Ensconced in the same general price segment as its ?affordable luxury? brethren within the Swatch Group ? Hamilton, Tissot, and Rado ? the Mido brand has flown largely under the radar of U.S. watch consumers, though it?s long been immensely popular in Latin America ? perhaps by design, as its name derives from the Spanish phrase Yo mido, meaning “I measure.” The Swiss brand ? no slouch in the history department, having been founded way back in 1918 in Bienne ? aims to change that this year, with a U.S. push that re-establishes Mido?s identity as a watch brand with designs heavily influenced by architectural marvels.

One of the forerunners of this theme is the Mido Multifort collection, a mainstay of the Mido brand since it was introduced in 1934. In addition to its historical distinction as one of the first anti-magnetic watches with an automatic movement, Mido says, the Multifort incorporates design elements from Australia?s Sydney Harbor Bridge, a structure completed two years before the first Multifort watch was launched ? hence its use of a vertical Geneva striped pattern that evokes the famous bridge?s slender, arching forms and dot indices that echo its suspension and rivets. Now in its eighth decade of production, the Multifort is, in fact, one of the longest-produced series in the history of Swiss watchmaking. How does the Mido Multifort Chronograph PVD Special Edition ? released in 2016, dressed in Mido’s signature black-and-orange color scheme, ...