatic winding (1923–31), rectangular Art Deco designs and early chronographs and calendars defined the period.
Read the period in the timelineMore wristwatches from this periodEarlier: Industrial Revolution
Atlas type guide
Wristwatches
Bracelet watches were worn by women from the early nineteenth century — Breguet made one for Caroline Murat, Queen of Naples, in 1810–12 — but the wristwatch only became a man's instrument with military use and aviation in the early twentieth century. Between the World Wars it overtook the pocket watch; the 1920s and 1930s brought rectangular Art Deco cases, water-resistant cases and the first automatic winding systems.
After 1945 the wristwatch became a carrier of identity — dress watches, sports and dive watches, chronographs, calendars — produced by Swiss, American, Japanese, German, Soviet and Chinese industries. The quartz revolution after 1969 and the mechanical renaissance since the 1990s, including the rise of independent watchmakers, complete the story.
What to look for
- The reference number (between the lugs or inside the case back) and serial number, the starting point for dating.
- The calibre: its maker and number are often stamped under the dial or on the bridge.
- Originality of dial, hands and crown — refinished ('redial') dials are common.
- Case material marks: 18K/750, 14K/585, stainless steel, gold-filled, plated.
Dating clues
- Wire-lug cases: before c. 1925.
- Water-resistant screw-down cases: from 1926.
- Quartz movements: from 1969; sapphire crystals widespread after c. 1980.
General guidance written by the Atlas editors about this kind of object. It is not a statement about this particular piece; for that, rely on the source record above and on physical examination.
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