Amida watches: history, models and owner reviews

AMIDA, founded in 1925, is a Swiss watch brand born in Grenchen and revived in 2024 around its cult Digitrend model; it speaks to enthusiasts of retrofuturistic mechanical watches, digital display without electronics, Space Age design, 1970s automobiles and horological objects that are more playful than conventional.

Grenchen, Montreux and the idea of accessible modernity

AMIDA was not born as a classical high-watchmaking brand, but as a Swiss house seeking to produce modern, competitive watches adapted to the tastes of its time. Its history began in Grenchen, then continued in Montreux, with production that notably used visible-anchor or Roskopf-type movements in order to offer accessible watches. This democratic dimension explains why AMIDA has always maintained a direct relationship with popular modernity.

The brand gradually stood out through its interest in unusual displays, notably jumping hours. In 1970, it filed a patent connected with a jumping-hour disc and a trailing-minutes disc, an architecture that prepared the ground for its most famous model. In the context of the electronic revolution, this direction was audacious: AMIDA wanted to create a mechanical watch that nevertheless seemed to come from the future. The brand’s historical strength comes precisely from this tension between traditional mechanics and digital aesthetics.

The interruption caused by the quartz crisis long turned AMIDA into a collector’s name, associated with a 1970s curiosity. The 2024 revival seeks to resume the story without freezing it in nostalgia: the current project preserves the general shape, display principle and automotive imagination, but modernizes construction, movement, finishing, typography and bracelets. AMIDA therefore returns as a watch-design brand before being a brand of multiple complications.

Digitrend 1976: the mechanical digital driver’s watch

The Digitrend presented in Basel in 1976 is the object that brought AMIDA into history. At first glance, it seems electronic, with its digital-style display turned toward the wearer, but it remains entirely mechanical. The movement works horizontally, while a prism projects the image of the discs into a vertical reading, like a miniature periscope placed inside the case. This invention gives the Digitrend a unique position between driver’s watch, space-age gadget and genuine mechanical piece.

• AMIDA Digitrend Vintage 1976 — Historical model presented in Basel, with lateral display, jumping hour, trailing minutes and “casquette” watch silhouette designed to be read without strongly turning the wrist.
• AMIDA Digitrend LRD — Light Reflecting Display principle using a prism to vertically project the image of horizontal discs, without electronic screen or active luminous display.
• AMIDA Digitrend Jumping Hour — Mechanical architecture based on an instantaneous hour jump and continuous minute progression, giving the illusion of a digital display.
• AMIDA Digitrend Driver’s Watch — Reading oriented toward the driver, inspired by automotive dashboards and the position of hands on the steering wheel.

The charm of the Digitrend lies in its paradox. Visually it belongs to the era of screens, sports cars, rockets, futuristic cockpits and Space Age culture, but its heart remains a mechanical system of discs and optical redirection. This ambiguity explains its cult status among certain collectors. The watch does not try to beat classical timepieces on their own ground: it invents its own ground.

Take-Off, Steel, Black and Gold: the return of the icon

The modern revival begins with the idea of rebuilding a Digitrend faithful to the original spirit, but usable by a contemporary collector. The team reworked the caseband, prism, typography, jumping-hour module, caseback, bracelets and overall ergonomics. The Soprod Newton P092 automatic calibre serves as the base on several references, associated with an in-house-developed module composed of nine mechanical components and six screws. The return of AMIDA is interesting because it is not limited to an aesthetic re-edition.

• AMIDA Digitrend Steel Take Off Edition — First revival series, now listed as sold out in the official archive, with historical public price of 2,900 Swiss francs before taxes.
• AMIDA Digitrend Steel — Classical edition in satin-brushed and polished 316L steel, offered from 2,900 Swiss francs before taxes according to the official collection page.
• AMIDA Digitrend Black — Version in black DLC-coated 316L steel, 39.6-millimeter width, thirty-nine-millimeter length, 15.6-millimeter height and observed price from 3,250 Swiss francs before taxes.
• AMIDA Digitrend Gold — Version with 4N gold PVD treatment, same general architecture and observed price from 3,500 Swiss francs before taxes according to the official collection page.
• AMIDA Digitrend Metal Bracelet — Steel bracelet inspired by AMIDA bracelets from the 1970s, but redesigned with modern articulation, integration without visible screws and quick-change system.

The Steel, Black and Gold versions now structure the permanent or regular part of the catalogue. They share the disc display, sapphire prism, stated water resistance to fifty meters, forty-four-hour power reserve and a very compact length despite significant height. The choice between these versions mainly depends on the degree of discretion or theatricality one wants to give the watch.

Open Sapphire, OSII and NASA Tribute: evolving the formula

After the initial revival, AMIDA began exploring more ambitious variations. Open Sapphire introduced a transparent upper part that lets light in and further exposes the internal construction. OSII pushes the idea further with a sapphire hood machined from a single block, a more architectural internal structure and luminous elements visible in the dark. These versions show that the brand seeks to extend the Digitrend instead of simply repeating 1976.

• AMIDA Digitrend OSI — First Open Sapphire series, limited to one hundred fifty pieces, listed as sold out, with sapphire upper section and observed public price of 4,850 Swiss francs before taxes.
• AMIDA Digitrend OSII — Evolution limited to one hundred fifty numbered watches, observed price from 5,150 Swiss francs before taxes, with monobloc sapphire hood and Soprod P024 calibre.
• AMIDA Digitrend OSII Open Sapphire Black — Version with black DLC-treated structure, white Super-LumiNova on indices and chassis accents, reading still ensured by the Light Reflecting Display system.
• AMIDA Digitrend NASA Tribute — Limited edition of one hundred numbered watches, black DLC-coated 316L steel case, white ceramic top shell, bi-material strap and observed price of 3,400 Swiss francs before taxes.

The NASA Tribute is a particularly coherent variation within the brand’s imagination. It connects the Digitrend to the Space Shuttle era, the “worm” logo, protective ceramic tiles and the use of technical textile systems. This watch does not claim operational space legitimacy; it rather takes up the visual vocabulary of a period when space exploration, automobiles and industrial design seemed to announce an optimistic future. The appeal of this edition comes from its cultural coherence more than from an additional complication.

Prices, wearability, service and buyer profile

AMIDA occupies a very precise territory. The brand does not offer a classical versatile watch, a diver, a chronograph or a discreet three-hand watch; it offers almost a single idea developed with great care. Prices remain below those of many Swiss independent brands, but they can seem high if one compares only the base movement or raw technical sheet. The value of an AMIDA is judged mainly by design, module, history and ownership pleasure.

Wearability is particular. The Digitrend is short on the wrist, but tall, highly distinctive, and its lateral reading requires loving that specific gesture. It can be extremely comfortable thanks to its contained length, but it never disappears visually. The Alcantara strap strengthens the automotive spirit, while the metal bracelet brings the watch closer to the 1970s. One should therefore try or seriously visualize the shape before deciding.

The ideal profile is that of an enthusiast who already owns more classical watches and is looking for a conversation object, a design watch, a retrofuturistic piece or a link with automotive and space culture. AMIDA will suit less those who want a neutral dress watch, traditional legibility, strong social recognition or a complete collection covering several complications. The brand mainly rewards collectors who like watches built around a strong idea.

Conclusion

AMIDA is aimed at enthusiasts who want a radical Swiss mechanical watch that is playful, legible differently and deeply marked by the 1970s. The brand stands out through its history begun in Grenchen, jumping-hour patent, Light Reflecting Display system, 1976 Digitrend, 2024 revival, modern in-house-developed module, sapphire prism, Steel, Black, Gold, Open Sapphire and NASA Tribute editions. The choice should begin with the pleasure sought: faithful re-edition, black aesthetic, warmth of gold treatment, sapphire transparency, space tribute or highly retro metal bracelet.

Before purchasing, compare legibility, comfort, height, service, price coherence and real wrist emotion with owner experience through Dialicious customer reviews.

(Updated October 2026)