Review: Mido Multifort Ref. 8830

"I never had any Mido in my collection, new or vintage. But as I prepared my 2011 wish list end of last year, I did some research on Multifort, the famous Mido signature. Quite interesting! The debut of Multifort in 1934 has surprised the world as the first automatic, anti-magnetic, water proof, and shock-resistance watch. Installed within its movement is the world’s first unbreakable spring. The Multifort has since becoming Mido’s famous signature through the 60s. In 1998, the Multifort was re-launched to celebrate its 80th anniversary. Since then the legacy of Multifort has been continued by the Swatch Group who owns this world’s renowned Swiss brand. After a couple of times visiting Mido retailers in Kuala Lumpur I picked-up the Reference 8830 as my brand new Swiss collection for 2011. Enjoy my pictorial review on this Mido signature." – thetick-thetick

The Mido Multifort Ref. 8830
A clean yet detailed timekeeper! That is my opening remark on this Ref. 8830 Mido Multifort. I love the clean matte black dial with detailed index-marker, precision time display, hence the white enamel painted hands blended well to provide a perfect measuring tool. In Latin, Mido means "measuring" and that very profound proposition resides in this 8830 model. The stainless steel case is a simple design with plain polished bezel. Printed with Mido’s first and original logo at twelve, the name Multifort on the dial is symmetrically balance the entire dial.

The 8830 model comes with genuine black calf leather strap.

Specification
Brand: Mido
Model Name: Multifort
Model Ref. 8830
Movement: Automatic ETA 2824-2, 25 jewels, 8bps/28,800bph, hack, quickset date
Case: Stainless Steel, see through case back
Crystal: Sapphire
Strap: Black calf leather with Mido signed INOX buckle
Case Dimension: 48mm lugs-to-lugs, 41mm across incl. crown, 20mm lugs width
Water Resistance: 50m

I prefer the watch strap and the dial to be in contrast between each other. That is why I change the strap to white-stitched tanned brown leather. It makes the watch looks classy and sporty.

The watch comes with an exclusive Mido black wooden box, manual, and two years international warranty card.

The original Mido black calf leather strap

The Mido-signed INOX stainless steel buckle, the design looks very common.

The dial is so simple but precisely indexed to display the time.

A closer look on the dial. The calendar is displayed on a curvy-edged rectangle window. The calendar disk fitted perfectly underneath the dial.

See through case back. The top crystal is made of sapphire but the see through at the back is just a hardened mineral glass.

The watch looks very much balance by the side. See the big "Aquadura" crown. The Aquadura crown sealing system is still a hallmark of Mido. Aquadura stands for a specially shaped and treated piece of natural cork, which seals the watch at its most vulnerable place, the crown. It guarantees water tightness up to 100 ft. even if the crown is pulled out! By the way, the crown is so easy to operate. The very steady crown stem is well positioned in a thick stainless steel pipe.

The Ref. 8830 modern Multifort is powered by the famous Swiss ETA 2824-2 movement.

The rich luminous hands and markers glow intensely in the dark.

Stainless steel case, black dial, and brown leather make a classic looking watch! The leather strap pinned near to the watch case leaves almost no gap within the watch lugs. Perfectly connected.

Adding luxury to the Multifort, I strap the watch with genuine walnut coloured crocodile grain leather. I don’t quite like the combination anyway. The tanned brown leather is much preferred.

Summary
The case: simple - ergonomic design, the watch fits comfortably on even smaller wrist despite its 48mm length.
The crown: big saw-toothed crown, easy to operate, water resistant seal.
Movement: mass produced but reliable and proven ETA movement.
Legibility: detailed index, luminous hands and hour marker, easy reading in the dark and bright daylight.
Operation: standard day and timekeeping function, hacking function for time setting.
Design: simple, classy, and sporty.
Overall (max. 10): honestly, I rate this watch 9 out of 10 for a watch in its class!
"I have yet to test the watch for seven day endurance so far but after 3 days the accuracy really commensurate to the ETA 2824-2 superiority. +2 seconds per day. How accurate is it going to be on a long haul? I have to put my finger crossed! I have long experience with 2824 movement. The longer the movement runs, the average day rate will increase. May be on the 7th day the movement will give you a +7 seconds per day. But overall average of +/- 5 seconds per day would be the accuracy I could tolerate for a branded low-end Swiss automatic. My first Mido! How about the vintage dude? Hmmhh… looks like atuk and pakcik dulu-dulu punya jam lah! Piirraahhhh… Mido dah re-edition model-model lama dia yang famous. Commander dengan Ocean Star dah keluar balik. Appadaaa! A friendly collector attacking my remark." – thetick-thetick