Just as a strap change is a quick and easy way to mix up the look of your watch and freshen it, playing around with the dial on an watch can do much the same. Of course, that’s not a 30-second operation, and if you’re doing it yourself, there’s a lot more sweat equity involved. But hey, brands can do it as well, right? I rather like seeing how semi-precious stones are used in dials (lapis lazuli, aventurine, and MOP are my current favorites) so this news about the Mido Baroncelli Wild Stones Collection was right up my alley.
Now, unfortunately (for me) these seem squarely targeted at women, given the 33mm case that we’re working with here. Not that I’m complaining about a watch specifically for women. In fact, I applaud Mido for doing it in a way that doesn’t look like someone just shrunk the men’s version and hit it with a Bedazzler. What they have, instead, are a selection of semi-precious stones set dead center in the dial.
To be fair, the Mido Baroncelli Wild Stones offers a selection of four different stones – aventurine, tiger’s eye, malachite, or tree jasper. Depending on the stone, that impacts the case finish and strap you end up with:
- Aventurine: rose gold PVD finishes and a blue fabric strap
- Tiger’s Eye: rose gold PVD finishes and a glossy croc-embossed leather strap
- Malachite: yellow gold PVD finishes and a glossy croc-embossed leather strap
- Tree Jasper: stainless steel on a 5-link bracelet (only available outside the US)
While I would have originally said that the aventurine is the way to go (I really like the starry night effect in that stone), to me, the tree jasper is the unique standout of the bunch. Unfortunately, as it’s not available in the US, I don’t have a photo to show off (just saw a tiny image in the press release).
Of the four, only the aventurine version of the Mido Baroncelli Wild Stones Collection is currently not available. It is up for pre-order at $1,090 until September 16th (as an added bonus, if you pre-order, you’ll get a matching necklace). The others – Tiger Eye, Malachite are also available at the same price tag, but without the pre-order bonus. And again, the tree jasper doesn’t show on their US site, that’s only for other markets. shopmido.com
Tech Specs from Mido
- Movement
- Automatic Mido Caliber 80 (ETA C07.611 base), 11½’’’, Ø25.60 mm, height: 4.74 mm, 25 jewels, 21,600 vph.
- Finely decorated Elaboré-grade movement, oscillating weight decorated with Geneva stripes and the Mido logo.
- Functions: HMSD.
- Adjusted on 3 different positions for high accuracy.
- Up to 80 hours of power reserve.
- Case
- 316L stainless steel, Ø33 mm, 3 pieces, sapphire crystal with an anti-reflective treatment on both sides, finely decorated Elaboré-grade movement visible through the transparent case back, engraved serial number, water-resistant up to a pressure of 5 bars (50 m/165 ft).
- Some versions with yellow or rose gold PVD
- Bracelet / Strap
- Polished 316L stainless steel with five rows, folding clasp in 316L stainless steel
- Glossy black crocodile-look genuine cow leather, folding clasp in polished 316L stainless steel with finish color matching case
- Blue satin-look fabric, folding clasp in polished 316L stainless steel with a rose gold PVD treatment
- Dial
- White grained with semi-precious stone inset
- Hands are stainless steel; PVD finished to match case and buckle. They are also double-sided – one side sandblasted, the other diamond-cut
