Movado's Museum watches keep showing up on people whose style I pay attention to. If you caught the photos from Who What Wear's 20th anniversary party, you might have spotted the Museum Bangle on a few of the best-dressed guests, including our own Kat Collings and Eliza Huber. Collings fastened hers over the sleeve of a plissé dress, while Huber wore hers with a little black dress from 2002.
It dawned on me then that the watch somehow suits everyone, no matter what they're wearing or where they're headed. Which is why the entire Museum collection—including the Bangle, the Classic, and the Velura—is perfect for holiday party season. My calendar runs from cozy gift exchanges at friends' places to posh nights out, and I can already see myself wearing a Museum watch for it all. Here are the ones I'd reach for and when.
The Design Detail All Three Watches Have in Common
The quickest way to recognize a Museum watch is to look for the single dot at 12 o'clock. It represents the sun at high noon and comes from a dial Nathan George Horwitt designed in 1947. The original design entered the Museum of Modern Art's permanent collection in 1960. You can see why the idea has held up—the dot is the through line, but each watch's unique bracelet has its own personality. The Classic pairs the dial with polished links, the Bangle frames it with a sculpted bracelet, and the Velura sets it against finely woven mesh.
Time-Honored Swiss Craftsmanship
Movado has been making watches in Switzerland since 1881, and that history carries through to the Classic, Bangle, and Velura Mini. Each Museum style pairs a Swiss quartz movement for precise timekeeping with a sapphire crystal that helps protect the dial from scratches. The bracelet might catch your eye in a party photo, but there's a reason to look a little closer. How many accessories on a best-dressed list can be traced back to a 19th-century Swiss watchmaker?
A More Accessible Way Into Luxury Watches
A watch backed by more than a century of Swiss watchmaking and finished with materials like sapphire crystal can easily cost several thousand dollars. Movado's Museum collection offers that pedigree and craftsmanship at a more approachable price point. If something Swiss has been on your wish list for years, Movado makes that more accessible.
How I'd Wear Each One This Holiday Season
What I like about the Museum collection is that each watch fits into a different part of my wardrobe. The Classic's pared-back face is an easy choice for days when I'm in a blazer from my first meeting through dinner. The sculpted Bangle is the one I'd add to the bracelets I already wear. Who What Wear Editor in Chief Kat Collings wore hers solo over a plissé sleeve at our 20th anniversary party, but she told us it "would also stack beautifully with other gold bracelets."
Eliza Huber kept hers simple with a little black dress, gold earrings, and a diamond ring. "Think of the dress being the canvas and the watch being the art," she said. I'd take that same approach with the Velura Mini for a night out. Its woven mesh has the shine of a cocktail bracelet, and it's slim enough to slip under the cuff of my everyday sweater come morning.
