Mido Ocean Star Tribute M0268302105100 Automatic Mens Watch 80h Power Reserve

Product Information

The case is aesthetically almost the same as the current Ocean Star; it has nearly straight lugs with only a slight chamfer to break up any slab sidedness. The big difference here is the size of the watch. Coming in at 40.5mm, it’s about 1.5mm smaller than the standard Ocean Star and the lug to lug is 47mm. I find this to be the sweet spot for dive watches. I know most of them have gotten bigger, and with a 7.5 inch wrist, I personally don’t have a huge problem with that. But for me nothing beats a dive watch around the 40mm mark. It’s just the sweet spot for big wrists and small wrists alike. Rounding out the case is the big box Sapphire crystal that sits atop the watch. It brings the height of the watch to 13.5mm. The rounded edges of the crystal obviously cause some distortion; however, I found the sapphire to be much clearer overall, and causing far less distortion of the dial from different angles than the Plexi crystal in the Lorier that I reviewed last year. You can almost read the watch looking at it totally horizontal, which I found harder to do with the big Plexi on the Hydra. Mido outfits most Ocean Star watches with an automatic caliber from ETA, a Swiss movement manufacturer. The caliber 80 with an Staying true to its name, the brand puts a heavy focus on the functionality of its watches, creating excellent automatic movements. The brand also takes inspiration from iconic architectural pieces in its timeless designs. It combines cutting-edge technology with high-quality materials to create highly durable watches of style. With these three pillars combined, Mido has truly made a name for itself in the world of Swiss-made mechanical watches. Mido Founder, Georges Schaeren Regarding product specifications, I think that a 200m water resistance along with extendable bracelet is more than enough for any current professional diving instrument (saturation diving excluded, unless you opt for an Ocean Star Diver 600), and the timepieces’ style is perfect once you remove your diving suit and prepare for your late afternoon aperitif party.

The bracelet on this watch is a thing of beauty. That’s going to be a polarizing opinion, but for me there’s no doubt about it. While it pegs the bling meter to the max, the all-polished multi-link bracelet looks more inspired by a 1970’s disco ball than the “architecture” that Mido claims it takes inspiration from. It’s fully articulating and drapes over your wrist like a gold chain in Miami. While it’s not for everyone, I feel like it’s one of the most unique bracelets to come out of the recent storm of vintage dive watch releases. It very much reminds me of the Shark Mesh bracelets that adorned and still adorns Omega Ploprofs. A compact case curves into the lugs. Mido relies on classic 316L stainless steel for the material. The manufacturer justifies this among other things with the corrosion resistance of the material, the insensitivity to magnetic fields, compatibility on the skin and the very good durability. The case feels good and appears to be manufactured to a very high standard. In any case, it is in no way inferior to the more expensive models in the collection in terms of quality. The stainless steel surfaces are mostly highly polished, which gives the Ocean Star Tribute a very classy look.

The Bracelet

With all this dive watch heritage, it comes as no surprise that all Ocean Star watches since the 2000s have been water-resistant to at least 20 bar or 200m. And that includes this brand new Mido Ocean Star Tribute. The 41.5mm case is made from 316L stainless steel with a bezel offering an aluminium insert. On top of that, it’s quite surprising that for the MSRP of MYR 4,180 they can offer a boxed sapphire crystal, that is usually quite costly to manufacture, thus prompting some brands to use plexiglass or mineral glass. Completing this 1960s look, the Mido Ocean Star Tribute also comes in an engineer style bracelet, also in 316L stainless steel and it even has a diving extension on its folding clasp. Scrolling the timeline of the brand’s history, we find out that the first-ever Mido Ocean Star appeared in 1944; a date that confirms how relevant has been and still is this collection. If we consider that the first– ever commercial diver‘ s watch, introduced by Blancpain, came over ten years later, this certifies that the Mido Ocean Star Tribute is not celebrating the 1944 Ocean Star, preferably one of the brand’s early divers and a collection that has today an exclusively semi-professional or professional foothold, as that’s the case with the Ocean Star Diver 600, for example.

On the wrist, the Ocean Star Tribute cuts a particularly fine figure. In my opinion, this is primarily due to the case diameter. It is quite compact at 40.50 millimeters – a typical feature of historical watches. The moderate diameter is matched by the sporty height of just 13.43 millimeters, which means that the Mido Ocean Star Tribute sits very flat on the wrist. For an automatic watch, this is remarkable. The weight is similarly positive. With 96 grams on the wrist, you hardly feel the Mido Ocean Star Tribute in everyday life. That is true luxury! m (20 bar, 656 ft). Prices for the Ocean Star Captain V in titanium sit between 990 and 1,100 USD. Stainless steel models generally cost slightly less at 880 to 1,000 USD. Two-tone editions are the exception, demanding around 1,200 USD. Mido is a company with a rich history and a series of firsts in horology. They claim to be one of the first watches on the market with an automatic movement and an anti-magnetic case with the Mulitfort in the 1930’s. In 1944, they released the monocoque Ocean Star that used the cork Aquadura gasket system (that’s right cork) to create a water-resistant watch. This was released roughly 10 years before Blancpain released their first water-resistant watch. At first glance, you would not believe the first-class wearing comfort of the green bracelet. From the outside, the strap made of synthetic material looks and feels quite robust. But the impression is deceptive. On the underside, Mido has processed embossed calfskin, which makes the wearing comfort of the Mido Ocean Star Tribute first-class. Embossing such as the manufacturer’s lettering or the reference number of the bracelet (M604017778) further increase the value.The Ocean Star has been a part of Mido’s history since 1959. And to this day, the Mido Ocean Star dive watches continue to conquer the oceans. 1. Mido Ocean Star Chronograph The Mido Ocean Star Tribute is recognizable at first glance as a true diver’s watch. With its polished stainless steel case, reduced and easy-to-read dial and unidirectional rotating diver’s bezel, it has exactly the characteristics that watch lovers appreciate in classic timeless diver’s watches. “A reinterpretation […] of the diving watches from the 1960s,” Mido says. The watch glass, whose classic curvature is familiar from models from precisely this era, also gives the appearance. The Tribute runs on a caliber 80 automatic movement, which has a maximum power reserve of 80 hours. That’s way more than the typical power reserve of other calibres. The watch is also water-resistant up to 200 metres, making it suitable for your diving needs. Readability is no problem, thanks to the scratch-resistant and anti-reflective sapphire crystal.

Mido has certainly made a name for itself in the Swiss watchmaking world. And one of its best collections available today is the Mido Ocean Star series. This series offers beautifully designed dive watches of high quality. They’re functional, innovative, and stylish — true to the brand’s three pillars. For the rose gold variant, Mido applies a highly technical Physical Vapour Deposition (PVD) coating process. It adds a layer of corrosion-resistance to the watch through an impurity-free film. This thin film enhances the watch’s robustness and hardness while adding a beautiful finish in rose gold. And don’t worry, this material is hypoallergenic so it’ll still be comfortable to wear. 3. Mido Ocean Star Diver 600The Mido Ocean Star GMT runs on a Mido Calibre 80 automatic movement. It’s water-resistant up to 200m, making it a perfect companion for your dives. The Ocean Star GMT is made of high-grade 316L stainless steel. It’s durable, anti-magnetic, and corrosion-resistant. The stainless steel also has a nice sleek finish that makes it a classy and timeless piece. For the watch crystal, Mido uses the ever scratch-resistant sapphire glass. Sapphire crystal is pretty sturdy, and with the added anti-reflective coating on both sides, it makes reading the dial even easier. This dual-purpose attribute is the winning factor to most modern vintage diving watches, in my opinion. Eighty hours of power reserve are no news any longer and guarantee peace of mind you’ll never run out of charge, yet I am curious to find out whether engineers at ETA are working on getting a 100-hour power reserve out of their base movements, and so increase their competitive advantage further. When Georges Schaeren founded Mido in 1918, he had a brand philosophy in mind that combined functionality, innovation, and aesthetics. Despite hailing from the heart of the Swiss Jura mountains, the brand’s name actually comes from the Spanish phrase, “Yo mido”, which means “to measure”.