# Mudu Watches



## Martin1979

I am a new member of this or indeed any watch forum, and I wonder if there are many of you out there with an interest in the infamous MuDu watch.

My grandfather left me one when he passed away, it has of course much sentimental value. I got it cleaned up and it has been a lovely watch. I have since acquired two others, and I often wonder about the strange history of this brand, if indeed it even was one! They seem much under valued and certainly clean up to be smart items. One thing of note, I see quite a few examples, and I have yet to see two alike!

I will take some pictures of my small collection and post them soon.

By the way, I live in Australia and no one has ever heard of them over here.

Best regards to everyone and enjoy your watches all.


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## zed4130

Hi martin ,im still pretty new to watch collecting and have not heard of this make , i think they have a swiss mvmt and where made in england ? but i cant find much about them on the net, any pics .

paul


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## chris l

The majority of MuDu watches which came into the UK during the late 50's and early 60s were apparently smuggled in through the old City of Bristol docks.

I can say this with some confidence as I knew the one of the old boys responsible while I lived in Bristol.

He is no longer with us, but told me many times how they brought them in, concealed in various ways...

This was, I assume, to evade the high level of duty, post war, on everything from cameras to watches and lighters legally imported into the UK.

They are good quality watches, my favourite being the gold Doublematic

I'll wear mine today in his memory.


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## zed4130

chris l said:


> The majority of MuDu watches which came into the UK during the late 50's and early 60s were apparently smuggled in through the old City of Bristol docks.
> 
> I can say this with some confidence as I knew the one of the old boys responsible while I lived in Bristol.
> 
> He is no longer with us, but told me many times how they brought them in, concealed in various ways...
> 
> This was, I assume, to evade the high level of duty, post war, on everything from cameras to watches and lighters legally imported into the UK.
> 
> They are good quality watches, my favourite being the gold Doublematic
> 
> I'll wear mine today in his memory.


there not from the uk then, there isnt much info on the net,

paul


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## scottswatches

can you post some piccies, especially of the movement? Might be able to identify them a bit more from that


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## Martin1979

Thanks very much everyone, I will definitely post some pics soon.

I heard recently that they may be something to do with Blancpain, but who knows? I quite like the mystery behind them ...


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## Julian Latham

I've got a MuDu 30 jewel Doublematic inherited from my wife's uncle. Face is clearly marked 'Swiss Made', case is quite small @ 32mm.

Julian (L)


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## diddy

apart from the odd pic on the forum the only other mudu i've seen was recently at a collectors fair.a nice looking watch and reasonably priced.the history of them reaching the uk market is interesting to say the least and that rumoured link to blancpain could push prices up!


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## Martin1979

Still getting around to putting a pic on the site ... and I have just acquired another MuDu. This one was from the bay, nine pounds fifty ... a little worn but working well. My other two were around 15 pounds, and I am still waiting for a 30 jewel example to arrive which is apparently in great condition and which nearly broke the bank at 31 quid.


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## Martin1979

Just read somewhere that the 25J movements are 4002 like some Zeniths ...


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## tomshep

They also "arrived" through Southampton docks. Dad bought one in the late '60s when he worked in a boatyard in Woolston.


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## johnbaz

I have (somewhere!) a beautiful slimline Mudu that i bought for next to nothing, i could have cried when i dropped it from a top locker at work, it landed on the quarry floor tiles and smashed the balance staff  

they were very nice watches, can i ask why they they are considered 'infamous'??

regards, john


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## Martin1979

Hi John

Only really due to how they were imported into the UK ... basically smuggled I suppose.


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## Martin1979




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## MuDu

I have my Dad's '50s Doublematic which he got for his 21st birthday; the story about them being smuggled is true as my father's MuDu and his uncles were bought by a great uncle who worked on the railways.

They seem to be very popular watches when they appear on e-bay as they shift for decent prices for gold filled 50s/60s pieces.

Eric


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## ProperTidy

Old bump

Have read all the old threads on here but wondered if anybody could fill on the gaps...

Read all about possible links to blanpain yada yada but more interested in the other stuff about the mysterious MuDu tbh

So - these watches were smuggled in and seem to be a largely UK phenomenon

Were they ever sold in shops or was it all blokes called Dave in the kings arms and market stalls in Croydon?

Why did they take off - I get they were tax free but was a MuDu significantly cheaper than eg Smiths Empire or a Services? Or better quality at that price (still seems to be plenty knocking about and going strong)? Or was it just the exotic foreign allure?

And the movements - felsa mostly I believe. Were these the eta of their day? Or more chinese sweatshop? How did they compare to equivalent movements of the 50s?

Any info on this lot please - find the whole thing curious and fascinating! And if anybody has any in the box, feel free to post pics


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## Jeremy Fisher

Had no idea MuDu had such an interesting history, have always offhandedly assumed that they were generic low end swiss watches from back in the day like Avia.


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## dobra

I bought one from a charity shop for Â£3, cleaned it, had it serviced, and it keeps excellent time. Will post a piccie when it's light. It is automatic, with 20 microns gold plating which is as new. There was a chap who ran a MuDu website a few years ago, and he displayed over a hundred of them, and promised to produce a DVD for members....I wonder?

Mike


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## ProperTidy

Jeremy Fisher said:


> Had no idea MuDu had such an interesting history, have always offhandedly assumed that they were generic low end swiss watches from back in the day like Avia.


I think they were really, just with a bit of intrigue and murkiness thrown in!


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## ProperTidy

dobra said:


> I bought one from a charity shop for Â£3, cleaned it, had it serviced, and it keeps excellent time. Will post a piccie when it's light. It is automatic, with 20 microns gold plating which is as new. There was a chap who ran a MuDu website a few years ago, and he displayed over a hundred of them, and promised to produce a DVD for members....I wonder?
> 
> Mike


Yeah his website is still going, DVD advertised on there. There's a (sparse) forum too but not a lot of info across the website about the history of them

Look forward to the pic!


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## dobra

Apparently a few filtered to here on the Isle of Wight - wonder how?

Mike


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## mardibum

Quite afew on the bay and this guy seems to know something about them . 271526065526


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## Mart

ProperTidy said:


> Old bump
> 
> Have read all the old threads on here but wondered if anybody could fill on the gaps...
> 
> Read all about possible links to blanpain yada yada but more interested in the other stuff about the mysterious MuDu tbh
> 
> So - these watches were smuggled in and seem to be a largely UK phenomenon
> 
> Were they ever sold in shops or was it all blokes called Dave in the kings arms and market stalls in Croydon?
> 
> Why did they take off - I get they were tax free but was a MuDu significantly cheaper than eg Smiths Empire or a Services? Or better quality at that price (still seems to be plenty knocking about and going strong)? Or was it just the exotic foreign allure?
> 
> And the movements - felsa mostly I believe. Were these the eta of their day? Or more chinese sweatshop? How did they compare to equivalent movements of the 50s?
> 
> Any info on this lot please - find the whole thing curious and fascinating! And if anybody has any in the box, feel free to post pics


Felsa were a rival to ETA similar sort of quality


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## ProperTidy

Mart said:


> ProperTidy said:
> 
> 
> 
> Old bump
> 
> Have read all the old threads on here but wondered if anybody could fill on the gaps...
> 
> Read all about possible links to blanpain yada yada but more interested in the other stuff about the mysterious MuDu tbh
> 
> So - these watches were smuggled in and seem to be a largely UK phenomenon
> 
> Were they ever sold in shops or was it all blokes called Dave in the kings arms and market stalls in Croydon?
> 
> Why did they take off - I get they were tax free but was a MuDu significantly cheaper than eg Smiths Empire or a Services? Or better quality at that price (still seems to be plenty knocking about and going strong)? Or was it just the exotic foreign allure?
> 
> And the movements - felsa mostly I believe. Were these the eta of their day? Or more chinese sweatshop? How did they compare to equivalent movements of the 50s?
> 
> Any info on this lot please - find the whole thing curious and fascinating! And if anybody has any in the box, feel free to post pics
> 
> 
> 
> Felsa were a rival to ETA similar sort of quality
Click to expand...

Blimey, decent movements then..

What happened to then?


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## Will Fly

I've seen several Mudu watches on eBay - never spotted one that I actually wanted to bid for yet, but I might in the future. Quite reasonable movements - nothing spectacular but solid all the same, with the standard 17 jewels. There's one on the Bay now with a BIN price of Â£38 - I've seen worse.


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## ong

My Dad had a MuDu Doublematic 25 jewel with 10 micron gold plate. This still looked good after 50 years and the 4002 movement was sweet as a but. Sadly it went to another family memember who isn't into watches.

Reckon they are quite good quality for 1950s autos and there are several theories including the Blancpain one and also another which concerned independent Swiss makers using discount trade parts in their spare time. Guess we will never really know.


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## DJH584

Will Fly said:


> I've seen several Mudu watches on eBay - never spotted one that I actually wanted to bid for yet, but I might in the future. Quite reasonable movements - nothing spectacular but solid all the same, with the standard 17 jewels. There's one on the Bay now with a BIN price of Â£38 - I've seen worse.


If that's the seller from Cyprus, then he has a collection of over 600 strong and 20 odd available on the bay. Those 20 odd seem to be, shall I say, the lower end when it comes to quality and finish.

David


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## AVO

One of my local watchmakers has or at least had a couple of these in stock. I must take a closer look.


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