The Wind Up – Watch News #317

Welcome back to The Wind Up, our weekly series highlighting the newest watches of the past seven days. With only a few weeks left before the April 1 deadline, the watchmaking world is firing on all cylinders, dropping release after release of stunning horological fare in the lead-up to the industry’s biggest show.

Watches & Wonders 2025 is just over a month away and the world’s most significant watchmakers (sans Swatch group) aren’t letting any time go to waste. In this week’s feature, we’ll be highlighting a range of new and exciting pieces from the likes of Blancpain, Krayon and Mido, while MB&F announces its second affordable M.A.D reference. Happy reading, fellas. Have a great week ahead.

Mido Multifort 8 Two Crowns

• Brand: Mido
• Model: Multifort 8 Two Crowns
• Reference Number: Ref. M047.507.11.051.00
• Diameter: 40mm
• Movement: Automatic MIDO Calibre 72
• Power Reserve: 72 hours
• Water Resistance: 100m
• Price: AUD$1,900

Released this week, the new Mido Multifort 8 Two Crowns takes the affordable Swiss producer’s collection in a decidedly more sporty direction. Revisiting design codes from the past, Mido’s latest release features a refined octagonal bezel and a rotating flange activated by a second crown located at 2 o’clock. As a fan of modern sports watches, Mido has hit this one out of the park, producing a timepiece that feels elegant and understated while still contemporary enough to draw major interest from the collector market.

This is largely due to the introduction of a subtly worked matt black dial, which helps to accentuate the “recessed” indexes, round and trapezoidal on the quarter-hours, to create a three-dimensional effect. When you combine these elements, you wind up with a dial that is remarkably legible despite the lack of Arabic or Roman numerals. There is also a date window at 3 o’clock and an internal rotating bezel completing the aesthetic, but all eyes must fall on the bezel. The edition’s eight polished facets are contrasted with a satin finish, with the brilliance of the stainless steel extending through the case and bracelet. On the sides, the two crowns treated with black PVD echo the dial.

Inside the new timepiece, you’ll find the calibre 72 movement, visible through the transparent case back. This movement boasts a power reserve of up to 72 hours and is complete with a high-tech Nivachron balance spring for enhanced anti-magnetic properties. Considering this timepiece will only set up back AUD$1,900, you’d be hard-pressed to find a sports watch that offers this level of finishing at such an affordable price. Mido is on the money with this one.

Blancpain Fifty Fathoms Tech Ocean Commitment IV

• Brand: Blancpain
• Model: Fifty Fathoms Tech Ocean Commitment IV
• Reference Number: 5029A-12B30-64A
• Diameter: 45mm
• Thickness: 14.10mm
• Movement: Calibre 1315A
• Power Reserve: 120 hours
• Water Resistance: 300m
• Price: USD$21,300 (Limited to 100 pieces)

This week, Blancpain unveiled its latest and greatest in the new limited edition Fifty Fathoms Tech Ocean Commitment IV. Boasting an “absolute black” dial, which the brand claims is capable of absorbing up to 97 per cent of light, the Fifty Fathoms Tech Ocean Commitment IV was made to support Blancpain’s marine conservation efforts that the maison has become renowned for.

The Fifty Fathoms Tech Ocean Commitment IV is smaller than its predecessor, but at 45mm in diameter and 14.10mm in thickness, this is by no means a small watch. The sizing change was made to ensure actual wearability beyond the ocean’s depths, mind you. Size aside, the Fifty Fathoms Tech Ocean Commitment IV is a super well-built piece that marries the worlds of tools and luxury into one really interesting watch.

MB&F M.A.D.2 by Eric Giroud

• Brand: MB&F
• Model: M.A.D.2 by Eric Giroud
• Reference: Ref. M.A.D.2 
• Diameter: 42mm
• Thickness: 12.30mm
• Movement: La Joux-Perret G101
• Power Reserve: 64 hours
• Water Resistance: 30m
• Price: CHF2,900

MB&F has taken a slightly more conservative route for its next affordable iteration. Partnering with Eric Giroud, Max Busser’s eponymous MB&F created the M.A.D.2. Available in two variations; orange, which is only available to current MB&F owners (known as “The Tribe”), and green. 

I say conservative because if you compare the M.A.D.2 to the M.A.D.1, then this is a far cry from MB&F’s rather out-there and brash stylistic direction. Nonetheless, this is a very cool watch that will no doubt cause mayhem when the green model goes up for sale via a raffle on the 1st of April. Good luck to any would-be buyers!

Krayon Anyday

• Brand: Krayon
• Model: Anyday
• Diameter: 39mm
• Thickness: 9.50mm
• Movement: Calibre C032
• Power Reserve: 72 hours
• Water Resistance: 30m
• Price: CHF88,000

Krayon moves quietly, and with standout models like the Anywhere (capable of showing times of sunrise and sunset for a single location that can be changed) and the Everywhere (capable of computing sunrise and sunset times anywhere in the world), the Maison is really beyond anything else out there.

With the Anyday, you have a watch that can give a complete overview of the current month’s dates and weekends via a colour-coded date display. Basically, the Anyday enables the wearer to tell what day a future date would be—a rather nonsensical but altogether impressive feat of mechanical engineering.

Mido Commander 1959 Pixel Dial

• Brand: Mido
• Model: Commander 1959 Pixel Dial
• Reference: Ref. M8429.4.N7.11
• Diameter: 37mm
• Thickness: 10.50mm
• Movement: Powermatic 80
• Power Reserve: 80 hours
• Water Resistance: 50m
• Price: AUD$1,250

When it comes to affordable timepieces replete with history, you can’t go past Mido. With releases such as the Ocean Star and Multifort continuing to garner mass acclaim, Swatch Group’s dark horse has proven that is much deserving of its plaudits. The Swiss watchmaker’s latest effort is arguably its most interesting. The new Commander 1959 Pixel Dial, as the name implies, features a pixelated dial full of blue, purple and pink squares set against a black backdrop. This funky dial look is both vibrant and rather interesting; in a way, it wouldn’t feel totally out of place in the Audemars Piguet lineup.

Inside, Mido has fit this piece with a calibre 80 movement, which the brand describes as a ‘major advance’ in self-winding movements. With up to 80 hours of power reserve and a Nivachron balance spring, the titanium-based metal alloy reduces magnetic interference and provides stellar performance for the price.

From the outset though, this is a love-it or hate-it kind of watch; I, for one, love it. I think the pops of colour, the missing lugs and the mesh bracelet make for a really interesting aesthetic. And at a very accessible price point of AUD$1,250, there really isn’t any room to complain. A fun, light-hearted take on modern mechanical watchmaking from Mido, brilliant.