Don't miss the next drop
Movado is, without question, one of the great underappreciated names of mid-century Swiss watchmaking. Today the brand is best known for its minimalist Museum dial, but during the 1940s and 1950s Movado was a serious manufacture out of La Chaux-de-Fonds producing in-house movements with intricate finishing, complex calendar complications, and a level of construction that earned them a place alongside Omega, Longines, and the very best of their contemporaries. Their bumper automatics from this era are some of the loveliest movements you can find in the affordable vintage segment, and when you combine them with a case stamped FB, you have something genuinely special.
That FB stamp matters. Francois Borgel, later operating as Taubert & Fils, was arguably the finest case maker in Switzerland during the industry’s golden period. Based in Geneva and operating from the late 19th century onwards, Borgel pioneered the patented screw-in waterproof case design and produced cases for Patek Philippe (including the legendary references 565, 1463, and 2508), Vacheron Constantin, Omega, IWC, and Rolex. To find that little FB-over-key hallmark inside the caseback of any vintage watch is a quiet sign that you are holding something built to the highest standard available at the time, and Movado used these cases extensively for their flagship waterproof models throughout the 1940s and 1950s.
This particular example, reference 18451, dates to the late 1940s and houses one of Movado’s elegant in-house bumper automatics. Bumper movements operate on a fundamentally different principle from later full-rotor automatics, with a pivoted weight that rocks back and forth along a limited arc, “bumping” against buffer springs at each end of its travel. You can actually feel the gentle thump on the wrist as you move, a delightful tactile reminder that you are wearing a piece of horological history. As shown in our movement photograph, the caliber presents beautifully with crisp Geneva striping, polished steel work, and the kind of clean architecture that makes these mid-century Movado calibers such a joy to look at.
The dial is where this watch really tells its story. What was originally a clean silver surface has aged across the decades into a warm, layered patina, with rich butterscotch and copper tones blooming around the perimeter and into the corners while the center remains lighter and creamier. This kind of even, organic toning is exactly what collectors look for in a vintage dial, the genuine evidence of a watch that has lived through time rather than been hidden away. The painted Arabic 12, 3, 6, and 9 numerals retain their bold black presence, paired with applied steel dauphine arrowhead markers at the remaining hour positions and a delicate dotted minute track running around the chapter ring. The sub-seconds register at six sits within a finely circular-grained recessed disc, and the original dauphine hands carry a touch of darkening that complements the dial’s warm character beautifully.
The Borgel case itself remains in honest worn condition. The case sides retain their satin brushing with the kind of light scratching you would expect from genuine wear, and the screw-down caseback shows the patina of decades of contact with skin and shirt cuffs without any deep gouging or harsh tool marks. The inner caseback is properly stamped with the FB Patent Borgel hallmark, the Stainless Steel hand emblem, the Movado Factories Switzerland Fabrication Suisse signature, and matching serial and reference numbers, all confirming this is a fully original and untouched example. The signature Borgel “hat” crown, with its distinctive scalloped profile, is still in place at three.
We’ve paired it with a textured rust-red leather strap with white contrast stitching, which echoes the warm aged tones of the dial while giving the whole package a slightly playful, slightly bohemian feel that suits the watch’s character. To us, this is exactly the kind of watch that rewards the collector who values substance over flash. A genuinely important manufacture name, a beautifully executed bumper automatic movement, and a case made by the most respected casemaker in Switzerland, all wrapped in a dial that tells you immediately it has been somewhere and seen something. A perfect choice for someone who appreciates quiet horological pedigree, or for anyone looking to add a real time capsule from the dawn of the automatic era to their collection.
