The three-piece pocket watch brand Movado from Baťa's estate has been on display at the memorial since the summer of 2023 thanks to a loan from the Tomáš Baťa Foundation. “The exhibit has become an integral part of guided tours, during which it represents the theme ‘Tomáš Baťa and Time’,” said Magdaléna Hladká, head of the memorial. The watch is gold and gains historical value with each passing year. Its uniqueness is primarily defined by the fact that it is an object touched by Baťa himself. The exhibit is therefore protected by a special display case.
Digital processing allows interested parties to view the object from all angles and any distance without the limitations imposed by the display case. “By scanning a QR code with your smartphone or tablet, you can access a webpage where you can rotate the watch, zoom in, and even place it in a real environment and take a photo of it, for example, on your desk in your office,” added Hladká.
The model was created by combining several modern technologies. “In the production, we used photogrammetry and a 3D scanner with structured light, which can capture even problematic shiny surfaces and ensure accurate scale and proportions of the object. We chose this combination so that the result would correspond as closely as possible to reality. Digitalization ensures that the object and its history remain preserved for future generations,” described Martin Kaňůrek, a representative of the company More.is.More, which is the project implementer. The company has experience from work for Disney and the National Museum in Prague, among others.
The 3D model of the watch will also serve as an alternative to the physical exhibit during the winter months when it is usually stored due to unsuitable climatic conditions. “We want visitors to find the watch in the memorial at any time of the year. Thanks go to the Tomáš Baťa Foundation, which agreed to the digitization. The model will be attractive to both children and adults. An added value of the digital processing is also the possibility to revisit the exhibit repeatedly - for instance, when you want to tell your loved ones about your visit to the memorial,” stated Deputy Mayor Martina Hladíková.
The gold three-piece pocket watch of Tomáš Baťa is a product of the Swiss company Movado. It returned to Zlín in 2018. At that time, after the death of Sonja Baťová (wife of Tomáš Baťa the younger), it was brought from Toronto by Baťa's granddaughter Rosemarie Blyth-Bata and donated to the Tomáš Baťa Foundation. The foundation subsequently loaned it for long-term display at the Tomáš Baťa Memorial.
The Tomáš Baťa Memorial was built in 1933 as a tribute to the late founder of the shoe conglomerate. Architect František Lýdie Gahura embedded Baťa's characteristics and the basic principles of Baťa architecture into this radical building. The dominant feature of the functionalist space is a faithful model of the Junkers F13 - the aircraft in which the shoemaker Baťa and pilot Brouček ended their lives in 1932. The memorial is accessible to the public year-round through guided tours. These take place from October to the end of March every Friday and on weekends. During the main tourist season, from April to September, tours are held daily except on Mondays.
