In this article, we are looking at the two brands Mido Vs Oris. These are both Swiss watch brands. Although it is quite possible that you haven’t heard of them. This is especially true for the non-watch enthusiast. Nonetheless, despite the fact that these are not big name Swiss brands you may be familiar with, they still represent Swiss luxury.
As Swiss watches, they are held to a much higher standard than other types of watches. Now the question is, between these two Swiss brands, which one is better? Sometimes this question can be difficult to answer as the answer can be quite subjective.
What we can do, however, is examine the objective facts about these brands. There happen to be three major factors we need to look at. These are the build quality, design, and pricing between the two brands. When a brand hits all the right notes and properly balances these 3 factors, we have a winner!
The first thing we are going to do however, is look a little bit into the backgrounds behind these two brands.
About the Brands
Mido
Mido could be considered an entry level Swiss brand. Founded in 1918, they actually got their start in women’s fashion. They were producing women’s watches in the 1920’s, before expanding into men’s watches. Their first men’s watches were made in the art deco style of fashion.
As the company began to grow and gain recognition, they teamed up with the auto industry. Mido began manufacturing watches in the shapes of radiator grills. They collaborated with notable auto makers such as Ford, Buick, and even Bugatti.
Aside from a history of interesting fashion choices, Mido also brought their own brand of innovation into the watch industry. In 1934 they introduced the first watches with “unbreakable mainsprings” into the industry. Additionally, in 1954, they created the most efficient winding mechanisms for watches the world had ever seen.
So, for a lesser known brand, they have had quite the impact! Even today, their watches are still held in high regard by many.
Oris
Oris, founded in 1904 began by exclusively manufacturing pocket watches. By 1938, though, they had expanded and began producing wrist watches as well. The company did have its share of ups and downs throughout its history.
In 1934 the introduction of the Swiss Watch Statute put limitations on how Swiss watch manufacturers could introduce new technology. This prevented Oris from using lever escapements in their watches. However, thanks to the work of Oris’ lawyer, this ruling was overturned 10 years later.
Oris also ran into issues during the quartz crises in the 1970’s and 80’s. In an attempt to keep their brand afloat, Oris themselves began manufacturing quartz watches. This tactic ultimately proved unsuccessful.
By 1982, Oris came under new management. It was at this time that the company became known as “Oris SA”. With the company now rebranded, they moved away from quartz watches, and went back to producing mechanical watches almost exclusively. This move proved successful. The company has thrived and grown since.
Now that we know a little bit more about Mido and Oris, we can start comparing their watches directly.
Mido Vs Oris: Build Quality
Mido
Both quartz and automatic analog watches are manufactured by Mido. Their automatic watches use custom in house movements modeled after ETA movements. The watch cases are mostly made out of stainless steel, but there are gold plated and titanium cases available in select models.
The dial windows are made of sapphire crystal. Water resistance is going to vary from model to model between 30 to 100 meters of resistance on average.
Oris
Oris, or Oris SA, produces analog automatic watches. A lot of their watches have been manufactured using either ETA or Sellita movements. These days, however, they are making more watches using custom in house movements.
The watch cases are made of stainless steel and have sapphire dial windows. Water resistance among Oris watches can range from 30 meters up to 500 meters of resistance in some models.
Verdict On Build Quality
Both watches have what you would expect in Swiss builds. Oris appears to have a slight advantage though in terms of overall build quality. Next, we’ll take a look at the design and style of these two brands.
Mido Vs Oris: Design & Style
Mido
You will find that Mido has the more standard take on luxury fashion. However, they still manage to maintain their own identity while producing the usual luxury fashion styles.
You will find chronographs, diving styles, minimalist, and casual among Mido’s collections. You get what you expect as far as style, but Mido adds their own unique flair.
Oris
With Oris, you get both typical luxury styles, as well as other styles that are a bit flashier by comparison. Oris manages a balance between standard and standout timepieces.
Even some of their more eye catching pieces manage to stand out at the same time without being too obnoxious.
Verdict on Design & Style
Both brands manage to bring their own unique spin on style and fashion. Oris, takes the lead here though, with some absolutely stunning designs among their inventories.
Mido Vs Oris: Pricing
You typically would expect Swiss luxury watches to be pretty pricey. In a lot of ways this is true. Both brands do have varying prices, with some models from each being more or less expensive than other models. Now neither brand is going to have prices in the ultra high ranges like brands such as Rolex or Patek Philipe.
However, you will notice that Mido watches consistently come in at much lower prices than Oris watches. The prices of Oris watches trend more towards the higher end of the pricing tier whereas Mido watches mostly keep the prices within the mid range.
Check Mido Watch Prices on Amazon
Check Oris Watch Prices on Amazon
So now that we have examined all 3 factors, what can we conclude about which brand is better overall?
Final Verdict
When examining the different factors, we looked at here today, Oris, it would seem, has the advantage when it comes to builds and styles. On the other hand, if you are looking for similar quality and style at more reasonable prices, then it would be worth looking into Mido watches.
That’s it for today’s comparison. If you would like to see more like it, then you can check out more of our Vs articles here
