Mido. Titanium. And cheerful? Yes. It’s cheerful! It’s a bright spot of orange amid a sea of gray, with hands that stand up, bold as love. It’s the Mido Ocean Star Caliber 80 in Titanium.
Titanium is marvelous. It has half the weight of stainless steel, and while possible to scratch, it’s very durable. Its light weight gives it an advantage for those of us who would rather not carry around a heavy watch to all corners of the earth.
The case has somewhat flat lugs on the underside. They don’t curve around the wrist at all. The sides are brushed matte, the tops of the lugs are brushed matte, but the bevels? Oh! The bevels! Every edge of the lugs and case are met with polished bevels. Even every corner of the crown guards have been beveled and polished. The crown guards would be pointed if they were extended long enough, but instead terminate in a flat surface just below the end of the knurling on the crown. The crown is, of course, tipped with ‘MIDO’.
The dial is a lightly textured gray, with raised applied indices. At the 12 and 6, the indices is split vertically into two. All the dial text is written in white, with the exception of CALIBER 80 in orange. The bezel sides are polished, and the insert is gray with orange markings. Some people may think this looks a little unusual, and they’re right- but it’s good.
The strap is a rubber orange variety that comes with the expandable titanium clasp. This, too, is signed “MIDO”. I like it. The strap needs to be cut down a bit to fit, and that’s something I hesitate to do when a watch is in for review. The strap is a comfortable durometer, although strap changes were a little difficult with the normal springbar tools. If there’s any criticism here, it’s that quick-release springbars would have been greatly appreciated.
The movement is the Caliber 80. It’s really similar to the ETA caliber C07.621 under the covers, but that’s nowhere as useful as putting the 80 hours power reserve right there in the name. And they should, because it’s absolutely brag-worthy that this caliber be named on the dial. What’s interesting to me here is that the C07.111 is based on a 2824-2, and the MIDO appears to be equipped with one descended from the 2836 day date variety. The balance is laser-regulated, the frequency slowed to 3Hz, and What you need to know is, the watch is Swiss made, the movement is excellent, and again: an 80 hour reserve is noteworthy. Special. Worth it.
Should you buy one? Well, that depends. Do you want a modern diver that doesn’t reference any specific older model, but instead stands on its own? Do you want one with one of the best affordable Swiss movements you could have? In the version shown here, the watch is $1000 USD. If you, like me, want the titanium bracelet, that brings it to $1040. Shopmido.com
Watch Overview
- Brand & Model: MIDO OCEAN STAR AUTOMATIC M026.430.47.061.00
- Price: $1000
- Who we think it might be for: You like a diver, but aren’t wedded to emulating brands of the past.
- Would I buy one for myself based on what I’ve seen?: Hot damn.
- If I could make one design suggestion, it would be: quick release bars on the rubber strap.
- What spoke to me the most about this watch: Titanium. 80 hour reserve. Bold as orange.
Tech Specs from Mido
- Case size: 42mm
- Height: 12mm
- Case material: titanium
- Crystal: sapphire
- Strap: rubber and titanium clasp
- Movement: Swiss-made Caliber 80, ETA C07.621
