CARACTÉRISTIQUES TECHNIQUES
Rare Movado Calendette ref. R3167 with a “fancy” case crafted in 18Kt rose gold by Favre & Perret, with a manual-winding Movado 28 movement, from the 1940s.
Solid 18Kt rose gold case measuring 22mm
Lug-to-lug measuring 27.7mm
Couronne originale
Cristal en plexiglas original
Movado 28 manual-winding movement
ANALYSE
Movado launched its triple-date wristwatch in 1938 (the same year it began producing its M90 two-counter chronographs). With the development of the time-only caliber 470 in modular variations that added a calendar complication under the dial (cal. 475 and cal. 473 with moon phases), a thriving market opened up for Movado, and these lines of models immediately achieved resounding commercial success. Alongside the date watches aimed at men, the great Maison developed a miniaturized caliber that allowed the date complication to be added to much smaller watches designed for women (with the month display being omitted for obvious space reasons on the dial). Thus was born the model called “Calendette,” released on the market in 1940. Although the Calendette, in its many variations (which can be seen in vintage catalogs), was a concentration of refined elegance and technology, it did not enjoy the same success as the Calendograf. Movado was forced to slow down its production, and today they are rare to find.
This splendid Calendette with a fancy case, in exceptional condition, embodies all the quality that Movado was known for.
The dial features a date window at 12 o’clock, which occupies a large portion of the upper part of the dial. Inside it runs a disc displaying the days of the week in English. A hand, tipped with a red arrow-shaped pointer, runs along the dial’s periphery to indicate the day of the month. The hour and minute hands are broad dauphine-shaped for optimal reading and stand out against a magnificent dial featuring two different textures that create a unique, stunning light refraction effect. The hour markers are embossed and shaped like truncated arrowheads; Arabic numerals are found at 3, 6, 9, and 12 o’clock.
The case is a splendid creation, very typical of the renowned casemaker Favre & Perret (hammerhead no. 115), who proposed this same case shape with so-called “cow horn” lugs for the 34mm Calendograph and the extremely rare Chronograph ref. 9029. In this specific case, the case is harmoniously miniaturized and adapted to the caseback to accommodate a pseudo-rectangular caliber (the men’s versions had round movements). The two corrector pins are located on the lower part of the case body, allowing adjustments to be made to the day-of-the-week disc and the pointer indicating the day of the month.
Inside is the marvelous Caliber 28, entirely built in-house by Movado. It is a manually wound, tonneau-shaped movement derived from the Caliber 25 produced two years earlier. The No. 28 measures 14mm x 18mm, has 15 jewels and runs at 18,000 A/h.
