“It’s all about girl power, folks!”
No, seriously. Let’s take a step or two back from watches for just one moment, okay? With movements from all corners of the globe pushing for the empowerment of women, I only have one painfully simple question to ask – “Why is it so hard to just acknowledge women as equals?”
Are we men so insecure about our own masculinity and/or identity that we have to channel our frustrations on the other half of the human race? Why is it so difficult to pay a female employee the exact same wages her male counterpart earns? Shouldn’t it make things a lot less complicated for accounts?
Whatever it is, I know that we still have a long, long way to go before women are treated as equals and until that day comes, I’m putting this on record – put down a woman in front of me and I’ll make sure you regret that decision almost immediately.
Thank you for coming to my TEDx talk.
“So… this story is still about Mido and its new watches, right?”
Oh yes, most definitely. But first, here’s a walk-through on what went down over the last few days in Singapore. For those following the brand, you’d know that 2018 is a monumental year for Mido as it celebrates its 100th anniversary.
Luckily, Mido decided to pull out all the stops for this one. So, they flew us all down to Singapore, dropped us at a certain hotel with a massive “ship” on top of it and held the unveiling of two of its latest collections at the ArtScience Museum. Yes, not content with launching just one, Mido decided to drop two new line-ups at this leg of the brand’s centenary celebrations.
At the event itself, guests were taken on an “adventure” within the museum. With the theme of ‘Past, Present, Future’, it was only apt that we started off with a viewing of some of Mido’s iconic women’s watches from the past. As we snaked our way through, we found ourselves at the ‘Present’ where the Lady Day collection was unveiled. Finally, the ‘Future’ saw us treated to a rain-themed dance performance prior to the appearance of Victoria’s Secret Angel, Romee Strijd, who was on hand to launch the Rainflower collection.
And so, on to the watches!
The Mido Baroncelli Lady Day Collection
New for 2018/2019, the Mido Baroncelli Lady Day collection consists of four references. I gotta’ admit, of the four featured, the highlight is on one particular model and for a good reason. Titled the Lady Day & Night (ref. no M039.207.16.106.00), it comes with three interchangeable straps to suit any occasion.
Think about it – three potentially different looks for the price of one watch. For a cheapskate like me, I’m actually thankful for once that I have ladylike wrists because I could see myself with one. So what exactly are the straps like, you ask? For starters, you get a pseudo-matte black “crocodile-look” genuine leather strap, followed by a glossy, lacquered red leather strap. The third is my personal favourite, a grey satin-look “technical” leather strap.
All straps (16 mm in width, by the way) are equipped with a quick-release mechanism that should make swapping them out a cinch. Also, said straps are paired to an engraved 316L stainless steel folding clasp buckle. The 316L stainless steel case measures 33 mm in diameter and stands at 9.89 mm. A sapphire crystal with AR coating on both sides is featured while water resistance is quoted at 50 m. Flipping the watch around reveals a transparent caseback.
“What about the movement? The dial?! The hands?! MOAR DEEETALES!”
Within the case sits the Mido Caliber 80. Based on the ETA C07.611, the 25-jeweled movement beats at a rate of 3 Hz (21,600 vph) and features a power reserve of 80 hours. In terms of aesthetics, the movement features a decorated rotor with Geneva stripes as well as the Mido logo. Not the most elaborate of decorations but more than enough to set it apart from other workhorse movements, I reckon. Other features of this movement include the ELINFLEX mainspring and ELINCHRON II balance spring.
With much of the novelty focused on the plethora of straps, let’s not forget that the dials of the Mido Baroncelli Lady Day models are pretty intricate in their own right. Segmented into two partitions, the inner dial features a white mother-of-pearl construction while a grained, white flange encircles the outer ring. Applied polished indices with rose gold PVD treatment are found on two of the models (ref. no M039.207.16.106.00 and M039.207.22.106.00).
The other two have slightly different layouts in terms of the indices. The M039.207.11.106.00 variant features markers that forgo said rose gold treatment while the M039.207.36.106.00 has eleven diamonds in place of hour markers instead. The others feature three diamonds at the 12, 3 and 9 o’clock marker. On every variant but the M039.207.11.106.00, the date window at 6 o’clock is given the same rose gold PVD treatment.
Elsewhere, the dauphine hour and minute hands are faceted with one side being sandblasted while the other receives a diamond-cut finishing. The centre seconds hand is a flat, diamond-cut unit with a counterweight at the other end. Once again, all three but the M039.207.11.106.00 have rose gold-finished hands.
“Which one is which?! I’m so confused!”
Yeah, me too. Let’s break all four variants up based on their key visual differences, okay?
- Baroncelli Lady Day Ref M039.207.11.106.00 (pic below) – 316L stainless steel case with steel bracelet. Three diamonds on dial and stainless steel hour, minute and seconds hands. Priced at RM3,790.
- Baroncelli Lady Day & Night Ref M039.207.16.106.00 – 316L stainless steel case with a choice of three leather straps (red, satin and matte black). Three diamonds on dial and rose gold PVD treated indices and faceted rose gold hour, minute and seconds hands. Priced at RM3,970.
- Baroncelli Lady Day Ref M039.207.22.106.00 – 316L stainless steel case with rose gold PVD treatment paired to a two-tone steel bracelet with rose gold PVD treatment. Three diamonds on dial and rose gold PVD treated indices and faceted rose gold hour, minute and seconds hands. Priced at RM4,310.
- Baroncelli Lady Day Ref M039.207.36.106.00 – 316L stainless steel case with rose gold PVD treatment paired to a black leather strap. Eleven diamonds on dial and faceted rose gold hour, minute and seconds hands. Priced at RM4,400.
The Mido Rainflower Collection
This one is a bit of an eye-catcher for me in terms of the watch itself and the whole concept of the collection. There are certain quarters that may find it a tad gimmicky but hear me out for a bit. See, with the Rainflower collection, Mido is effectively inviting its customers to design their own watch via the rainflower.midowatches.com mini-website.
Serving as part of the launch for the #CreateYourMido campaign, the Rainflower collection is set to debut as a permanent fixture in the brand’s lineup in May 2019. Participants who create and share their ideal Rainflower watches on social media stand a chance to win a trip to Singapore for two or one of the ten Rainflower models. The campaign runs till February 8 2019. On March 21 2019, four designs will be selected to feature in the pilot Rainflower lineup.
“Wait. Is it launched or not? What’s that white model there?”
Yes, it has been launched but the entire collection is not on display yet. To kick things off proper, Romee Strijd wore her very own take on the Rainflower at its debut. The rose gold PVD treated case, featuring the Caliber 80 within, possesses a white, “grained-finish” dial with green tsavorites at the 3, 9 and 12 o’clock markers. This particular watch will be limited to 500 units worldwide.
As for the white model you see in the photos, let’s call it a ‘Ground Zero’ of some sorts. It’s a “concept watch” that serves as a blank canvas for customers to imprint their potential design cues onto it.
The aesthetics of the watch is relatively simple, honestly. Subtle but not exactly boring or conservative. In fact, look at the dial properly and you could see why Mido chose to launch it in Singapore – within the ArtScience Museum in particular. The lotus-shaped structure and its distinctive petals were clearly an inspiration for the dial’s motif.
“Looks pretty good. How much, eh?
Yeah, about the price… I was told that the final pricing for the Rainflower will be revealed later down the line. Perhaps when the launch date draws closer. For now, this is pretty much it in terms of raw data and tech specs. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’m off to design a Rainflower for myself my significant other.
