Mido and Hodinkee Collaborate on the Ocean Star GMT that Hits the Sweet Spot in Case Size and Vintage Vibes

It’s never been a better time to be GMT-curious. I recall a time when I would frequently type in, “Best Affordable GMTs” into your favorite watch forum and come up with a sparse list that more or less, looked the same. At the time, a couple of GMTs that I coveted for their size and design, were just out of my price range, but now, forget about it. Those watches are far enough now where it’s closer to a dream to acquire than a reality. Fast forward to 2022, the situation is much different, and the options are plentiful. Whether the watch is of the “caller” or “flyer” variety, the landscape of watches equipped with a fourth hand has vastly widened thanks to some brand ingenuity and the introduction of accessible GMT movements. A new collaboration between Mido and Hodinkee gives us yet another option for a travel ready companion with the Ocean Star GMT Limited Edition.

The regular production Mido Ocean Star GMT is certainly a looker, sporting bold accents, a modern handset, and my favorite, a timing bezel. Let us not forget that the model also houses a movement that allows for a jumping hour hand at a solid price point. All of that said, the only thing that has stopped me from making that purchase were the larger case proportions. The Mido x Hodinkee Ocean Star GMT resolves that issue for me, presenting this limited edition in a spot-on 40.5mm stainless steel case. The Ocean Star GMT limited edition maintains the 13mm case thickness, ceramic (24 hour) rotating bezel and 200 meters of water resistance.

The vintage vibes are strong in this collaboration starting with the case that forgoes the set of crownguards. The dial pulls some design cues from a previous Mido in the Multi-Centerchrono which include the white minute track, a red hand, and the cursive “Mido” wordmark. A dauphine hour hand and a baton minute hand keeps track of local time, while the red spear arrow GMT hand manages home time. The dial presents itself with a combination of different hour marker shapes and a placement that takes up real-estate in the minute track and the center dial.

The Ocean Star GMT limited edition uses the Caliber 80 C07.611, which is based off of the venerable ETA 2824-2. The movement is a part of the Powermatic family of movements from the Swatch Group and comes built with 25 jewels, 80 hours of power reserve and is tuned to 21,600 bph. The limited edition GMT will come with a wide variety of strap options including a steel mesh bracelet, a vintage brown leather strap or a travel-friendly two piece nylon strap.

As I’ve probably mentioned before, I currently do not own a GMT, but I am very much a GMT guy. The Explorer II has always been at the top of my list as far as GMT watches go and I’ll go on the record as saying that the black dial is better than the more popular white, or Polar dial. I’m sure I’ll get some flack in the comments. Naturally I would lean towards the Mido x Hodinkee Ocean Star GMT limited edition because of the black dial and red accents. I mentioned the various hour marker shapes and placement above, and although it visually seems a bit too much for me, it feels intentional and is something we would’ve seen during the era of the Mido Multi-Centerchrono. It most certainly appeals to those keen on the vintage aesthetic, and if you’re in the market for decently priced GMT with modern case proportions, then it’ll appeal to you as well.

The Mido x Hodinkee Ocean Star GMT Limited Edition is limited to just 999 pieces and retails for $1,390. Mido x Hodinkee