Founded in 1918, Mido is a company of the Swatch group based in Le Locle. For whatever reason, the brand is sometimes a bit underrated but it does deserve a closer look. Mido watches are well made and offer superb value. The Multifort was originally presented in 1934 and was among the first antimagnetic watches with a self-winding movement. A commercial success for the brand, it is one of its oldest collections. Today, we look at its descendant, the Mido Multifort Escape.Presented at Baselworld this year, the Multifort Escape is the latest addition to the line. It is a stylish, slightly vintage-inspired, rugged watch designed for outdoor use. Its case is a well-proportioned, classic design with a large conical fluted crown. It is presented in stainless steel with an aged and sandblasted PVD treatment creating an interesting patina. The thin, sloped bezel frames a sapphire glass that is slightly domed and comes with double-sided anti-reflective coating. At 44mm in diameter, it wears its size exceptionally well thanks to its short lugs. It is rated water resistant to 10 ATM / 100m. It has all of the characteristics of a good-old sports watch Ad - Scroll to continue with article The dial has a lot of graphic clarity and features vertical Geneva stripes, creating a subtle play of light. The luminescent Arabic numerals are paired with luminescent hands for enhanced legibility in the dark. The orange details on the flinque' chapter ring are a nice touch and a nod to Mido's corporate colour. The date is shown at 6 o'clock in a small window just under the model's name because of the relatively small size of the movement.The Multifort?Escape is powered by the Mido calibre 80 - an ETA C07.611 which is a version of the ubiquitous and reliable ETA 2824.2, with a beefed up 80-hour power reserve - this was achieved thanks in particular to a frequency reduced to 21,600 vibrations per hour and modified kinetic chain. Its balance has no regulator (it is adjusted once for all during production thanks to computers) but regulating weights instead. It shows hours, minutes, seconds and the date, and features a stop seconds mechanism.The movement is shown through the exhibition caseback and features a clean, industrial finish with Geneva stripes on the rotor. With this movement, Swatch Group was indeed a precursor in proposing long power reserve for entry/mid-range (vs. the standard 40h autonomy). It can also be found in other brands of the group including Tissot or Hamilton.The Mido Multifort Escape is worn on a straight-cut leather strap with a discrete off-white stitching and secured with a PVD-steel pin buckle.All in all, the Mido Multifort Escape is a no-nonsense, good-looking watch priced at CHF 850 / USD 890 / EUR 810 and offering superb value for money. Sure, you are not getting a high-end hand-finished movement or anything fancy but still, this is a super qualitative package overall for well under 1,000 (whatever the currency)! For more information, please visit www.midowatches.com.Technical specifications - Mido Multifort Escape Case: 44 mm x 11.88 mm – PVD-coated steel – Sapphire crystal with double-sided AR coating - transparent caseback – water resistant to 100m Movement: self-winding Mido calibre 80 (ETA C07.111 - based on ETA 2824.2) – ?25.60 mm – 21,600 vibrations per hour – power reserve 80 hours – 25 jewels - hours, minutes, seconds and date Strap:?calf skin with pin buckle Reference: M032.607.36.050.00 Price:?CHF 850 / USD 890 / EUR 810