Movado FB case (c. 1950s)

This is a super Movado manual wind watch, with a case made by the famous firm of Francois Borgel. The case is made of stainless steel with rose gold capped lugs. This is a fairly unusual combination, but rather attractive. Borgel supplied cases to a number of firms in the 1940s and 50s, most notably Pate Philippe. They were specialists in creating waterproof cases with screw down case backs. I believe this watch would originally have had an inner dust cover, although this has been misplaced at some point in the watch's life.

The original dial is in excellent condition, it has applied Breguet style numerals which are in rose gold to match the lugs (age has rather dulled these down now and they're almost black in appearance). The simple, clean legibility of this dial and handset is really what distinguishes this watch - its a lovely example of mid 20th century watchmaking.

The watch is powered by a Movado cal 125 movement, which has been fully serviced. I confess I was delighted with the performance of the movement - the time keeping is accurate to within a handful of seconds per day. Interestingly the movement is marked for export to the USA, denoted by the "unadjusted" on the main plate - watches which were adjusted were subject to a higher rate of tariff in the USA. I purchased the watch here in the UK, so it's a well travelled little thing!

Specifications:
Case diameter (excluding winding crown): 32mm
Case material: stainless steel with gold-capped lugs
strap width: 16mm
time keeping: grade A+