Mido Bugatti

Between the mid-1920s and the mid-1930s, Mido produced less than a hundred watches for the very famous Bugatti automobile brand. The notable feature of these pieces was their case shaped like the iconic radiator grille on the famous car. They were specially ordered by Mr. Ettore Bugatti to the Mido manufacture, often offered to his best pilots and mechanics and to his family. 

Bolstered by this success, Mido developed its famous watches for motorists in 1925 and 1926. The brand filed a patent for its watch cases and for some dials inspired by the finest vehicles of the era. These included pocket and pendant watches, all of which mirrored the radiators from a large number of car manufacturers, including: Alfa Romeo, Benz, Bugatti (or EB, for Ettore Bugatti), Buick, Chevrolet, Chrysler, Citroën, De Dion-Bouton, Delage, Farman, Fiat, Ford, Hispano-Suiza, Lancia, Lincoln, Opel, Peugeot, Pic-Pic, Rolls-Royce, Talbot, etc.

At the time, Mido proudly marketed these original pieces as elegant watches with robust movements which would enable motorists to rely on their watch even in the most challenging circumstances. 

Today these pieces are offered from time to time in auctions. In April 2021, the Mido watch personally owned by Ettore Bugatti has been sold by the Stanislas Machoïr auction house in Toulouse (France) for an exceptional amount of 272'800 euros (more than 300'000 swiss francs). A record for Mido!

Technical specs:

• Dial radiator grille (manufactured by Stern Frères of Geneva). 

• Mechanical movement measuring 10 lignes 1/2 n° 8306 with 15 jewels and 3 fittings.