Movado started in 1881 when a young man named Achille Ditesheim opened a pocket watch workshop in La Chaux-de-Fonds, Switzerland when he was 19 years old. By 1897 he was successfully running one of the largest watch shops in the area and employed 80 employees. Three years later Achille enlisted the help of his brothers to open his business under the name L. A. I. Ditisheim & Frère, but a few years later the name was changed to Movado. Movado means “always in motion” in Esperanto, the most popular international auxiliary language. Esperanto was used as a symbol for the company’s modern and forward-thinking design ideologies. Several of Movado’s watch models have Esperanto names today. Read more →