"Multifort, the lionheart of Mido since the 1930s…”
Mido Watches has a century their own in producing many, if not, all their Swiss-made watches with dexterity and prowess. All of their timepieces, even until today, unveil such essential traits without merely putting out their brand name without many credentials. Skilled watchmaking has seen from the production of artisanal enameled dials ladies timing pieces to the auction-worthy Bughatti's "egg-shaped grill" watches since 1925. Another high strength of Mido derives from their pioneering of durable tool watches like their Ocean Star Commander, and the Multifort collections since 80 years ago. Focusing on the latter, we would like to introduce theMido Multifort Powerwind Black 40mm Ref. M040.407.11.057.00.
The Multifort line came about during the time where the world is facing the Great Depression. During this chaos period in 1930, Mido stomped out and revealed the Multifort that what has made them established and known for until this day, as we believe.
| Mido Multifort Powerwind Black Ref. M040.407.11.057.00 |
In the early 1930s was where the great depression hit, the financial crisis did result in the watchmaker's center of activity and headquarters being moved to Biel, resulting in its first centralization. Further, Mido forcefully changed its segment to more practical and timeless watches with protection and excellent craftsmanship they're most relevant. Therefore, in 1934, when the whole centralized team worked on this particular path, the Multifort is born with its distinct characteristics that later benchmarked its reputation: being impervious to water, dust, and rust, shock-resistant and antimagnetic. This is the first time Mido combines the four aspects that made them successful, primarily their water-resistant system is later known as "aquadura" in 1959.
You might think that was their past, but even today, Mido still holds impressive records and prowess in performance and accuracy. Up till today, Mido fits into the top ten makers of certified chronometers in the Swiss industry. "I Measure" epithet from the Spanish word "Mido," definitely a no joking matter when this embellishes as the Swiss house moniker.
| Satin-finished sunray domed dial |
The dressy case has a distinctive shape, where the short lugs are "twisted" inwards, creating its retro charm instead of those cookie-cutter round elegant case. The bezel is thin here, making it an all-dial type, even with a box-shaped sapphire crystal, the watch looks svelte and wears gracefully on most wrist sizings. The knurled push/pull crown signed with "Mido" in raised letters, gains the watch a reasonable 50m water resistant which is ample enough for some quick splash (not submerging) and everyday wear.
Underneath its sapphire crystal with double-sided anti-reflection treatment lies a deep sunburst dial that brings bilateral olde-worlde aesthetic. First off, the Powerwind features multiple markers- applied Arabic numerals at 12, 3, and 9’o clock, and alternative applied indices for the remaining hours. On the other side, it's periphery mark a minute scale flanges the hour markers with a balanced date display at 6’o clock. Icing the cake, Mido paired the retro dial with a set of sword-shaped hour and minute hands that glow in the dark along with the Arabic hour markers, and the dots at every hour position.
| SuperLuminova glows in the dark |
In completion of the retro package, the Mido Multifort Powerwind comes on a versatile stainless steel bracelet which blends harmoniously with its case design.
| Automatic Mido Caliber 80 (base ETA C07.621) |
