Wristwatches · Wristwatch
Movado Ladies Bracelet Watch 18K YG (Ref. 1025) Two-Tone Silver Dial W/ Breguet Numerals, 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
- silver
- Stock no.
- MOVL18K
- Credit line
- Dealer listing, Craft & Tailored (MOVL18K)
- Catalogue title (original)
- 1940s Movado Ladies Bracelet Watch 18K YG (Ref. 1025) Two-Tone Silver Dial W/ Breguet Numerals (English)
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Record summary
Catalogued by Craft & Tailored (dealer), Los Angeles (stock number MOVL18K), 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: silver. 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 — Craft & Tailored
Movado stands as a perfect example of what makes vintage watches so captivating compared to their modern counterparts. During the mid-century, the brand competed directly with the likes of Rolex and Patek Philippe, earning acclaim for its design innovation and craftsmanship. Movado firmly established itself as a premium manufacturer, one whose influence continues to resonate throughout the watch industry today. SPECS Stock # MOVL18K Brand Movado Style Bracelet Watch Model 1025 Serial 39XXX Size Women's Material 18K Yellow Gold Dial Two-Tone Silver W/ Breguet Numerals Millimeters 13 X 31 Bracelet Vintage Gold-Plated Bracelet CASE & BRACELET The beautifully preserved, 18K yellow gold case, featuring articulating lugs, is simply exceptional. The case exhibits signs of gentle wear and light evidence of prior polishing, expected for its age, but maintains visible hallmarks and factory geometry throughout. The crown is likely an early service replacement, but matches the overall aesthetic of the watch perfectly. The watch comes supplied on a vintage gold-plated bracelet, which matches the watch perfectly and will fit up to a 6.5-inch wrist. DIAL & HANDS The original, beautiful, and well-preserved two-tone silver dial with Breguet numeral markers features only minor elements of age with no damage present. The original yellow gold kite hands are in excellent condition. ACCESSORIES None. The watch is running, but the service history is unknown. A movement service can be purchased upon request.
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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