MIDO ON MONDAY - The Commander, The Watch Of The Future

While MIDO has several watch families, one of the most deceptively innovative is the Commander.

Courtesy of Mido

Now at first blush, the Commander looks like a pretty basic watch.  There are a few design touches that are definitely "of a time".  Chief among these being the Milanese bracelet that seemingly disappears into the case itself.

Courtesy of Mido

It is quite a clever design, born years ago, but still quite effective.  

But the real genius of the Commander is, in fact, pretty basic.  The case.  The case is a monocoque construction.  Simply put?  To service the watch, you go through the front, because without the aid of a diamond tipped can opener, you are not going through the back ; )

Another quirky bit of MIDO esoterica was their use of what was known as the "Aquadura" system.

Courtesy of Mido

Essentially, a cork sealing system.  Now it's important to understand that this was not unique to the Commander, but that little extra "what's it" made the Commander perhaps one of the most impregnable, durable and dependable mechanical watches of its time.  Now granted, a lot of watch makers couldn't get their heads around the notion that you didn't go in through the back, and my father's MIDO bore the scars of such uninformed work.  But in so many ways, this was THE ULTIMATE watch.  Durable, good looking, and reliable.

I have a few feelers out to lay hands to some vintage versions, and am reaching out to MIDO to see if a review of the modern version might be possible, so stay tuned.