Movado Watches for Women: Collections and Prices

Brand Overview: Movado at a Glance

Movado was founded in 1881 in La Chaux-de-Fonds, Switzerland — the same watchmaking town that produced Omega and Girard-Perregaux. The name comes from the Esperanto word for “always in movement.” For over a century the company produced traditional Swiss timepieces, but its identity changed forever in 1947 when artist Nathan George Horwitt designed a stark dial with a single gold dot at 12 o’clock representing the sun at high noon.

That dial — now universally called the Museum dial — entered the permanent collection of the Museum of Modern Art in New York in 1960. It remains one of the most recognised watch designs in the world and the foundation of every Movado collection today.

Movado Group (traded as MOV on the NYSE) is now headquartered in Paramus, New Jersey, and also owns the Ebel, Concord and MVMT brands. Swiss manufacturing continues in Bienne, and all Movado-branded watches carry the Swiss Made designation. The brand sits in the accessible-luxury tier, priced between fashion labels like Michael Kors and mid-range Swiss makers like Tissot and Longines.

For women, Movado offers four main collections: the flagship Museum Classic, the fashion-forward Bold, the sporty SE, and the dive-inspired Heritage Series 800. Each carries the dot-at-12 motif in its own way, so the question isn’t whether you’re getting a Movado — it’s which Movado fits your wrist and your life.

Museum Classic: The Flagship

The Museum Classic is the purest expression of Horwitt’s 1947 design. Women’s models range from 26mm to 32mm, and most pair the signature dot dial with a polished stainless-steel or PVD-coated case on either a matching bracelet or a leather strap.

The entry point is a 28mm quartz model at around $550. Step up to the 30mm or 32mm sizes and prices climb to $750–$995 depending on the bracelet and finish. Diamond-set bezels push the top of the range to $1,995, which is the most expensive women’s Movado you can buy without venturing into limited editions.

Select Museum Classic references come with a Swiss automatic movement — a rarity in the Movado women’s catalogue. The automatic models start around $1,295 and add a transparent caseback so you can see the decorated rotor. They offer roughly 38 hours of power reserve, which is modest by modern standards but adequate for a dress watch that goes back on the winder over the weekend.

Who it’s for: Someone who values minimalist design and wants a recognisable, dressy Swiss watch without the five-figure price of a Cartier. The Museum Classic works best on a smaller wrist (26–30mm) and pairs naturally with business or cocktail attire.

Bold Collection: Fashion Forward

The Bold collection takes the Museum dot and scales it up. Cases run 34mm to 36mm for women — larger and more contemporary than the Museum Classic — with colourful dials, TR90 composite bezels and K1 crystal instead of sapphire. Materials include stainless steel, ceramic, and silicone straps.

The current women’s line centres on the Bold Evolution 2.0 Mini, which starts at approximately $350. Standard Bold models range from $395 to $595, and the Bold Ceramic with a full ceramic bracelet tops out near $695. Every Bold model uses a Swiss quartz movement.

The Bold’s advantage is versatility. It pairs as easily with jeans and a blazer as it does with a cocktail dress. The K1 crystal is harder than standard mineral glass but softer than sapphire, so it will show wear after a few years of daily use. That’s a fair trade for a watch in this price range — but if scratch resistance matters, pay the premium for a Museum Classic with sapphire.

Who it’s for: Someone who wants a recognisable Swiss brand with a fashion-forward edge. If you rotate your watches and like colour, the Bold gives you more personality per dollar than the Museum Classic.

SE and Heritage Series 800: The Sporty Options

Movado SE ($595 – $795)

The SE is Movado’s answer for women who need a watch that can survive more than a dinner party. Available in 28mm and 32mm, it features a steel bracelet with a deployant clasp, a screw-down caseback, and 100-metre water resistance — enough for swimming and snorkelling though not for serious diving. The Museum dot is rendered in a slightly sportier style with applied indices at the hour markers.

Prices start around $595 for the 28mm steel quartz model and reach approximately $795 for the 32mm in two-tone steel and gold PVD. The SE uses a sapphire crystal across the range, which is a meaningful upgrade over the Bold’s K1 crystal at only a modest price premium.

Heritage Series 800 ($495 – $695)

The Heritage Series 800 carries a sport-dive aesthetic with a unidirectional rotating bezel and 100-metre water resistance. Women’s models come in 29mm and 32mm in stainless steel on a matching bracelet. The dot-at-12 appears on the dial, and Arabic numerals mark the remaining hour positions — a more legible layout than the stark Museum Classic.

At $495 to $695, the Heritage Series 800 is the sleeper of the Movado women’s range. It gives you sapphire crystal, 100m water resistance and a steel bracelet for less than a Bold Ceramic, yet it gets far less attention. If you want a Movado that works in an office and at the beach, this is where the value is.

Full Pricing Comparison

The table below shows indicative 2026 retail prices for the most popular women’s references across all four collections. These are available on Movado’s website or through authorised retailers. Pre-owned pricing follows in the next section.

Resale Value Reality

There’s no gentle way to say this: Movado watches do not hold their value. Across the secondary market — eBay sold listings, Chrono24, and consignment shops — most Movado women’s models sell for 25 to 40 percent of their original retail price. That means a $795 SE that you wore for two years will likely fetch $200–$320 if you sell it.

This isn’t unique to Movado. Fashion-forward brands in the $300–$2,000 tier — including Gucci and Michael Kors — show similar depreciation. By contrast, a Tissot PRX Powermatic 80 in the same price range retains closer to 60–70% of its value because the mechanical movement and brand positioning create steady collector demand. If resale matters, watches under $2,000 from Tissot, Longines or Hamilton are a safer bet.

The honest advice: buy a Movado because you love the design. The Museum dial is an icon of industrial art, and at $350–$550 for a Swiss-made quartz watch, the Bold and Museum Classic represent fair value for what you get on your wrist. Just don’t count on getting much of that money back.

How to Choose the Right Movado

Choosing between four Movado collections comes down to three questions: how dressy is your life, how active is your wrist, and how much do you want to spend?

Movado vs the Competition

Movado competes at a price point where buyers have real choices. Here’s how it stacks up against the brands most cross-shoppers consider.

If resale retention is your priority, Tissot and Longines outperform Movado significantly. But neither offers anything remotely like the Museum dial — and for many buyers, that design is the entire point.

5 Tips for Buying a Movado

Frequently Asked Questions

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