The pinnacle of Movado collecting, the present watch exemplifies an exceptionally well-preserved and rare mid-century chronograph. While Movado did produce its own calibers, it sought the expertise of the esteemed firm Frederic Piguet to design an innovative, self-contained chronograph module that could be attached to a base movement. Piguet succeeded, and by 1938, the first two-register cal. 90M movements were completed and fitted into their watches.

These intriguing movements were characterized by an unusual configuration of the chronograph pushers: the bottom pusher was designated for starting and stopping, while the top pusher was for resetting. Their success is evidenced by their longevity; these 10.5 lignes movements served as the workhorses for all Movado chronographs until 1969.

The reference number 19006 can be decoded as follows: the “1” indicates stainless steel material, “90” represents the base caliber, and “06” denotes the case style. Movado offered a variety of cases, including both snap-on casebacks and screw-down cases for waterproofing, typically, the snap on cases housed the two-register caliber 90M. However, due to their construction and age, many dials in these snap-back cases have deteriorated over time, making excellent condition examples like the present watch increasingly hard to find.

This particular case is exceptionally well-preserved, featuring pleasing proportions and a flawless bezel. The dial is adorned with rare applied Breguet numerals alongside a blue tachymeter and telemeter scale, all remarkably intact with no loss of printing. Notably, this watch was originally delivered to France, as indicated by the “Fab. Suisse” stamp on the inner caseback—a requirement for watches exported for sale in France.

This watch has been part of the Watch Museum VOGA collection in Japan, founded by Toshio Masui, a distinguished collector known for his extensive personal collection of over 800 cherished timepieces.