We conclude this trio of posts with Kin Meng Chan and YF Chek.
Kin Meng Chan
The adventure thus far, has been most exciting and fulfilling on many levels. There is the thrill of bringing concepts and ideas to reality, and the validation of these by your peers in the market. Then there is the excitement of business challenges to be met and overcome, with each achievement being another rich thread woven into the tapestry that is the MING story.
What I enjoy most about the MING adventure is coming into contact with different people from all over the world. Our timepieces are a link to the rich stories and backgrounds of the people we have, along the way, come to call friends - be they people involved in the manufacturing process, our customers or members of the media. It is a privilege to share in the human aspect behind why someone identifies with our work and to experience their passion; it reminds us that the timepieces we love, those mechanical marvels, do posses a very human soul via our interaction through time.
- KM
YF Chek
It’s hard to believe a year has gone by already. The excitement of presenting the 17.01 and the subsequent overwhelming response is still fresh in my mind. Behind the scenes and for much longer than a year, countless design iterations have come off the drawing board, thousands of messages have been exchanged by the team - usually in rapid succession and at all hours of the day and we’ve over come significant obstacles and barriers. It all seems to have happened so fast.
Ming Thein - our Founder/Chief of Design - has constantly kept us on our toes and awake into the wee hours of morning with his prodigious output of designs and ideas; from detailed component design to material selection and movement choice. While watch design at MING is by benevolent dictatorship (and not by committee) - we were often called upon to tap into our collective horological experience and critically analyze each design. Put simply, we had to be our own worst critics. Watch making is not for the faint-hearted or for those with just a passing interest. We knew this would be a difficult undertaking but the sheer amount and pace of work was something else. We started MING to create and share distinct and exciting watches that offer tremendous value - regardless of each watches market positioning. We wanted to make watches we would buy for ourselves and in my humble opinion, I think we have achieved our objectives; from the inaugural 17.01 to 19.01, 17.03 and several others in the pipeline to follow.
I find myself repeatedly and regularly reaching for my MING timepieces - choosing them over all the independents and haute horlogerie pieces in my collection - not because of my vested interest but because I genuinely enjoy and love each MING timepiece. It has been an exhilarating experience and I am certainly looking forward to more!
- YFC
