Movado M95 Sub Sea Chronograph 19068

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Highlighted by the panda-style configuration, this M95 Sub Sea Chronograph sets itself apart with its Francois Borgel case as arguably one of the most important chronographs of its era.

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This is the Movado M95 Sub Sea Chronograph reference 19068. Originally founded in the late 19th century in La Chaux De Fonds, Movado was once an important watchmaker specializing in the realm of chronographs, not only producing chronographs under its own brand name but also acting as a supplier for movements to other brands. While Movado is regarded as a fashion brand in today’s context, the brand’s vintage chronographs should not be looked at in the same light as they form an important yet overlooked part of watchmaking history.

With reference to the aforementioned M95, the story begins in 1938 with Movado’s M90 two-register movement developed by Frederic Piguet. Importantly, the M90 was the industry’s first modular chronograph with the chronograph module built on top of a time-only caliber, ensuring a separation of the modules for easy removal and servicing. A year later, Movado released the the M95 with the addition of a 60-minute counter, essentially the M90 with an hour module. Interestingly, the chronograph works inversely to most chronographs known of that period - the bottom pusher serves as the start-stop function while the top pusher resets. The M90 and M95 would arguably becoming the most important chronograph movements of the Movado brand with a production period of more than 20 years until its collaboration with Zenith in the early 1970s.

Aside from the movement, another important aspect to this particular M95 is the Francois Borgel case. Highly regarded during his time as one of the finest casemakers, the waterproof cases are characterized by the distinctive pushers, screw-down caseback and domed crown and crucially, Borgel was the casemaker of one of the most definitive chronographs of his generation - the Patek Philippe “Tasti Tondi” reference 1463. While non-FB chronographs were also produced during this period, the general consensus is that the Borgel-cased Movados are more desirable. As per the reference, the 19068 belonged to the final generation of Movado chronographs that were produced before 1970.

In truth, the high production numbers of Movado chronographs over its almost-30 year lifespan would imply that it is not an uncommon watch and for the lesser-informed, the M95 Sub Sea would seem like any other chronograph from the 60s. Yet bearing in mind certain differentiators such as the M95 modular chronograph movement, the Francois Borgel case and the panda-style configuration for this particular piece, it certainly sets itself apart from its peers of the era.