Mido On Monday - Getting Closer!

 We are getting closer!

So a movement was found, regulated, inserted and tested!  So far so good!  Owing to the vagaries of the Mido casing system, while everything is in, the movement and dial are snugly connected, the spacer rings are not 100% Mido factory original, so the search is on for an original Mido crown and gasket set that meets the original spec.  A set of awesome new straps have been ordered from the good folks at Lic in Belgium, so stay tuned! 

This has been a bit of a personal journey for me. A Mido watch marked the hours and minutes of my coming up as a Northern Youth. From my father, to me, to (I hope still) my niece (but you never know). With that said, I have been longing for something to connect those dots. With two possible exceptions, Mido has not made anything recently that has even remotely tickled my fancy.  I do admire the new Mido Ocean Star Decompression Timer, but I will see the Tweed wearing swells from Hodinkee in Hell before I give them a penny of my money ; )

Mido On Monday - Let's Hop In The WABAC Machine!

With the Mido Commander 1959 in PVD -

Courtesy of Mido

Nearly 52 years ago on July 9th, 1968, my grandfather gave my father a Mido -

Then I made my debut the next day. So it is safe to say that I have a bit of an affinity.  

And in a continuing search to find the one that would scratch my itch of longing for the past, for certainty, for a time now long gone by, this one comes pretty close to ticking all of the boxes.

Courtesy of Mido

As I've mentioned before, the Commanders that command my attention are the monocoque (one piece), integrated Milanese bracelet, and the original Mido legend (script) on the dial.
Should you be inclined like me to plump for one of those -

CASE

• Material:

   

  Stainless steel with yellow gold PVD coating
• Diameter:

   

  37.00 mm
• Between lugs:

   

  20.00 mm
• Water-resistance:

   

  5 bar (50 m / 165 ft)
• Crystal:

   

  Hesalit crystal
• Case height:

   

  10.45 mm

MOVEMENT

• Movement type:

   

  Automatic
• Automatic Mido Caliber (base ETA C07.621 / 2836-2)

  • Date

DIAL

• Dial colour:

   

  Silver
• Hour Markers:

   

  Applied indexes

BRACELET

• Milanese mesh in stainless steel with yellow gold PVD coating

Mido on Monday - Commander Shade

Courtesy of Mido

This is one that I have gone back and forth on.  It is a pretty large departure for the "traditional" Commander.  In this iteration, the big change is a  black PVD stainless steel case and bracelet.  

I like the fact that for this version, Mido reverted back to a solid (i.e. non-display) case back.  

Add caption

And in all honest?  I personally feel that is a better choice.  The Commander was designed and "built" on the notion that it was solid, durable, water and dust and other "cooties" were not going to get into it.  It would (and did) run pretty much forever.  

While it might not be for everyone, I personally dig it.

Here are the pertinents for those of you so 
inclined -

CASE:

• Material:

   

  Stainless steel with black PVD coating
• Diameter:

   

  37.00 mm
• Between lugs:

   

  20.00 mm
• Water-resistance:

   

  5 bar (50 m / 165 ft)
• Crystal:

   

  Acrylic glass
• Case height:

   

  10.45 mm

MOVEMENT:

• Movement type:

   

  Automatic
• Automatic Mido Caliber 80 (base ETA C07.621)

  • Date

DIAL:

• Dial colour:

   

  Blue
• Hour Markers:

   

  Applied indexes

BRACELET:

• Milanese mesh in stainless steel with black PVD coating
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  And once again - competitively priced at $810 US
  
  
  
  

Mido on Monday - The Multifort

This is a bit of a blast from the "early days" of Tempus Fugit.  At the time I had not yet cottoned on to the notion that better pictures might make for a better reader experience.

Now, owing to the less-than-amazing images you will come to understand that longtime Tempus Fugit followers (unlike readers of Playboy) actually DO read it for the articles ; )

I have scoured the world-wide info web for better images of this model, which was (if memory serves) from 2005 or so (again, I could be way off on this, so apologies for the less-than stellar memory on my part).

Now a few easy things that can be discerned through this shaky image:

Nice basic round case (which I believe was 40, but again am ready to be corrected), display back.  Non-COSC, ETA 2824.  The curious part (and again, apologies as there are no other blurry photos from me to document this, but the rotor was labeled "Seastar".  Now none of that is the end of the world, but it was a little "janky" to see at the time.

The dial was a nice "aged" cream color, black, white and just a touch of blue (in the outer scale ring).  The strap was a nice, basic brown leather, simple and tasteful, without undue flourish or faux croc/gator embossing.  Mido had put out an all black dial version of this model, as well as a chronograph version.

In the end?  For whatever reason, I wasn't quite at the right point in my life to fully appreciate it.  I had it and wore it somewhat sparingly.  And as was often the case back then, I got the itch and sold it on to the next owner.

Mido has come out with some pieces that are somewhat reminiscent of this version of the Multifort -

Courtesy of Mido

And I am of two minds.  Do I appreciate the aesthetics?  For sure.  Again, it's back to the little, nit-picky things.  The date is a bit jarring, and a bit out of place with the format.  I also realize that is the spacial needs driven by the size of the movement in relation to the size of the case.  This is the tricky reality of the world that we now live in.  Many of us watch hounds love vintage inspired design in a modern watch.  Perhaps the same reason many people have love/hate relationships with vintage cars, motorcycles and bicycles - you not only have a relationship with the object, but also the person you must now employ to maintain it ; )

But the Multifort along with the Commander was often referred to as the "Watchmakers Watch".  It wasn't expensive, you could hammer the hell out of it, and it would still run, and run well.  And it is reassuring to see the folks at Mido putting in the time and effort to offer something that stirs nostalgia, while offering a robust and reliable modern time keeper.

Mido on Monday - A Vintage Multifort

So as it happens, my go-to watchmaker has a massive amount of vintage and discarded watches.  I had dropped off the Multi-Star for a heart transplant and what did I discover as I looked through one of his bins?

A gold filled Multifort, and I am guessing around 34 mm (to be honest, I haven't bothered to measure it yet).

He opened it up, and under the hood was a bumper movement -

If my watch maker and I got it right, the movement is noted as Mido 917.

Needless to say, this guy got a lot of wear, a lot of use.  And it seemed a real shame to see it languishing in the "donor" box, waiting to have it's parts harvested...

So a deal was struck, a new strap selected, and to quote that other great commentator on the watch industry, Boz Skaggs, I put my money on the table and drove it off the lot.

Ultimately, a watch only really needs to appeal to an audience of one.  And this one hits me right where I live.

Enjoy your watches!

Mido on Monday - Multi Star Rescue Project

Now in the interest of crystal clear disclosure, this is not an intact Mido Multi Star.  This is, in fact, a NOS (New Old Stock) case, dial, crown and hand set.  Like the Tin Man, it's got no heart!

So the brief is simple, I will be reaching out to my watch maker to find a "donor" heart, get new gaskets, and put this beauty together.  

Stay tuned.

Mido On Monday - Multifort Centro Chronograph

So for our inaugural Mido On Monday post, I'd like to unearth an old favorite.  Now old is pretty relative, but this watch came out in the earlier part of this century.  And it is kinda' special for me because my friend, Lorenz Aebischer was involved with it during his Mido days -

Shamelessly borrowed from the World-Wide Info-web

This one was a bit before it's time in many ways.  Mido was known for tough, durable watches, and this one came in at a significantly higher price point.  And if I am honest, as clever a watch as it was, and as great a watch it STILL IS, it just never really caught on.

Mido has, historically anyway, been almost a bit of a curiosity here in the US until recently.  Very strong in Mexico, (and again, until recently) only typically seen in Southern California, Texas, Arizona... well, you get the idea.  Fortunately things are starting to change, and Mido is getting more of the attention it deserves across the lower 48.

This one was special, and it is not exactly an easy one to find on the pre-owned market, and for me it unites Mido with one of my friends from the industry.  

I will be reaching out to the folks at Mido HQ to see if there are some official photos and some more info that can be shared.

Enjoy your Monday!