In this month's MING/Journal we shed some light on the people and stories behind a very special watch. We are also happy to share that some of our straps are now back in stock, just in time for the holiday season. Click here to purchase before stock runs out!
But first, a big thank you to all of you for attending our recent trunk show at The Armoury Hong Kong where we unveiled our latest release, the 37.02 Minimalist. As the latest distillation of our design philosophy, the maiden piece in our core collection and, the first piece since 17.01 to launch with stock ready to ship, the 37.02 Minimalist is a very special piece for us. Our new operations and team in La Chaux-de-Fonds, Switzerland enabled us to not just launch with stock, but also realise another vision of MT’s: MING Polar White. Debuting in the Minimalist, it is our new, proprietary lume that emits across the spectrum and glows true white.
Speaking of special, we are also excited to share a behind-the-scenes glimpse from one of our partners working on the ultra light LW.01 below. Last but not least, our 37.09 Bluefin is still on tour as a finalist in the 2024 Grand Prix d'Horlogerie de Genève (GPHG). It stops off in Geneva and Bucharest next and you can find details on the exhibitions here. Fingers crossed for the ceremony and results in a couple of weeks!
Team MING
SEASONAL STRAPS IN STOCK
Get some new straps to refresh your watch in time for the holidays! The Tan Rubber has a classic look, but with the comfort and practicality of natural rubber while the Alcantara Sky Blue has enough texture and whimsy to brighten your day. Each strap is available in 20mm and 22mm width, and short or regular lengths. As always, they come with quick release spring bars, and our signature ‘keeperless’ buckle for fast, and toolless changes.
EVENT RECAP: MING Trunk Show at The Armoury Hong Kong
Thank you to all of you who dropped by our trunk show at The Armoury Hong Kong which was made possible in collaboration with Mark and his team. It was great to meet some of you in person and to share with you some of our latest releases. We also unveiled the 37.02 Minimalist and for the first time, customers visiting the trunk show could purchase and bring home their new watches immediately. Wear in good health!
SPC IN FOCUS: Working together to achieve lightness
The LW.01 has been an incredible project, and a great example of how we view watchmaking and partnerships. It’s a watch only made possible thanks to a foundation of centuries of watchmaking, the availability of modern materials and technologies, the willingness of our partner, and your support.
One of our partners in this endeavour is Lainisalo, a Cerakote specialist from Helsinki, Finland. We chose Cerakote as the final coating on the LW.01's AZ31 case as it provides the right aesthetic effect while helping us stick to our weight target. However, it is a tricky process to work with as it's highly manual and requires considerable skill and experience.
Fortunately, we were able to work with Lainisalo who has had decades of experience with Cerakote and were very helpful in finding specific solutions to make it viable to the LW.01. They were also kind enough to allow us to take some photographs of their team and one of their facilities during a recent visit to Finland and we wanted to share this rare, behind the scenes glimpse with you.
As of this update, the partners involved in this project (that we can publicly acknowledge) include:
- Smiths High Performance in the UK for the AZ31 alloy
- Helfenstein Mechanik in Switzerland for the machining of the AZ31 cases
- Knight Optical in the UK for the Gorilla Glass
- Keronite in the UK for the PEO process over the AZ31 cases
- Lainisalo in Finland for the final Cerakote
- Schwarz Etienne in Switzerland for the movement rework and assembly
- Jean Rousseau in France for the straps
- Degrees of Freedom in the US for the special presentation and storage cases
There were several more partners who have opted not to be listed publicly. We hope these images will give you an appreciation of the technology, professional skill and passion of just some of the people who have laboured together with us to create this amazing watch.
IN THE NEWS
- Hodinkee - Hands-On Ming's New 37.02 'Minimalist' Does Something Potentially Groundbreaking – Can You See What It Is?
- Forbes - Ming Minimalist Polar White: A Fresh Approach To Luminous Technology
- The 1916 Company - Night Light, White Light: The MING 37.02 Minimalist With ‘Polar White’ Lume
- Gear Patrol - This Ultra-Minimalist Sports Watch Does Something No Other Watch Does
Published: 31 October 2024