Mido Commander II Chronograph M016.414.36.031.59

The Mido Commander is one of the most iconic Mido models ever produced, but originally, wasn’t even called the Commander. The launch of the Ocean Star line in 1959 introduced a solid single piece case where the movement was actually accessed through the crystal as opposed through the case back. This along with their Aquadura cork type crown sealing system made for great water resistance in the line. In more recent years, the design from the original Ocean Star became known as the Commander. For the end of 2013, Mido introduced their first Chronograph in the series, know as the Commander II Chronograph. Today we review the M016.414.36.031.59.

The M016.414.36.031.59 features a 42.5mm stainless steel case with rose gold PVD coating. The finish is mostly brushed, with a nice polish around the pieces thin bezel. The watch is just under 15mm thickness, but a contributing factor to that is its anti-reflective coated, domed sapphire crystal. In all, this piece weighs in at just over 1o5g.

The dial on this model is incredibly attractive, using circular embossed anthracite colored over lapping sub dials. The chronograph’s hour counter is located at the 6:00, small continuously running seconds at 9:00, and chronograph minutes counter at 12:00. The dial itself is silver with a beautiful sunburst pattern and an anthracite track running around the outer edge of the dial. The baton shaped hands are rose gold and anthracite, with a nice blue luminova on the inside.

The movement utilized in this Commander II is labeled as Mido Caliber 1320. This is a base of a Valjoux 7750 that displays day/date and chronograph features (as listed above), which was modified by Mido. The movement has 25 jewels, 28,800 bph, 165 parts and over a 42 hour power reserve. The movement is extravagantly finished with perlage, blue screws and Geneva striping on the Mido branded rotor. Obviously, due the the transparent case back, this does not have the same exact case as the old Ocean Stars.

The balance wheel used is a glucydur, that also uses a Nivarox I hairspring. Nivarox is one of only a couple hairspring manufactures in the watch industry and is owned by Swatch Group, who also owns Mido, ETA and many, many other brands/manufactures. Mido definitely has an advantage being a part of Swatch Group as they have proven to be one of the highest values in the industry for a highly decorated, very well built ETA/Valjoux base movement.

The new Mido Commander II Chronograph M016.414.36.031.59 retails for $2,000. As always, if you have any questions, please feel free to call us at 1-800-486-3996 or submit an inquiry through AZFineTime.com.

Thanks for reading!

See our video review below…