One of the winners in the 2019 GPHG awards in the first week of November was a two year old upstart watch brand from Kuala Lumpur named MING Watches. The young brand won best watch in the Challenge category at the Geneva show to the delight of its founder and watch aficionados who have regularly helped sell out the brand’s 11 prior releases since its debut of the 17.01 watch.

MING watches are not limited per se, however they are produced in small batches of a few hundreds, which in effect make them limited. A quick perusal to their web site (circa November 2019) shows that all models, except for the two new 2019 models have sold out. Interestingly the new models are also priced much higher than the previous ones. However, before getting ahead of ourselves, how does one go about seeing or trying on a MING watch?

Well, as an upstart brand with few retail locations, the MING watches are quite rare. I had yet to see one in person, even though I travel a lot and frequently visit watch retailers. Even at the well-attended local Red Bar San Francisco events, this is one watch I have yet to see show up on the wrist of the watch craze participants.

So I was very happy, when by chance, at Baselworld 2019, waiting for next appointment on the third or fourth day of the show, I noticed a gentleman seating on the adjacent seat at the press lounge wearing what was unmistakably a MING watch. Part of why the MING watches are distinct from others is their unique take on the classic round dial, which makes them easy to spot.

I quickly started a conversation and introduced myself to Dr. Magnus Bosse who was so gracious to allow me to try on, and photograph, the new 19.02 release. One of the first exemplar of the new 2019 model to be seen in the wild. What are my initial thoughts and reactions to this novel brand? Let’s take a closer look.

MING 19.02 Worldtimer

MING has three family of watches in their portfolio: entry, sports, and flagship. The XX.YY digits do not represent the year and release number of the watch, though, that was the initial intent. Instead 17.XX represents entry level watches, 18.XX are sports watches, and 19.XX are flagship watches. The 19.02 is thus part of their flagship collection and is also the first Worldtimer watch from the brand and was appealing to me on first view. Looking back at MING’s catalog it’s the one I would select if I had to pick.

What makes the 19.02 great has a lot to do with the MING brand’s consistent design ethos. I call it: restrain modern simplicity. The design is restrained in that they produced a Worldtimer watch that shows the local time along with 24 timezones at once and do so without complicating the dial. It’s modern because like the other MING watches the dial uses a fumée style sapphire crystal that hides the movement in the middle but gradually shows the watch’s movement at the periphery which then gets overtaken with the 24 hours airport codes representing the timezones.

I love that MING uses the airport codes which some other brands, namely my NOMOS Tangomat GMT, had done also but not 100%. MING uses Kuala Lumpur for GMT+8 which normally might have been shown as any one of the many other international cities instead, e.g., Beijing, Hong Kong, Shanghai, Manila, or Perth. A nod to the designer’s hometown and company location. The simplicity comes with restraining from adding anything else to the dial. The hands are skeletonize and make the watch appear to be a simple two-hand watch.

There are no seconds hands which I think works well since why do you need that kind of precision while traveling? There is no distinction between day and night which perhaps could have been useful but that results in a simpler looking watch, though I’d love to see a 19.03 model with perhaps a double-fumée sapphire that implements this distinction?

Completing the watch, MING uses leather straps sourced from Jean Rousseau in Paris. This is a well known strap provider in the aftermarket watch strap space which produces a variety of leather straps for different smaller brands and even vintage watch dealers such as Theo & Harris of New York. While I have not experienced these straps first hand for longer than the time to see the 19.02, they seemed of appreciable quality and I like the added mechanism to easily change the strap without a tool that it spots.

Movement

Another thing that impresses upon seeing the MING 19.02 is the gorgeous micro rotor movement shown with the sapphire case back. The rose gold coated finished movement is manufactured by MING’s Swiss partner Manufacture Schwartz-Etienne as a variation on the caliber ASE220.1 movement and will be unique to the MING brand.

What works well with the movement on the 19.02 besides the striking gold color is the attention to detail. The beveling and ample use of anglage on the bridges gives it a look that reminds of F.P. Journe watches. Now it’s worth noting that Journe watches movements are solid gold and have a higher level of attention to details; for instance, while the tungsten rotor on the MING shows some decoration and contrasts well with the rest, it also shows some unfinished section (in the interior section of the rotor).

Overall, for a two year old brand, MING clearly has something special going on. The movement pretty looks is completed with a practical ~3 days power. And while it includes a useful complication and is automatic, it is also thin enough that the watch itself with the two sapphire crystals comes in at just above 11 mm, making the 19.02 an elegant “board room” level watch for the jet setter executive.

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While I left seeing my first MING with lust in my eyes, as soon as I learned the price for the 19.02, my excitement was immediately curbed. It’s the most expensive of all the MING watches at over $10,000 and with a delivery of Q1 2020 if you place your order at the end of 2019. This is well over 10 times the price of the original MING 17.01 watch and many of the models that came after. Even Patek Philippe does not charge 10x more than its basic Calatrava model for it’s iconic references 5030, 5130, and 5230 Worldtimer watches.

Perhaps the limited production and capacity of the special movement from Schwarz-Etienne is part of the justification for the significant bump in price. However, it’s worth noting that MING won at the GPHG not for the 19.02 but for its simpler watch with the bronze dial, the 17.06 Copper; which is now sold-out but was priced at a reasonable CHF 1,250. While I don’t want to be the one to complain about prices, especially about a young brand that has produced a solid stream of wonderful and well-priced watches in its two-years existence, I certainly would not drop that kind of coin for a non-gold Worldtimer from a new brand.

MING 19.02 Worldtimer model by @MiguelSeabra

Besides the sticker shock on this model, there is not much else to complain about MING watches. If you like the aesthetics, which again is pleasing and consistent throughout the lines, nothing else remains to argue about. It might be hard to see one in person and I’d be the last person to recommend anyone to buy a watch without first trying it on.

However, I would encourage you to visit the MING’s Web site to see the various gorgeous photographs that Ming Thein (the founder) I am sure has taken; for before becoming a watch designer and brand founder, the precocious Malaysian was mostly known for his photography and blog on the subject. He has even had a part to play in the modern revival of the famed Hasselbald camera brand. And if it is to be believed, has gotten serious into photography in order to better take pictures of these mechanical devices we all love. A small anecdote that he and I both have in common. ming.watch

Addendum since 11/17/2019

• 11/18/2019: various small corrections for few typos, English errors, and better flow (did not change any sentence)

• 11/24/2019: corrected sentences about MING watches release nomenclature based on feedback from the brand. The XX.YY digits do not represent the year and release number of the watch, though, that was the initial intent. Instead 17.XX represents entry level watches, 18.XX are sports watches, and 19.XX are flagship watches

• 11/24/2019: fixed misspelling of Manufacture Schwartz-Etienne