The Accessible and Stylish New Mido Multifort Powerwind Collection

Mido, a brand part of the Swatch Group, has been quite active in recent years, offering nicely designed, well-equipped, accessible watches often with a vintage twist. Last year, the brand present a very appealing watch, a tribute to an important model of its historical portfolio, the Multifort Powerwind. The return of Mido’s precision Powerwind of 1954 was first done with a limited edition, COSC-certified model and now, as part of the permanent collection, the brand presents three new iterations that, in my books, are even more stylish.

The Multifort is without a doubt the most important watch of Mido. Born in the 1930s, this automatic, anti-magnetic, water-and shock-resistant watch has become its bestseller. The concept was drastically updated in 1954 with an innovative automatic movement and renamed the Powerwind. Developed in collaboration with partner A. Schild SA, the automatic part of the movement reduced the components from the standard 16 to just seven, making it easier to build and service while enhancing durability and reliability. Last year, Mido paid tribute to this important model by relaunching the Powerwind name, done with the present limited edition watch with day-date display and chronometer-certified ETA 2836-2 movement.

This year, it’s time for the Mido Multifort Powerwind to become part of the permanent collection… and the new models, if sharing many elements, also come with visual and technical differences. First of all, the new Powerwind collection retains the same, elegantly designed case with its thin, twisted lugs, box-shaped sapphire crystal and overall retro style. Compared to vintage editions, it has grown a bit, but remains classically sized, at 40mm in diameter and 12mm in height. The screwed back has a see-through crystal, showing the new movement (more on that later) and water-resistance is decently rated at 50 metres.

What changes most regarding the design, compared to the limited edition of last year, are the dials. First of all, we’re now talking about time-and-date models, no more day-date watches. Second, Mido has reworked the hour markers with a combination of applied triangular indices and printed Arabic numerals, bringing a more casual (and in my books, a more appealing) look to these watches. This new Mido Multifort Powerwind collection comprises 3 versions; steel with black dial, steel with blue dial, yellow gold PVD-coated steel with champagne dial.

Another major difference can be seen “under the hood.” Instead of the COSC-certified ETA movement, the new Powerwind models are now powered by Swatch Group’s all-rounder automatic movement, the Powermatic here named Calibre 80. An evolution of the 2824 architecture, it boasts a solid 80-hour power reserve and features an anti-magnetic Nivachron spiral.

Worn on a classic 3-link stainless steel bracelet with a folding clasp and quick-release spring bars, these 3 new Mido Multifort Powerwind models are now available from the brand and priced at EUR 970 (black and blue) or EUR 1,160 (PVD gold). For more details, please visit www.midowatches.com.