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1930's Movado Vintage Mens Stainless Steel Elapsed Time Pilots Watch
$3,745
£2,819.64
€3,276.05
CA$5,273.01
A$5,874.51
CHF 3,081.85
MX$71,751.10
NOK 39,022.14
SEK 36,566.97
DKK 24,453.05
About the Item
NAMED ONE OF WATCHPRO MAGAZINE’S “HOT 100” - THE TOP 100 INFLUENCERS OF THE U.S. WATCH INDUSTRY. HOW CAN WE SERVE YOU?
We’re new to offering our carefully curated collection on 1stDibs, but we have sold over 10,000 fine watches and exceptionally served thousands of customers with a 5.0 star rating.
1930's MOVADO Vintage Mens Stainless Steel Elapsed Time Pilots Watch - The Chronoplan
One of the First Tool Watches - Rare - Original Condition - 1 Year Warranty
The Movado Chronoplan is one of those watches that makes you pause. At first glance, it looks like a sturdy interwar timepiece with a rotating bezel and crisp Arabic numerals. But hold it a little longer, and you realize you’re holding a chapter of horological history — a blueprint for the tool watches that would shape the decades to come.
Introduced in the 1930s, the Chronoplan was Movado’s bold response to the growing demand for wristwatches that could serve as both elegant timekeepers and practical instruments. Movado anticipated the need for function at a glance and combined it with the brand’s distinctive Swiss refinement.
At a time when most men’s watches measured 30–32mm and remained strictly dress-oriented, the Chronoplan dared to go larger, with a 34mm stainless steel case and most importantly a bi-directional rotating bezel that allowed its wearer to time events with ease.
This was decades before the tool watch era of dive and pilot watches all with elapsed time bezels came into full bloom. In many ways, the Chronoplan was a precursor to these icons. Rather than being a dive watch like the iconic Rolex Submariner or Blancpain Fifty Fathoms that followed, the Chronoplan was more of a versatile timing instrument — akin to the aviation and sporting chronographs of its era.
It sat alongside other pioneering watches that introduced timing bezels for pilots, travellers, and engineers, well before the concept became associated primarily with diving. Its bezel offered practical utility, whether timing flight, a train departure, a horse race, or a mechanical test sequence.
Collectors today call pieces like this “bridge watches” — watches that connect the refinement of the 1930s with the tool-watch DNA of the mid-20th century. The Chronoplan embodies that balance. Its original dial, not highly toned with patina, is pure Art Deco elegance, with blued steel hands sweeping across a two-tone silvered surface, subsidiary seconds at 6, and bold painted Arabic numerals. Its rotating bezel and fairly sturdy stainless steel case, however, whisper of the new age of exploration and adventure soon to come.
Imagine the original owner in the 1930s: perhaps a pilot using the bezel to calculate intervals during a flight, or a traveller keeping precise track of a train’s departure time across Europe. Wherever it went, it was a watch that brought readiness, precision, and quiet sophistication.
Only a relatively few examples were made. This example shows authenticity and character with its imperfections — signs of use and honest patina of a watch that truly lived its purpose.
One of our watchmakers has cleaned and oiled the movement. It is running strong and true, keeping very accurate time.
For the finishing touch, we have equipped it with a brand new leather strap designed for fixed lug watches making it ready for immediate enjoyment.
The Movado Chronoplan was built for an age of innovation between the wars, when explorers, aviators, and engineers needed watches that could do more than tell the hour. With its elegant Art Deco styling and pioneering bezel design, this 1930s example captures the spirit of adventure that defined its time.
Your watch is important to us, and we will take care of it for its lifetime. We provide the best after sale care in the business with an extremely experienced team of four Master Watchmakers all of whom each have over thirty-five years of experience and a large number of parts. One used to be the watchmaker for an authorized Rolex dealership and was given special training by Rolex at their Beverly Hills Service Center.
Detailed Appraisal:
Maker: Movado
Country of manufacture: Switzerland
Year built: c. 1930's
Serial no.: 167,812
Model: Ref. 11764
Functions: Hours, Minutes, Elapsed Time, Subsidiary Seconds
Designed for: Men
Case material: Stainless steel
Case condition: It was a tool watch, and it has signs of use and wear. The tips of the lugs at 6 have been previously repaired. On the wrist it presents engagingly
Dial: Two-tone silver, signed Movado, black painted Arabic indices, outer minute track, original and untouched, warmed to a deep sepia
Please inquire if you'd like it professionally restored
Dimensions: 34mm diameter (excluding crown) by 38mm long
Hands: Original, blued steel "batons"
Movement type: Movado, Cal. 75, manually wound, nickel plated, 15 jewels, lever escapement
Band: Leather, fully stitched, padded, designed for fixed lug watches, brand new and unworn
Crystal: Mineral glass, excellent condition
Timing: Timed to precision on a state-of-the-art computerized system.
Warranty: 1-year international warranty. Please message us for details
Your watch is important to us, and we will take care of it for its lifetime. We provide the best after sale care in the business with an extremely experienced team of four Master Watchmakers all of whom each have over thirty-five years of experience and a large number of parts. As mentioned, one used to be the watchmaker for an authorized Rolex dealership, was given training by Rolex at their Beverly Hills Service Center and also has done work for the Cartier Service Center.
Box/Papers: BOX - Watch presentation box; PAPERS - Custom printed Certificate of Authenticity; New timing certificate
SKU 8150
- Creator:
- Case Material:
- Strap Material:Leather
- Case Shape:Round
- Movement:
- Case Dimensions:Height: 1.5 in (38 mm)Width: 1.34 in (34 mm)
- Place of Origin:
- Period:
- Date of Manufacture:1935
- Condition:It sat alongside other pioneering watches that introduced timing bezels for pilots, travellers, and engineers, well before the concept became associated primarily with diving. Its original dial, not highly toned with patina, is pure Art Deco elegance.
- Seller Location:Suwanee, GA
- Reference Number:Seller: 81501stDibs: LU4333227098492
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