The History of the Movado Sub-Sea Chronograph

Movado Sub-Sea Chronograph Cal. M95 / Credit: Stetz & Co.

Movado is a pretty amazing brand, full of history and intriguing timepieces. Their most famous may be the Movado Museum, but Movado also made many notable chronographs throughout the 20th century. One of those chronographs was the Movado Sub-Sea Chronograph.

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The Movado Sub-Sea was a line released in the early 1960s that was made up both of regular divers and of chronograph dive watches. The line evolved in the latter half of the 1960s after the merger of Zenith and Movado and the creation of the Mondia-Zenith-Movado group in 1969. It started to include models in the line like the Movado Datron Sub-Sea Chronograph, which used the Caliber 3019 PHC, and the Movado Super Sub-Sea Chronograph, which previously used the Caliber M95 but changed to the Caliber 146 after the Mondia-Zenith-Movado merger.

The Movado Sub-Sea Chronograph’s Movement and Case

Now, what stands out to me about the Movado Sub-Sea, particularly pre-Zenith, is mainly two key aspects: the movement and the case. The Movado Sub-Sea Chronograph (non-dive version) used the Movado M95 chronograph movement. The Movado M95 movement was released in the late 1930s as an ‘upgrade’ to the double register M90 movement made by Piguet. It was a modular hand-wound chronograph movement, produced until the early ‘70s, often with the waterproof Borgel/Taubert case. Overall, the M95 was a very notable Movado movement and these chronographs were also used by different militaries!

Now, the Borgel and Taubert names may sound familiar to some of you…and yes you are correct; this is the same François Borgel as the casemaker who patented his own screwdown case design in 1891. The same Borgel whose company was taken over by the Taubert family that continued to make waterproof cases for companies like Mido and Patek into the early 20th century. The Movado Sub-Sea Chronograph used one of these legendary cases.

The Movado Sub-Sea Chronograph’s decagonal caseback / Credit: Stetz & Co.

The cases made by Borgel/Taubert saw different developments over the years, one of which was a patent, CH 156807, for Taubert’s ‘boîte de montre hermétique’; a patented decagonal watch case (notice the caseback in the picture above). This patent is the same that was the center of a 1941 lawsuit between Taubert and Bréguet-Bréting.

Unfortunately, finding a Movado Sub-Sea Chronograph, pre-Zenith, in good, original condition today is relatively difficult. Between damaged and redone dials, changed hands and crowns, you’d have quite the mission ahead of you should you choose to join the hunt.

By: Andres Ibarguen