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Tomas Rosputinsky found a 1930s Mimo tuxedo tank while casually browsing a local auction site, made an offer, had it accepted, and received the watch about a week later. He describes its condition as remarkable, with no visible scratches or stains on the case or dial. His account, “Retrospective: An Unexpected NOS Mimo Tuxedo Tank Find,” appeared on Fratello Watches on April 10, 2025. Because it is a first-person enthusiast retrospective, the observations below are the author’s own, not an independent authentication.
How the find happened
Rosputinsky was not hunting for Mimo. His routine on the local auction site was a familiar run of brand searches: Heuer, Omega, Breitling, and Gallet. Entering “Mimo” surfaced the tuxedo tank, which he had not expected to see there. He submitted an offer, it was accepted, and the watch arrived a week later. The auction site is not named in his account, and the account does not state what he paid.
The phrase in the headline, “NOS,” stands for “new old stock,” a collector’s term for unworn, unsold stock from an earlier period. In this story the label is the author’s characterization. It rests on what he saw in the case, dial and strap, not on any documented history of the watch sitting in a box since production.
His reaction is the emotional center of the piece. He wrote: “This watch is almost a hundred years old — can you believe it?!” That is an expression of delight, not a measured or official statement. It is consistent with the 1930s dating he gives, but it does not add evidence for that dating.
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The watch as described
Case, dial and dimensions
- Style: a straight rectangular case with an angled top edge, a tank-style silhouette.
- Dimensions: 22 mm × 40 mm, as the author measured them. This is one watch’s measurement, not a statistic about the wider population of Mimo pieces.
- Crown: thin.
- Dial: a matte pearl central area framed by a contrasting black track, which gives the “tuxedo” look.
- Hands and markers: short, chunky pencil hands and Arabic numerals.
- Seconds: a small seconds subdial. The author says he wanted a magnifier to read it.
- Condition: no visible scratches or stains on the case or dial, by his observation.
Strap and buckle
The strap is central to the appeal of the find. It is thin leather with a rounded tip and box-style stitching. The keeper is held by a small metal clip, and the buckle is remarkably flat. The author notes tiny cracks in the inner lining of the strap. Those cracks are visible wear rather than a flaw in the story, and they are the kind of detail a buyer should inspect before handling the strap, since a cracked lining can worsen with flexing. The account gives no lug width, so it cannot be used to choose a replacement strap size.
Reading the small seconds
A small seconds hand on a watch this size is easy to lose at arm’s length. A watchmaker’s loupe is the simplest tool for the job, and it also helps with checking hand alignment and dial printing. The account does not say which magnifier, if any, the author used.
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What the account establishes and what it does not
The table separates what Rosputinsky reports from what is missing. Treat every entry in the first column as his claim unless another source confirms it.
| Item | Status in the account |
|---|---|
| Dating | 1930s, as the author gives it. No reference, movement or documentary evidence is cited. |
| Dimensions | 22 mm × 40 mm, the author’s measurement of this watch. |
| Case and dial condition | No visible scratches or stains, by the author’s observation. |
| Strap and buckle | Thin leather, box-style stitching, flat buckle, tiny cracks in the inner lining, as described. |
| Reference number | Not stated. |
| Movement caliber | Not stated. |
| Auction venue | Not named. |
| Purchase price | Not stated. |
| Independent authentication | None reported. |
Mimo and the Girard-Perregaux connection
Rosputinsky places the watch within Mimo’s history. He attributes the company history below to his retrospective, so read it as his summary rather than verified corporate record.
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Founder and name
The account says Mimo was founded by Otto Graef, a German watchmaker who settled in Switzerland. It expands the name as “Manufacture Internationale de Montres Or,” which it translates as “International Manufacturer of Gold Watches.”
The 1928 acquisition
According to the account, in 1928 Graef and his sons bought the remains of Girard-Perregaux and merged its operations with Mimo. The business is said to have expanded in the United States.
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The phase-out of the Mimo name
By the 1950s, the account says, the Graef family had phased out the Mimo name and concentrated on building Girard-Perregaux as a global brand. That timeline is useful for thinking about when a Mimo-branded piece could have been made, but it does not by itself establish the date of any individual watch.
Other Mimo designs
- Mimo-Meter: a big-date watch.
- Mimorex: a double-sided design.
- Mimolympic: a tank watch with a basic monopusher chronograph function, described as “likely” released for the 1936 Olympics. The account keeps that word, so the Olympic link should be treated as probable rather than settled.
Checking a similar vintage rectangular watch
Rosputinsky’s account gives a useful checklist for any small vintage rectangular watch, whether it is a Mimo or not:
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- Case and dial condition, examined under magnification rather than at a glance.
- Evidence that the dial, hands, strap and buckle belong together and suit the period claimed.
- Measured dimensions, and whether the case sits comfortably on the wrist you intend to use it on.
- Legibility of the small seconds, which is the first thing to fail on a watch this size.
- Strap and buckle condition, including the inside of the leather.
- Documented provenance: seller information, prior ownership, and any papers.
The account does not address market value. It gives no price and no current sales data, so it cannot tell a reader what a comparable piece is worth.
Tomas Rosputinsky, “Retrospective: An Unexpected NOS Mimo Tuxedo Tank Find,” Fratello Watches, April 10, 2025.
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