The History of the Mido Ocean Star
Mido Ocean Star Datoday Circa 1960s
Mido, the Swiss watch company, has been persistently producing timepieces since 1918. And one of those timepieces, the Mido Ocean Star, is still in production today. But for some reason, Mido was planning on making this timepiece, registering the name, about 15 years before they actually released a model…a bit of a mystery in the face of the Ocean Star’s ’75-year anniversary’ a few years ago. Let’s explore.
The Mido Ocean Star was first released in 1959, but the company trademarked the name “Oceanstar” as far back as 1944. In fact, they also registered their starfish emblem in 1942. Somehow either planning or anticipating that they would eventually create the Mido Ocean Star. So, when Mido was promoting their new Ocean Star homage in 2019 as a ’75-year anniversary edition’, it really referred to the 75-year anniversary of the registration of the ‘Oceanstar’ trademark (no, not ‘Ocean Star’) and not the tool watch’s actual release date.
1960s Mido Ocean Star Advertisements
At the time, the company was already known for their robust timepieces, water resistant watches and pilot’s watches used during WWII. The first Mido Ocean Star, the Ocean Star Commander, was released in July 1959 and hosted: a pressure fitted crystal, a single-piece case (Monocoque), and the Aquadura cork crown gasket system – all intended to maximize water resistance. The Mido Ocean Star redefined Mido’s position in the market and became the backbone of the company’s balance sheet as it grew in popularity internationally. Mido was notably popular in Brazil in the late 1950s and early 1960s and enlisted Miss Brazil 1959 to promote their advertisements. A new Ocean Star Commander was released in 1961, the rainbow dial version with a rotating bezel and 300m water resistance. Mido released a ladies’ version in 1962 and that same year the company began certifying chronometers in their newly upgraded factory.
In keeping with the trends of the time, the Mido Ocean Star was chosen to be the official timepiece for an Antarctic expedition led by Warwick Deacock and sponsored by Edmund Hillary in 1965. However, the company struggled towards the end of the 1960s, as they had been investing heavily in developing quartz or ‘electronic’ capabilities and were especially hurt by the Quartz Attack in 1969. Nonetheless, the Ocean Star lives on in Mido’s collection today. And today, like when it was released, forms the backbone of Mido’s collection.
By: Eric Mulder