The Mido Multifort TV Big Date watches hands-on

Introduction

The new Mido Multifort TV Big Date’s reveal took place in a unique venue whose identity and appeal are second to none; it was the RAI Museum of Radio and Television based in Turin, in a building housing some broadcasting studios, too.

Mido chose this place to celebrate its TV-screen-designed watch’s 50th anniversary and an array of models paying tribute to the weird-looking squared-cased watches that took centre stage from the 1970s forward.

Such a collection includes models from 1973 to 2000, and they’re all grouped in the photo above, to then being discontinued at the end of their life cycle. The Mido designers drew their inspiration from this core collection to reinvent their contemporary sports watch hero, adopting their state-of-the-art technology mated to a wholly new design.

The Mido Multifort TV Big Date is the brand’s new striker.

The new products exemplify the brand’s ambitions. With their diving or diving-inspired models being the brand’s advocates, the Multifort TV Big Date aspires to turn heads and become Mido’s accessible steel sports watch and a specifically-conceived timepiece meant to attract a more subtly sophisticated audience looking for a sports watch, but far from any round case’s design.

The case

That’s why the Mido Multifort TV Big Date has an almost squared shape. It measures 40,0 mm x 39,2 mm, with a thickness of 11,5 mm, thus placing the watch right across the all-rounders’ arena (water resistance is guaranteed up to 100 meters, and the crown is screwed-in) with two bold shoulders designed to protect the crown from unwanted shocks as much as being part of the original style concept.

They successfully blend in, but what would the watch look like with a smaller, yet not protected, winding crown?

With that said, you’ll all notice it combines several sources of inspiration from some iconic models in either form or function, with Gérald Genta’s sitting on top of the list despite recognizing a sixties-to-seventies Saxon-inspired heritage.

For example, I see a Glashütte Original Seventies Chronograph Panorama Date as the closest; they both sport a Big Date complication (whose technical execution is utterly different) onto a squared case. I love the brushed to mirror-polished treatment; it makes the watch stand out from any angle.

How the Big Date window has moved the (non) luminous dot onto the bezel

The Big Date holds its place at twelve; the complication has been spread across Mido’s offering since it first appeared on the date-caliber-80-watch-hands-on-horbiter/">Baroncelli Big Date; years later, I appreciate the remarkable job by the design team to improve the execution; here is, in my opinion, the best one so far.

The designers worked hard to find the right font and make the double window bolder than ever, the letdown being an off-centred (non) luminous dot placed on the bezel, whose top and bottom sides extend on the outside.

I understand it might not be everybody’s cup of tea, and it’s not mine either since it affects the bezel’s clean lines without even glowing in the dark, as its blue-and-green glowing indexes do instead.

The dial offers an intriguing horizontally brushed texture over a smoked treatment with rounded and trapezoidal indexes on top and a 3D layout. Options include the signature green and blue palettes, plus a smoked grey which is my favourite pick; pair it with the orange rubber strap, and you’ll get the funkiest Mido Multifort TV Big Date on offer.

Bracelet and strap

Bracelet and strap options are becoming a primary conversation topic; all brands increasingly highlight how comfortable and customizable they are in their ad campaigns or during any training session with their sales team.

Mido crafts excellent bracelets, whose perceived quality and comfort have grown in 2023; the wide-H shaped bracelet (with polished central links) is among the best ever conceived and offers a signature seventies-inspired, integrated bracelet style. It adopts a hidden butterfly clasp with the Mido logo on top.

The rubber strap collection has surprised us and will you, too; the pattern mimics the bracelet’s links, and the strap comes with an effortless tang buckle.

Across the years, Mido has been amongst the most prolific brands, searching for the best suppliers (the rubber is soft and super comfy) and releasing unique designs; whether you’ll opt for a worldtimer-special-edition/">Decompression WorldTimer, a Tribute or this Multifort TV Big Date, you’ll get a specific-to-your-watch design. You can swap between the bracelet and the strap at any time.

The Mido calibre 80

We have extensively covered Mido calibre 80; it is worth remembering its latest edition adopts a Nivachron™ balance spring. I’d like to talk about some design cues instead since I won’t display the movement via the case back, as I won’t do it with any self-winding mechanical movement belonging to this product category.

Style and details are the eye-catchers and clash with the top-performing yet industrially-machined movements whose decoration is all but attractive.

The Mido Multifort TV Big Date’s price list

Mido offers five models and three dial options at launch; the grey dial comes with a steel bracelet or a replacement orange strap, and the same goes for the blue dial option. Interestingly, the green model exclusively comes with a smoked green dial and bracelet, despite being a top seller, no doubt.

Prices range from 1,110 to 1,140 Euros; there is, therefore, no significant gap in between, and we can only appreciate the brand’s continuous effort to preserve and raise the performance and value-to-price ratio in such an ultra-competitive segment.

Finally, the only divisive topic might be the model’s design, which inevitably splits the potential audience into lovers and haters, but, as stated above, style is subjective.

(Photo credit: Horbiter®)

Editorial Team @Horbiter®