WHAT IS SPECIAL
If you are looking for something truly different, perhaps the “least Rolex” Rolex ever made, it is difficult not to be drawn to the Midas. Instead of the ubiquitous Submariner, Daytona, or Explorer, you want something that surprises people when they hear the name Rolex. The Midas occupies exactly that space within the brand’s history: a watch unlike anything else in the Rolex catalogue.
Bearing its name in Greek lettering (ΜΙΔΑΖ), the Midas initially feels almost experimental. Given Rolex’s stature and conservative design language today, it is hard to imagine such a watch ever being produced again. Yet in the world of collecting, it is often precisely this kind of boldness and eccentricity that becomes a blessing for enthusiasts.
Gerald Genta, now universally celebrated as the design mind behind the Royal Oak and the Nautilus, had already sketched the Midas in 1962 (or even earlier), a full decade before the famous Royal Oak would redefine the industry.