Mido Multifort Grand Luxe Super-automatic

[dlgates]

(These are old photo reviews rescued from the original RWG site; I didn't want them to get lost forever! Old hands will already have seen them; some newbies might be interested.-- Dave)

Mido Multifort Grand Luxe Super-Automatic

Dating from late 1940's or early 1950's

Watch worn by my father until his death in 1987

Well-worn but still ticking...

On a whim, I got this out of my safety deposit box this morning to see if it was still in running condition after eighteen years without being wound. It not only started right up but seems to be keeping time in exact synchrony with the Omega I am wearing at the moment...

The watch is a model 220 in a combination of rose gold and stainless steel (at the time referred to as copper gold and "rustless steel" (as a later photo of the back will show). The condition is not great after approximately 55 years, but it has never been serviced and is still keeping time--another indication of the meaning of "Swiss Made"!

This is a "bumper movement" watch. Excerpts from an article at http://alanwatch.homestead.com/page5.html ---

Here is a nice little watch from Mido, "3/4 size." This was a popular size for men's watches in the '40s and '50s, but by today's standards looks smallish. More and more, women today are wearing these smaller men's vintage watches, rather than the more dimunutive ladies ones. Who can read the time on those tiny watches? The Swiss maker Mido was known for excellent engineering, waterproofing, and automatic innovation. This "Multifort" model is an auto, and uses an early "bumper" type of winder, where the winding rotor weight is not allowed to swing a full 360 degrees (as in later autos), but is limited in its swing by two spring-protected bumpers. Because of this, the wearer can sometimes feel (and even hear!) the rotor smacking into the bumper. The bumper auto was less efficient at generating power for winding the mainspring, so if you were a real slug, the watch might slow. In general, they kept good time. This one has a nice SS case, copper dial, red central second hand, 24 hour markings, and a white outer seconds chapter. It's one of my favorites. The idea for an auto winding watch is acutally quite old, few centuries. But pocket watches generally stayed in the pocket upright, and the rotor didn't get much chance to move and wind, so the idea hibernated for many years until it was resurrected in the first half of the last century.

The value of Midos is not great, even in excellent condition. But in spite of their being on a lower rung of the prestige ladder, they were innovative and high-quality watches mechanically, for their era (especially in terms of waterproofing --"IMPERMEABLE")..

It's too small for me to wear comfortably, and yet my fther was a 6-footer. Times have changed in terms of style. Of course, getting rid of the 25-year-old lizard strap would improve its appearance considerably, too.

To see modern midos, go to http://www.mido.ch/html/general/intro1.html

Although the official site doesn't seem to show any of them, this article indicates that the Multifort series was re-introduced after its 80th year: http://www.swisswatchesusa.com/design/innovation.html

and more specifically: http://www.swisswatchesusa.com/watches/mul...ort%20automatic

FInally, here is a brief article on bumper movements: http://alanwatch.homestead.com/bumper.html

Below is a picture from someone else's collection of a Mutifort of the same general vintage. It is very similar to my father's except for the dial color and red second hand, and it is not labeled "Grand Luxe" so I assume his was a slightly higher grade model at the time (perhaps because of the "copper gold" in addition to steel).

My father, by the way, although head of a small bank, was a very modest man and did not want ever to appear too "well off" in front of his customers. He insisted on driving a Pontiac when he actually wanted to drive a Cadillac, and he wore his Mido for the rest of his life rather than ever buy himself an Omega (he wouldn't have been one to have a Rolex anyway). He was, of course, from the generation of the Great Depression, also part of the reason.

I suppose it might be worthwhile having this Mido cleaned up--the dial and hands are obviously in rather poor condition (although one wonders how they get that way sealed behind a crystal). It doesn't really qualify as a valuable heirloom, however, and I doubt seriously that either of my sons would ever wear it even if I had it completely restored.

(This last picture is not mine but from the http://alanwatch.homestead.com/ site)

THE END

Thanks for looking!

[By-Tor]

Great review again Dave. Interesting read. I've heard of Mido but I didn't know they have been around so long.

Father's (and grandfather's) watches are always priceless. Here's mine from my grandfather (Choisi Montreux automatic). Bought during (or right after) the world war II.