Mido's best-kept secret is still kind of a secret
By Dave Kowalski, Chicago ยท
Here's a dress watch nobody I know owns, and I don't get why. The Baroncelli line is Mido's classic dress family, and the Signature is a good one. 39 mm by 10.4 mm, silver dial, date, leather strap, open caseback. Sapphire, 50 m.
Inside is Mido's Caliber 80, which is basically the Swatch Group Powermatic 80 with Mido's own touches. Yep, 80 hours. Leave it Friday, wear it Monday.
My knock is the branding. Mido doesn't have the name recognition of Hamilton or Tissot in the States, so if you care about people knowing what you're wearing, they won't. And at $850 to $950 it's a little pricier than the Tissot Le Locle, which is pretty similar.
But if you want something a little different that most watch guys won't have, at 39 mm and just over 10 thick, this is a lovely, sensible dress watch. I'd pick it over the Frederique Constant for sure.