The underappreciated history of Mido, and where it stands today

Buffy Acacia

As a member of the Swatch Group catering to mid-level price brackets, Mido can get unjustly overlooked. None of its watches are technologically revolutionary, but they’re not exactly cheap either, so what exactly is the draw? How come Mido has pockets of soaring popularity in certain countries, even outselling Tissot, Grand Seiko, and Patek Philippe in Mexico? Well, the brand has a history of its own before the Swatch Group, and it’s one that asserts its reputation for quality, value, and design.

November 11th, 1918. That was the day that the First World War officially ended, and also the day that Georges Schaeren and Hugo Jubert founded Mido G. Schaeren & Cie SA. Most fans of wristwatch history know that the post-war years saw a huge boom in designs for men, starting to transition away from pocket watches due to convenience and improving engineering. Well, Mido had little interest in pure practicality. Its designs spoke to the post-war optimism that sparked during the 1920s, capturing a playful essence that was about 40 years ahead of its time.

Its women’s watches used elaborate case shapes covered in decorative, colourful enamel, while the men’s watches often tied into the automotive world, such as pocket watches shaped like wheels and wristwatches shaped like radiator grilles. Despite bearing such elements of novelty, Mido watches didn’t sacrifice quality. Vintage examples have aged beautifully and can fetch up to five figures on the used market.

The collaborations between Mido and Bugatti in 18k gold are particularly collectible, especially considering the luxury status of Bugatti today. The watch that was actually owned by Ettore Bugatti himself sold for €272,800 back in 2021. As the 1930s progressed, however, demand for novelty nosedived, and the archetype of the “tool watch” was being born. Mido even briefly supplied watches to be marketed by Citizen in Japan, before it found its own identity. Durability became the priority, and Mido needed to pivot quickly or face bankruptcy.

The Mido Multifort was first released in 1934, and the range was Mido’s best-seller all the way up until the late ‘50s. As well as being beautiful, with easy-to-read Arabic numerals covered in luminous paint, the references from 1935-onwards were among the first watches to combine automatic winding (made by A. Schild), Incabloc shock resistance, and water resistance systems. The Taubert-made case also used a movement cover, which may have helped magnetic resistance. The Aquadura system (utilised from 1934, but only named in 1959) used treated natural cork to seal the crown as an expanding gasket, which helped keep water out even when the crown was pulled.

None of these innovations were invented by Mido itself. For example, the water-resistant cases and the cork system were patented and manufactured by Taubert & Fils (itself the successor of the legendary Borgel case company), but the combination of assembled protective systems and Mido’s ability to stress-test them was what helped Mido stand out from the others. Mido in the ‘30s even sold pressure testers for its watches, with standard immersion tests reaching up to 13 ATM.

Although the Mido Multifort was already a commercial success before WWII, testimonials from American pilots in 1944 served as the basis for another marketing boost. Advertisements would boast about the water resistance holding up over hundreds of hours of submersion, with the tagline “Astounding but True” often seen next to Mido’s metallic mascot Robi the Robot. Even though Mido had fully committed to robustness as its focus, Robi seemed to revive some of Mido’s 1920s whimsy. Another notable development in the ‘40s was the release of the Mido Multi-Centerchrono, which used a Lemania movement to place both the seconds and elapsed minutes counters on the centre pinion.

In the early ‘50s, chronometry started becoming incredibly trendy. Even if timing accuracy wasn’t absolutely necessary for day-to-day wear, failing to have tested chronometers in your catalogue would mean falling behind the competition. Mido’s first chronometer was submitted to the Bureaux Officiels de Contrôle in 1954, but submissions grew quickly. 10 years later, they had over 500 chronometers tested. By 1973, that number blew up to 100,000: at that point, only Rolex and Omega were producing more chronometers per year in Switzerland.

Even though the first Mido Ocean Star watch wasn’t released until 1959, the word “Oceanstar” and the starfish logo had been trademarked in 1944 and ’42 respectively. The ’59 Ocean Star Commander looks nothing like a dive watch as we understand them today, rather taking on a mix of blocky, modernist ideas and sophisticated finishing in a slender case. This was when the Aquadura name came about for the cork gasket system, adding to the water resistance of the single-piece case. Because there was no removable caseback, the movement had to be front-loaded with the help of a split-stem crown.

The one Mido watch that pretty much every watch enthusiast has heard of is the Ocean Star Decompression Timer, whose 2020 reissue was a roaring success. Initially available in 1961, its use of vibrant, pastel colours to aid diving calculations was a beautiful melding of form and function. It was from that point in the ‘60s that the Ocean Star became the diving tool watches we’re more familiar with today, and the Ocean Star Tribute range is another classic ‘60s reissue. The Ocean Star Decompression Worldtimer is the most recent version that’s currently available and is very much a spiritual successor.

Throughout the ‘70s and ‘80s, Mido did find itself in some financial strife once again. The quartz crisis was in full swing, and because Mido had never really considered itself a high-luxury brand, it didn’t have the same advantages as a company like Audemars Piguet. Still, it managed to survive, and even designed some cool TV-shaped watches which have been referenced in the Mido Multifort TV Big Date collection. A slight uptick may have been signalled by Mido’s partnership with Tennis champion Björn Borg in 1981, but things weren’t great behind the scenes. Mido had already joined ASUAG in 1970, been merged with Eterna in 1976, and was at risk of disappearing until the ASUAG-SSIH merger would later become Swatch Group, and Mido was re-established with its own management.

There were a couple of fun quartz models released in the ‘90s, such as the Bodyguard which featured a 100dB alarm, but in the late ‘90s to ‘00s, Mido’s output went back to its vintage best-sellers for inspiration. New models aimed to be attainable in both price and style – and although some models still used the natural cork Aquadura system, it was eventually phased out in favour of modern rubber gaskets.

That brings us to present-day Mido. Knowing its history helps add context to its entire catalogue, especially with the mix of ultra-practical releases such as the Ocean Star divers, and the more lighthearted lines such as the Baroncelli Wild Stone watches. Clearly, it’s not just another rung on the Swatch Group ladder, churning out calculated releases at targeted price points, but a storied brand with its own ardent fans and collectors.

The fact that it’s not more popular in the United States has been directly addressed by CEO Franz Linder in a 2018 interview with Forbes. He said that “In the States, boutiques are not really our priority. What we need are good watch stores that have personnel who know everything about watches.” That makes a lot of sense because without pre-existing brand recognition, a trusted retailer could still recommend a Mido based on its quality and value alone.

In the six years since that interview, a fair amount has changed. The COVID-19 pandemic did affect shopping habits greatly, plus the Mido Ocean Star Decompression Timer 1961 definitely broke into general awareness in the US. However, Mido hasn’t been desperate to change its tact at all. It seems that people who do their research will come across Mido organically if it’s actually what they’re looking for, and the value for money speaks for itself thanks to the design, history, and trusted ETA movements. If you’re interested in picking one up for yourself, come by the Time+Tide Watch Discovery Studio in Melbourne or browse the Time+Tide Shop online.