There is a certain kind of watch that does not ask for your attention. It simply commands it. The Mido Multifort TV Big Date is exactly that kind of object, and it is one of the more quietly audacious pieces to land on the wrist this year.
The TV-case shape is the first thing you notice. Softly rectangular, with gentle curves at the corners, it is lifted directly from Mido’s 1973 archive, a form that sat slightly outside mainstream watchmaking even then, and still does. In an era when the sports watch default is either a round brushed steel disc or an octagonal luxury flex, the Multifort TV reads differently. It has personality, and it is not trying to be something else.
The Mido Multifort TV Big Date, a Watch with Personality
This new version arrives in a rose gold PVD finish over stainless steel, paired with a dial that runs from a deep midnight blue at the centre to near-black at the edges. The gradient is subtle enough to read as sophisticated rather than theatrical, and the horizontal brushing across the dial surface catches the light in a way that keeps shifting as you move. It is, genuinely, one of the better-looking dials at this price point. The applied indices are recessed, giving the whole face a sense of depth that you do not expect until you look closely. Then you look again.
The big date complication sits at twelve o’clock in a double window, which sounds like a minor detail until you actually see it. There is something bold about reading the date this clearly on a watch that costs this little. It is one of those touches that makes you reconsider what entry-level actually means.
Inside, Mido runs the Calibre 80, based on an ETA movement but dressed with Côtes de Genève on the rotor and a Nivachron balance spring that resists magnetism and temperature shifts better than your average hairspring. The headline number is the power reserve: 80 hours. Wear it Friday, forget it on Sunday, pick it up Monday and it is still running. For anyone who rotates their watches, that matters.
The bracelet integrates directly into the case with no visible gap, which is the kind of construction detail that higher-end pieces charge a premium for. The alternating satin and polished links have a texture that keeps the rose gold from reading as flashy; it is more warm than ostentatious, especially in natural light. Quick-release spring bars mean you can swap it for a strap in seconds, which at this price point opens up a lot of creative latitude.
Water resistance to 100 metres rounds out the technical picture. The crown screws down, protected by a guard that extends slightly from the case middle. This is a watch you can actually wear, in the full literal sense of that word, not something you need to remove before washing your hands.
A Century of Substance
Mido has existed since 1918 and has spent most of its history positioned just below the prestige bracket, which means it has always had to justify itself on substance rather than name recognition. The Multifort TV Big Date is a clean argument for what that positioning can produce when the design brief is honest and the execution follows through.
It does not have a famous heritage buyer or a fashion-week campaign behind it. It just has an excellent case shape, a dial worth staring at, and a movement that will still be running when you remember to wind the watches that need it. Sometimes, that is exactly enough.
Foto in header: Mido
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