What is the ref Movado/Zenith

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Lou or anybody. I bought this lovely little EL-P this morning from a local watchmaker. It seems just like Zenith ref A788. Did Movado call it something different? I haven't had the back off. I think it had been sitting in his drawer for years and years....and years.

JohnCote

MovadoZenith-Dial.jpg
 
LouS
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No idea what Movado called it, JC, but it is an A788 and it is lovely. Zenith & Movado were run by the same holding company during the early Primero era, and because Zenith was involved in a legal battle over trademarks with Zenith Electronics, they marketed product in the US using the Movado brand. No difference, except the movement was more likely to be "unadjusted 17 jewels" in these because of US import tariffs.
 
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Thanks Lou, The watch has a crown with the Zenith Star on it. I am hoping when I get the back off it I will find that the movement is jeweled the Zenith way with 31 jewels. In my experience...a lot of which I owe to you and this board, the early versions of these Movados sometimes have it done the European way.

JohnCote
 
LouS
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Snap back on these, JC. I only mention it because not the most obvious
 
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Yes Lou...it appears to have two pry-slots. I gave it a little bit of a pry with my sharpest case opener but it wasn't budging. I am going to wait and give it to my watch maker next week at the NAWCC National Convention. It all runs but it has that EL-P a little bit hard to wind gummyness and the pushers are a bit sluggish. I just found some links to the one our friend Papa had and sold on eBay. Sounds like it is a pretty scarce little watch...not that scarceness adds up to value...but kind of neat to have found it in the wild.

Hope you are well. I am off to your neck of the woods tomorrow for a couple of days full of business.

JohnCote
 
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Well...I tried a different case opener and popped the back off. It does in fact have the Zenith marked 31j movement...and although it looks in fine shape...it is pretty dry and does need a cleaning.

JohnCote
 
Darlinboy
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Lovely example. I've not seen one of these labeled Movado - has to be a pretty rare bird. Looks to be in great shape - the tachy rings on these are often far gone. Congrats!

Is the caseback market/numbered? I've not seen any movado reference with a Zenith case that has a serial number.
 
LouS
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these are usually numbered according to the Zenith convention ###X### where X is D or E
 
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There is no mark on the back of the case. When I had the back off I forgot to look closely at the inside but I do know that the inside had Movado logos etc on it. I do not think there was a Zenith #. I think the Movado ref is 01.0171.415.

JohnCote
Edited:
 
m neuman
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John nice going one of the most underrated EP'S
I may have a Movado crown if you want to change the Zenith one
 
m neuman
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In the recent last 18 months the Italian collectors have been seriously acquiring Movado's. At the moment you are right Movado is always in the shade of Zenith. The interesting aspect is of the models that are the same in the Ep Zenith series, there were far fewer produced with Movado markings.
 
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m neuman m neuman
John nice going one of the most underrated EP'S
I may have a Movado crown if you want to change the Zenith one

Thanks my friend. My instinct is not to change the crown. I have seen Z crowns on other early Movado examples. Unless someone can tell me with some certainty that this crown is not original to the watch, I am going to assume that it is. The watch is not in perfect shape but it does not appear to have been messed with. The crown does not bother me.

JohnCote
 
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rcs914 rcs914
This dovetails nicely with the other thread about rarity/desirability - https://omegaforums.net/threads/rarity-vs-desirability.42624/

While this Movado is definitely rarer than a comparable Zenith El Primero from the same time period, I would be willing to bet money that the market for the Movado is probably less, and thus less desirable/valuable.

I buy watches for all of the reasons in the thread you reference....because they are rare, interesting, desirable in the market. Whether a watch is interesting to me is probably first on my list but it is difficult to say that the other two factors don't factor into my "interest." I have been buying watches for long enough to know that rarity may have little to do with value. I would be willing to bet that very few people would take your bet. It is difficult to get people to bet against an almost sure thing... ;)
 
Thomas P.
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There is no mark on the back of the case. When I had the back off I forgot to look closely at the inside but I do know that the inside had Movado logos etc on it. I do not think there was a Zenith #. I think the Movado ref is 01.0171.415.

JohnCote
I think you have the correct Movado reference number there. According to von Osterhausen Movado did use a numbering system that the number you gave fits.
 
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Thanks Thomas. I got the number from an Italian friend. It is nice to have confirmation.

JohnCote
 
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