Front view
Dial, hands and bezel as delivered.
Case-back view
Case-back engraving and, where fitted, the sapphire display.
Movement
Calibre with its finishing and decoration.
On the wrist
Worn shot for proportion and strap drape.
Mido · Commander
Mido Commander 39 mm Mother-of-pearl Quartz
Reference 21201OR.35
Reference at a glance
- Brand
- Mido
- Collection
- Commander
- Model
- Mido Commander 39 mm Mother-of-pearl Quartz
- Reference number
- 21201OR.35
- Year / era
- 1983 · 1980s — quartz-crisis era
- Complication
- Chronograph
- Movement
- Quartz
- Case material
- Quartz TPT
- Dial type
- Mother-of-pearl
- Strap / bracelet
- NATO textile strap
- Water resistance
- 30 m
- Limited-edition status
- Regular production, not a limited edition
Case, dial & bracelet
- Case dimensions
- 39 mm
- Case thickness
- 12.6 mm
- Case material
- Quartz TPT
- Bezel
- Emerald-set
- Crystal
- Flat sapphire with Cyclops lens
- Dial
- Mother-of-pearl
- Hands
- Faceted dauphine hands, polished by hand
- Indexes
- Applied faceted white-gold indexes
- Bracelet / strap
- NATO textile strap
- Clasp / buckle
- Folding clasp in matching case metal
- Water resistance
- 30 m
Movement
- Movement / calibre
- Calibre 44F — Quartz
- Movement type
- Automatic with micro-rotor
- Frequency
- 25,200 vph (3.5 Hz)
- Power reserve
- 70 hours
- Number of jewels
- 45 jewels
- Complications
- Chronograph
- Functions
- Perpetual calendar, leap year
- Watchmaker
- Finishing, assembly and timing are carried out in the manufacture's own atelier.
Production & market
- Production period
- 1983 – 1995
- Limited-edition quantity
- Not applicable
- Current market information
- Thin secondary-market supply — pricing is set piece by piece at auction.
Designer
Marc Newson
Marc Newson is an Australian industrial designer whose work spans Qantas cabins, Apple hardware and Jaeger-LeCoultre's Atmos clocks; his watch design reduces the object to pure geometry and legibility.
Historical significance
Mido Commander 39 mm Mother-of-pearl Quartz sits within Mido's Commander line, introduced in 1983. It carries the house codes established since 1918 — quartz tpt case, mother-of-pearl dial and quartz — and is one of the references collectors use to date the evolution of the collection.
Interesting facts
- Early production dials show a slightly different minute track, and collectors pay a premium for them.
- The reference was originally planned as a one-year run and stayed in the catalogue for well over a decade.
The House
Mido
Brand facts
- Founding year
- 1918
- Founder
- Georges Schaeren
- Headquarters
- Switzerland
- Tier
- Affordable & Tool Watches
- Major collections
- Ocean Star, Multifort, Baroncelli, Commander
- Signature technologies
- Proprietary case-hardening and polishing · Hand-applied guilloché dials · Composite and ceramic case materials
- Famous movements
- Automatic, 38-hour reserve · Quartz · Automatic Powermatic 80 · Automatic COSC chronometer
- Notable watches
- Mido Ocean Star 39 mm Green Platinum (1988) · Mido Ocean Star 40 mm Blue Sapphire (1979) · Mido Ocean Star 36 mm Salmon 18k (1959) · Mido Multifort 37 mm Green Carbon (1979)
Brand history
Mido has spent more than 108 years refining a single idea: a watch should outlive its owner. From the earliest workshop pieces to today's Ocean Star, the house has balanced technical ambition with a recognisable design language, and its collections remain among the most closely followed by collectors worldwide.
Georges Schaeren established Mido in 1918, working from Switzerland at a time when precision was measured by hand. The founder's obsession with finishing and accuracy still defines every Mido calibre produced today.
Historical milestones
1918
Georges Schaeren founds Mido in Switzerland.
1969
The quartz era forces Mido to redefine mechanical watchmaking.
1990
Mido enters the modern collector market with its signature lines.
2024
Mido continues to produce Ocean Star, Multifort, Baroncelli and other icons in limited numbers.