No 218 - Mido Commander

This watch had never been something I’d been searching for. Hell, I didn't even know it existed before I found it for sale. It obviously wasn’t a dive watch but the monocoque case design has always fascinated me so I decided to take a closer look. OK, so the size was also pretty interesting; 39mm instead of the regular 36mm dress size. Then it had this integrated bracelet which also looked neat and well designed and it even housed an ETA 2836-2 movement. When all those features combined were taken into consideration together with the price of $200 I could only come up with one conclusion; it had to be tested! It was impossible it was going to be a crappy watch.

#218 - The Mido Commander, ref. M8425.4.18.1.

And it for sure wasn’t bad. No it was really cool. A perfect office beater I would say for the ones who don’t want to go with a classic Rolex Datejust or the ultra-boring Omega SMP. I was really glad I gave this one a chance. It definitely brought something new to the table and I loved its dark gray sunburst dial. I’ve seen Mido has come up with a few real dive watches, like their 42mm All Dial 200m Diver with the inner rotating bezel, and after trying the Commander I wouldn’t hesitate to give Mido another go. Also their new Baroncelli dress watch has a really interesting dial structure that looks promising. 

The Commander turned out to be impossible to sell within Sweden. I don’t think Mido has big fan base here. It finally had to cross the Baltic Sea over to Finland to find a new home.

© All pictures by a Watch Flipper's Diary unless noted.

No 167 - Tudor Chronograph 79270

Was I going through a Tudor phase here? Well, yesterday I told you I felt a bit reluctant wearing the Tudor Submariner. This chronograph was a different story. “But that’s a Daytona rip off!” some of you might say. But is it? Really? No, I don’t think so. OK, the case design and the pushers might make you think of the Daytona but the 79270 has a 6/9/12 subdial setup (Valjoux 7750 movement) while the Daytona has the 3/6/9 setup. The 79270 also have a date and a bezel that turns. I would say it might be inspired by the Daytona but the 79270 definitely stands on its own legs and does not feel like a wannabe Rolex. On the other hand, the reference 79280, with steel tachymeter, would be a closer call. 

#167 - The Tudor Chronograph ref. 79270.

Tudor shield on the crown.

I loved this one. It was great to look at. Beautiful! It felt like a good allround beater chrono. The lug-holes for example; a great feature! Just as the turning bezel. A much more useful chronograph than the Rolex Daytona. I’m happy I got it on the oyster bracelet. I’m usually a big fan of jubilee bracelets but Tudor’s version of the jubilee just looks awful. I bought it as a full set in the end of March 2013 with box, books and certificate in great condition. The watch itself wasn’t far from being NOS. I had plans to buy a black dial with white subdials for it but it didn’t get to stick around that long. This model is another great example of a watch that has more than doubled its value in the last three years.

This watch ended up in a trade for a NOS Omega SM300 (Watchco) which I will present in the near future.

© All pictures by a Watch Flipper's Diary unless noted.

No 99 - Kemmner Marine

This little 38mm automatic watch really surprised me. In a good way that is. I wasn’t sure what I was getting into when I purchased my first Kemmner on eBay. I just happen to come across this user called ‘erkahund’ who had a big variety of custom made watches. He had some nice sub-looking dive watches and usually I would have gone for one of those but there was something with this dresswatch that made me want to go for that one instead.

I paid about $300 for it and I must say I really got my money’s worth. It housed an ETA 2824-2 movement which ran perfect and the overall finish was really high. It had a see-through sapphire case back and I even think it had a screw down crown. The blue hands looked perfect against the off-white dial. It was so clean and simple and went great together with all kinds of clothing. A great budget choice for someone who’s looking for a real watch and not a “perfume” watch. 

#99 - The Kemmner Marine.

On the train together with my wife. The Marine on my wrist.

I later learned that the man behind Kemmner Watches was Roland Kemmner and that he sold all his watches through eBay. We’ve had some e-mail correspondence and Roland has always been really friendly and helpful. Looking forward to one day give one of his 007 Sub's a try. 

© All pictures by a Watch Flipper's Diary unless noted.