The Classic B&W Mido Ocean Star GMT, Still a True GMT at an Accessible Price

When Mido released the Ocean Star GMT in 2020, it quickly became a sought-after GMT watch. One of the main reasons was its true GMT feature, offering easy entry into the world of jumping local hour watches, all for around EUR 1,200. Unlike an office GMT, where you adjust the 24-hour hand, a true GMT lets you jump the local hour hand in one-hour steps, making it far more convenient when travelling. This is exactly what you can expect from the newest Ocean Star GMT, which continues to impress with a more contrast-driven dial, featuring black and white tones, a dash of orange, and a very competitive price tag.

The Ocean Star GMT is housed in a 44mm steel case with a lug-to-lug of 50.1mm, not what you’d call a compact watch. You will find a mix of satin-brushed and polished surfaces on the case, fitted with a screw-down crown and caseback, ensuring water resistance of 200 metres. Flip the watch, and you will also notice the caseback engraved with the time zones. A unidirectional rotating bezel with a black ceramic ring allows for tracking elapsed time, with clear white markings and a luminous pip at 12 o’clock for visibility in low light. It is worn on a black textile strap with white stitching.

The dial is clean and easy to read, with a black base, applied indexes, and a good amount of white Super-LumiNova on the hands and markers. An orange GMT hand points to a 24-hour flange, split into black for night and white for day. A central seconds hand with an orange tip again adds a sporty accent, and a date window is placed at 3 o’clock. Overall, the layout is simple and structured, with strong contrast to offer legibility in all conditions.

Beating inside is the automatic Mido Calibre 80, based on ETA’s C07.661 and known as Swatch Group’s Powermatic movement. This evolution of the ETA 2824 runs at 21,600 vibrations/hour and offers an 80-hour power reserve. The movement is equipped with a Nivachron balance spring for improved resistance to magnetism and shocks.

The new Mido Ocean Star GMT is priced at EUR 1,350, which is not something you usually see for a traveller’s GMT watch, all the more with diving capacities. In short, a great watch for summer. For more information, please visit midowatches.com.