Wristwatches · Wristwatch
Movado M95 U.S.A.A.F. Issued Chronograph, 1940s
- Maker / attribution
- Movado (maker)
- Date
- 1940s
- Historical period
- Golden Age of Mechanical Watchmaking (1900 – 1945)
- Country of origin
- Switzerland
- Object type
- Wristwatch
- Dimensions
- Case 33 mm
- Stock no.
- 40992707
- Credit line
- Dealer listing, Analog/Shift (40992707)
- Catalogue title (original)
- Movado M95 U.S.A.A.F. Issued Chronograph (English)
View the source record (dealer listing) ↗ (opens another website in a new tab)Suggest a correction
Record summary
Catalogued by Analog/Shift (dealer), New York (stock number 40992707), 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. Recorded dimensions: Case 33 mm. 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 best known for its sleek Museum Watch and accessible fashion designs. But from the 1930s through the 1960s, the brand was a serious player in Swiss watchmaking, producing rugged, precision-built timepieces that could easily hold their own against the likes of Omega or Longines. Among the most coveted models from that golden era are the chronographs powered by Movado’s Calibre M90 and M95—modular movements developed by Frédéric Piguet that earned a reputation for their reliability and refined engineering. These watches came in countless configurations, from sporty steel cases to elegant multi-scale dials, and remain beloved by collectors today. This particular example, dating to the 1940s, is a rare M95 issued to the U.S. Army Air Forces. The 33mm stainless steel case features an onion crown, square pushers, an acrylic crystal, an engraved caseback, and a stepped bezel that adds a touch of dimension. The white dial is beautifully preserved and has taken on a cream tone, with an outer 1/5th-seconds track, applied Breguet-style numerals, three recessed chronograph registers, and an 'alpha' handset paired with black sub-dial hands. Powered by the manual-winding Calibre M95 movement, this is a Movado that reflects the golden age of 1940s Swiss craftsmanship and the ingenuity of 1940s watchmaking. Compact, charismatic, and mechanically sound, it’s a Movado with a story to tell—and one that’s still running strong after eighty years.
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
Chronographs and split-seconds watches
A chronograph is a watch with an additional seconds hand that can be started, stopped and returned to zero independently of the timekeeping. Louis Moinet built an early example in 1816 and Nicolas Rieussec a recording 'chronographe' in 1821; Adolphe Nicole's heart-shaped reset cam (patented 1862) made the modern return-to-zero possible. Split-seconds (rattrapante) chronographs add a second hand that can be stopped for intermediate times; flyback chronographs restart instantly.
Chronographs were essential tools for doctors (pulsometer scales), artillery (telemeter), engineers and sport. In wristwatches, Valjoux, Venus, Lemania and later the automatic chronographs of 1969 (Zenith El Primero, the Chronomatic Calibre 11 group and Seiko 6139) are milestones.
What to look for
- Push-pieces on the case band or a single button in the crown (monopusher).
- Subsidiary registers for minutes and hours; tachymeter, telemeter or pulsometer scales.
- Column wheel versus cam control visible in the movement.
- Calibre markings of specialist makers (Valjoux, Lemania, Venus, Landeron).
Dating clues
- Pocket chronographs with heart cam reset: after 1862.
- Wrist chronographs: from c. 1910; two-button designs from the 1930s.
- Automatic chronographs: from 1969.
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.
Read next:Flyback chronographChronograph
Related records
Pocket Watches · c. 1960s
Movado Ermetophone, c. 1960s
Antiquorum auction archive, Geneva
Wristwatches · c. 1920s
Movado Chronometre, ref. 41536, c. 1920s
Antiquorum auction archive, Geneva
Wristwatches · c. 1930s
Movado "calatrava", ref. 17726, c. 1930s
Antiquorum auction archive, Geneva
Wristwatches · c.1989
Steel, France and Switzerland, 1989; designed by Yaacov Agam (born 1928) for a limited edition by Movado
Victoria and Albert Museum, London
Wristwatches · 1931
Rolex 'Oyster Perpetual' rotor self-winding wrist-watch, lever escapement, in steel case with glass in back, Montres Rolex SA, Geneva, Switzerland, 1931
Science Museum Group, London
Wristwatches · 1900–1999
Wristwatch by Certina, Switzerland, 1900–1999
Nordic Museum Foundation
Wristwatches · 1900–1999
Wristwatch by Omega, Västerås, 1900–1999
Nordic Museum Foundation
Wristwatches · 1900–1999
Wristwatch by Universal, Switzerland, 1900–1999
Nordic Museum Foundation