New Kids On The Block: MING Balances Respect For Tradition With Their Noticeable Non-Swiss-Ness

After drafting nearly 60 sketches, MING began to form its core design DNA. The brand isn’t afraid to take a new approach to the aesthetic details, and their watches are full of pleasant surprises. Let’s take a look at some highlights:

Straps and Lugs - MING’s signature lugs are sculpted sharp and short with an almost grappling hook effect that adds a dose of style and minimizes their presence on the wrist. The lugs are fitted with two holes to accommodate straight or curved spring bars for a better-integrated strap. Speaking of straps, MING joins the likes of Cartier by using quick-release watch straps, and we expect more brands, established and upcoming, to follow suit in the future. 
 

Gradient Sapphire Dials - For a different take on skeleton watch craze, look to MING’s 19.01 and 19.02. The sapphire dial on these two pieces uses an inky gradient center to slowly reveal the mechanical elements peeking out at the edges. The result improves readability at a glance, and when you want to see the full movement in action, there’s an exhibition caseback on the flip side of the watch.
 

GMT Ring - The 19.02, the GMT counterpart to the 19.01, treats it’s GMT complication a little differently. Here, two concentric rings replace the traditional hour markers with an outer, static ring displaying 24 major airport codes (in no particular order) while an inner, rotating hour ring rotates to display the second time zone. 
 

Zero, Not Twelve - One of the tent poles of MING designs is the preference for a zero at the twelve o’clock mark. This tweak is certainly more form than function and, in an increasingly crowded watch market, we can appreciate something different for the sake of being different.
 

Minimal Parallax - The hands of MING’s 17.06 are set close to the dial for minimal parallax, with just 0.3mm clearance to the crystal underside. Similar to the preference for zero over twelve, this design element doesn’t change the game, but it does make for a slightly more immediate effect on the eyes.
 

Sapphire and Super-LumiNova - Look closely on the 17.06 and you’ll see that the outer ring of the dial is made of sapphire. The printed Super-LumiNova material against the sapphire emphasizes the glow, adding an impressive sense of depth. Other models like the 19.01 and 19.02 feature a thin halo in the crystal substrate that casts a soft light on the dial below - again, earning cool points for bringing creativity to a standard, functional feature. 
 

Copper Dial - Here, MING earns innovation points not only for using a metal dial, but for making that metal copper, and for acid-etching that copper dial to make a multi-level guilloche pattern. This combination is sure to make for an intriguing patina as time goes on.

Since its founding, MING has produced six models with its latest watch, the 17.06, representing the brand’s first series-production piece in stainless steel.
 

The 17.06 is intended as a reinterpretation of the now sold-out flagship model, 17.01, and comes in two variations, the aforementioned Copper and the all-black Monolith. Both are 38mm across and both are water-resistant to 100m. The Copper model is housed in a polished-brushed steel case while the Monolith is dressed in an anthracite DLC bead-blasted case.
 

The Monolith sells at a slightly higher price point of 1,500 CHF, as opposed to 1,250 CHF for the Copper. The 17.06 Copper is limited to 300 pieces and the Monolith to 125 pieces due to production restraints. Both will be available to order on MING’s website starting at 1pm GMT on September 19th.