Mido Pays Homage To The Day Of The Dead Once Again

Since 2020, Mido has been making watches that pay homage to Mexico's Day of the Dead. This year, the DofD dial appears on one of my favorite Mido watches, the Multifort TV Big Date. Ever since the first release, the Day of the Dead watches have been polarizing. Some love the skulls and colors, others think it's a gimmick. I can't help myself, but I think they're hilarious. I would love one. This year, the watches use Alebrijes, the hybrid dream-creatures iconic artist Pedro Linares began making in Mexico City during the 1930s.

The case remains unchanged, which means it is 40mm wide by 39.2mm tall, 11.5mm thick, with a lug-to-lug of 46.85mm. It's steel, mostly brushed with polished accents, with sapphire crystal front and back, AR-coated inside and out. A screw-down crown gets you 100 meters of water resistance.

The dial fades from grey to near-black, with a large calavera dominating the bottom and a crowd of creatures cut into the surface around it, filled in with 12 lacquers. In daylight it's busy and complicated. Turn the lights off, though, and things get even wilder: three shades of Super-LumiNova are used on the skull, the animals and the smaller details separately. The big date is positioned just under 12, and the numeral one is drawn as a bone.

Inside is Mido calibre 80, built on the ETA C07.651, beating at 3Hz with a Nivachron hairspring, regulated in three positions, with 80 hours of power reserve. The display back lets you see the rotor with Côtes de Genève. The box comes with three strap options, all 22mm wide, all tool-free: the integrated steel bracelet, a Milanese mesh, and a red rubber strap.

The Mido Multifort TV Big Date Alebrijes (ref. M049.526.11.081.02) is on sale now, priced at CHF 1,250. See more on the Mido website.