Frequently asked questions

User's manual are available in the section Customer Service, Downloads. You can also contact one of our official representatives in your country. 

Mido sells its watches exclusively through its global network of certified distributors, whose addresses are listed in the point of sales section.
Furthermore, Mido watches are sold with an international warranty card completed by the retail outlet and stating the serial number, reference of the watch, as well as the full name and address of the reseller.
If in doubt regarding the origin of your watch, you can contact your closest service centre to carry out a complete analysis of your Mido.

Mido watches are exclusively sold through its global network of certified resellers. You will find the list of authorised resellers in the point of sales section.

The accuracy of the watch depends on the movement and individual habits of the wearer. The majority of mechanical watches (excluding certified chronometers) have average precision tolerances of between -10/+30 seconds per day. To earn the title of chronometer (see question relating to chronometers), the mechanical movement's average precision must be between -4/+6 seconds per day.

The precision tolerance of quartz watches is around -0.5 to +0.7 seconds per day (excluding certified quartz chronometers). Exposure to significant variations in temperature can have a slight effect on quartz movements. 

The power reserve of a self-winding watch depends firstly on the type of movement. When fully wound, the movements of our watches have a  power reserve of between 36 and 80 hours. The power reserve also depends on the wearer's individual habits and activity. As an indication, 10 to 12 hours' wear should be sufficient to generate a power reserve of 20 hours or more, which ensures that the watch will continue to run throughout the night.

A chronograph is a timepiece which, in addition to displaying the time, is equipped with a stopwatch mechanism to measure and record elapsed time. Depending on the model, the measured time is shown either by an analogue display with an hour, minute, second and even a 1/10 or 1/100 second hand or by a digital display. A chronometer is a watch that has obtained an official rate certificate from the COSC (Contrôle Officiel Suisse des Chronomètres), which certifies that the movement has passed a range of precision tests in different positions and at different temperatures over a 15-day period. Certification can be granted both for mechanical and quartz movements.

Mido watches are designed to be water resistant to a pressure of 3 bar (30m/100ft), 5 bar (50m/165ft), 10 bar (100m/330ft) or 20 bar (200m/660ft), as indicated on the case back.
Watches are pressure tested in a laboratory by means of tests conducted at various pressures corresponding to the pressure experienced by a swimmer or diver sitting still at various depths. However, many water-based activities involve a lot of movement and other environmental changes which exceed the boundaries of the tests conducted and may therefore affect the water resistance of a watch.
A watch's water resistance cannot be guaranteed indefinitely, as it may be affected by ageing gaskets or an accidental impact to the watch. As stipulated in our Watch care section we recommend that you have the water resistance of your watch checked once a year by an approved service center. We also recommend that you do not under any circumstances open the watch yourself and do not adjust the time-setting crown and/or pushers (buttons) when your watch is underwater. Similarly, check that the crown is in position 1 (pushed in) or screwed down (depending on the model) before you enter the water.

Both types of movement are mechanical movements, but are wound in different ways. Manual-winding watches must be wound every day by hand using the crown, whereas self-winding watches are wound by an internal rotor which responds to wrist movements. 

A bezel is an adjustable ring on the case, often used to record additional data, such as the duration of an event or to read the time in a second time zone. A bidirectional bezel can rotate in both directions, clockwise and anticlockwise. A unidirectional bezel only turns one way to prevent it accidentally turning in the wrong direction and therefore giving a false reading. When measuring diving time, for example, any impact or false manoeuvre can only reduce the pre-set limits, preventing the user from having an exaggerated interpretation of air or decompression time.
To use a unidirectional bezel for deep-sea diving, place the bezel's main indicator (initially positioned at 12 o'clock) at the projected time for the end of the dive. When the minute hand meets the main indicator, the diving time will have been reached. For example, for a 30-minute dive starting at 15:00, align the bezel's main indicator with 15:30 (at six o'clock) just before diving. The minute will take 30 minutes to reach the bezel's main indicator, thereby indicating remaining diving time.

Like any high-precision instrument, a watch needs to be serviced regularly to ensure optimum functioning. The servicing frequency depends on the model, the climate and the care you take of it. As a general rule, we recommend that you have a service carried out every four to five years by one of our authorized service center.

All servicing of your watch must be carried out by one of our authorized service centers. Any service not carried out by an authorized service center will void the warranty. A complete list of service centers is available in the Customer Service section. 

The prices indicated in the Customer Service section should be considered as indicative. This is because the law in many countries prevents the imposition of retail prices. Each independent authorized service center is therefore free to set its own service prices. The recommended retail prices stated on this site are nevertheless valid in countries with an official service center belonging to the Swatch Group Ltd.

Servicing of your watch depends firstly on the availability of its components. From the date production of your watch ceases, we guarantee the availability of spare parts for a minimum of 10 years, and up to 20 years for gold watches. If production of a particular part is haltered or suspended for any reason, we reserve the right, at our sole discretion, to offer an alternative solution. We will also do our utmost to maintain collector's pieces and jubilee watches. 

All our watches are covered by a 24 month sales warranty from the date of purchase.
The warranty conditions are provided in the warranty booklet supplied when the watch was purchased or in the Customer Service section.

Services carried out by an authorized service centre are covered by a 24 month service warranty on the work carried out. This warranty does not cover normal wear and tear and damage caused by accidents or lack of due care. This warranty is void if any work is carried out by a third party that is not authorized.

Only service centres meeting the strict criteria relating to equipment and technical skills are supplied with original Mido spare parts. This allows all customers to enjoy a service in line with Mido's standards of excellence. 

Magnetic fields: Do not expose your watch to intense magnetic fields such as loudspeakers or refrigerators and other electromagnetic appliances.

Shocks: Whether thermal or other shocks, avoid them. In the event of violent shocks, please have your watch checked by an authorized service center.

Crown: Depending on model, push or screw it in carefully to ensure that no water enters the mechanism.

Cleaning: For metal bracelets and for all water-resistant cases use a toothbrush with soapy water and a soft cloth for drying.

Chemical products: Avoid direct contact with solvents, detergents, perfumes, cosmetic products etc., since they may damage the bracelet, the case or the gaskets.

Temperatures: Do not expose your watch to sudden temperature changes (exposure to sunlight followed by immersion in cold water) or extreme temperatures over 60C (140F) or under than 0C (32F).

PVD stands for \Physical Vapour Deposition\". It is a process performed under vacuum which deposits microscopic particles on the products by ion bombing or sputtering, to form a protecting coating on their surface with a specific colour. Very thin layers (1 μm) of impurity-free components can be obtained which possess high levels of hardness and hypo-allergenic qualities. 

Titanium is a metallic element found in the earth's crust. The element occurs as a bright, lustrous metal or a silver-grey or dark-grey powder. Titanium is 50% lighter than steel and very corrosion-resistant. When exposed to air it forms a hard oxide film which resists corrosion and salt water.  Titanium is hypo-allergenic since it is nickel-free.