SPECIFICHE
Rare Movado Calendette ref. 3036 with a solid 18K yellow gold case made by Taubert & Fils (aka “FB”), manual-winding Movado 28 movement, from the 1940s.
Solid 18K yellow gold case measuring 22.4mm
Lug-to-lug measuring 29mm
Corona originale
Cristallo originale in plexiglas
Movado 28 manual-winding movement
ANALISI
Movado launched its triple-date wristwatch in 1938 (the same year production of the M90 two-counter chronograph began). 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 extremely rare Calendette with a waterproof “FB” case in exceptional condition epitomizes the trend of diversifying the offering with bolder and sportier watches, even for women, in the mid-1940s (pure avant-garde).
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. The dial layout is based on a two-tone effect, which plays with light and shade depending on the angle of the watch. This effect is enhanced by the presence of a gold mirrored ring—which runs between the minute track and the outer band displaying the days of the month—and by the mirrored Arabic numerals at the hours.
The case has an unmistakable design in the eyes of enthusiasts: it is the famous waterproof case typical of Taubert/Borgel (decoded by the precise acronym “FB” on the inner caseback and certified by the hallmark of key No. 11). Like its “big brothers,” it features the typical, very sharp faceted lugs, the unmistakable decagonal screw caseback, and the stunning “priest’s hat” crown. The case is harmoniously miniaturized and adapted to accommodate the pseudo-rectangular caliber, which is anchored to the upper part of the case body and stabilized by a precise reduction ring. The lower part of the case body houses the two corrector pins, which allow 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 tonneau-shaped, hand-wound 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.
