Vintage Mu-Du Superflat Men’s Manual-Wind Vintage Swiss Watch

This watch brand has a very strange history. The MuDu watch brand originated in Switzerland, with its name registered on 5 July 1957 and listed as belonging to Brevinex SA/Kurt Dubach, Geneva, Switzerland. There is also a separate, undated trademark registration for MuDu under Adolf Muller of Geneva, Switzerland, and a later registration for MuDu Doublematic by Brevinex SA in 1962. It is speculated that the name “MuDu” is a contraction of the names Muller and Durbach. The brand was primarily associated with Swiss-made watches of decent quality, often featuring multi-jewelled movements, with some models including complications such as moonphase and date windows.

MuDu watches were smuggled into the UK from the mid-1950s through the 1960s, primarily through ports like Southampton and the old City of Bristol docks, to avoid high post-war import duties on goods and precious metals. They were sold unofficially in pubs and clubs, without retail shops, straps, boxes, or paperwork, and were never available for standard retail sale. The UK was the main export market for MuDu watches, and they are rarely found elsewhere. A confirmed report from 1961 details the seizure of a large number of MuDu watches from a London gangster, with one individual purchasing a MuDu 25-jewel Doublematic for £5 from a Customs & Excise sale of seized goods.

Rumours suggest MuDu watches were made as a secondary brand for Blancpain, or that Blancpain workers produced them during off-hours, or that dismissed employees assembled them using stolen components. However, these theories are considered unlikely due to the scale and coordination required.

Despite their illicit entry, MuDu watches are regarded as reliable vintage timepieces.

This one is the Superflat 21 Model with a lovely rose gold dial and hand set, with an 18mm brown leather strap.

Watch dimensions are:

35 mm case width, 45 mm case height, 10 mm case thickness

18 mm lug to lug