orologer Ming is an independent watch brand which aims to revive a sense of excitement and discovery among watch enthusiasts. Dedicated to refined aesthetics paired with innovative materials, mechanics and engineering, in 2021, it launched the Special Projects Cave as a way of allowing customer participation in experimental watches focused on developing specific new technologies. The Cave has already spawned several firsts in the watch world such as the sapphire Mosaic - an internal 3D structure created inside sapphire crystal with a femtosecond laser, Hyceram – a ceramic-fused luminous material, and the LW.01 - the world’s lightest production mechanical watch at just 8.8 grams realised using AZ31 magnesium alloy and finite element simulation.

Today the brand is continuing this tradition of debuting new technology with the Special Projects Cave watches with the new Ming 20.01 Series 3. The brand believes this is the first watch with a fused borosilicate dial, and certainly the only one driven by the Agenhor Agengraphe movement.

Voids are the key to the 20.01 S3’s unique dial: 600 of them, in a radially symmetric circular pattern that changes size not just in the horizontal plane, but also vertically: they form a wave in sectional thickness that is clearly visible with the dial at an angle. The brand has used a unique technology in partnership with Femtoprint SA to create these cavities in a cake of borosilicate built up and fused with a high energy laser; this configuration would have previously been beyond the limits of machining technology due to the sharp angles of the voids.

The voids certainly glow back: all 600 cavities are individually hand-filled using syringes and a liquid Super-LumiNova X1 mixture to create possibly the most intense glow the brand has ever put into a watch. They appear to float in space like a teasing veil, allowing plenty of light to cast hints at the movement below. Each dial is understandably time consuming to manufacture and is made to order. More lume also fills the indices and secondary scales on the underside of the top crystal. The 20.01 Series 3 is powered by the AgenGraphe by Agenhor - arguably one of the most significant and sophisticated chronograph movements available today. It contains many advanced and unique features such as a central chronograph core; Agenhor’s proprietary backlash-free gears; proprietary horizontal clutch mechanism; instantaneous jumping minutes; snail reset cams; and proprietary regulation mechanism. It is presented in a unique configuration to Ming: manual wind, with 5N rose gold coated bridges and plates, and polished anglage. Not to mention, a hard winding stop that gives tangible feedback once the mainspring is fully charged with energy.

All of this is housed in the brand’s second ever precious metal case – this time with bezel, flying blade lugs, caseback, chronograph pushers and crown 18k 5N rose gold, and a DLC titanium core for contrast. It has the same complex and interlocking - yet open - case from the previous 20-series watches, sized at 41.5mm in diameter to accommodate the Agengraphe, and 14.2mm thick. A variety of finishes and short lugs mask the size and make it comfortable for smaller wrist sizes, yet the physical size itself bestows the case with a certain presence.

The 20.01 Series 3 is completed with an anthracite goat strap with alcantara lining and matching 5N rose gold buckle by Jean Rousseau Paris. Furthermore, in appreciation to the Special Projects Cave customers and to improve the ownership experience, the brand is including one year of Wax Shield insurance coverage against theft, and a complimentary service within the first five years of ownership – in addition to a two-year warranty.

The Ming 20.01 Series 3 is priced at CHF 43,500 and available exclusively at www.ming.watch. Production will be limited to 20 pieces with deliveries expected to begin October 2024.

TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS

• Functions:
o Hours and minutes
o Central chronograph with seconds and 60-minute counter
o Instantaneous jumping minutes

• Case, dial & hands:
o 41.5mm diameter, 14.2mm thickness
o 18k 5N rose gold and grade 5 titanium with 34 parts and 4 different finishes
o Polished and brushed bezel and ‘flying blade’ lugs in 5N rose gold; DLC coated titanium caseband
o Domed sapphire crystal front and rear, with double-sided antireflective coating
o Front crystal with etched and luminous indices and scales
o 1.3mm thick fused topographical borosilicate dial, with 600 voids hand-filled with liquid Super-LumiNova X1
o Hands with Super-LumiNova X1
o Rigid case without spacer rings
o 50m water resistance
o 22mm lug width

• Movement:
o Agenhor for Ming AgenGraphe Cal. 6361.M1
o 34mm diameter, 5.35mm thickness
o Central chronograph with proprietary Agenhor coupling mechanism regulator and upgraded clutch
o Manual winding into twin skeletonised barrels with hard winding stop o 5N rose gold coated bridges with polished anglage
o 55h power reserve at full wind
o Movement adjusted to six positions

• Straps:
o Anthracite goat leather with Alcantara lining, by Jean Rosseau Paris
o 22mm width, curved bars with quick release
o Fitted with 3rd generation ‘flying blade’ 5N rose gold buckle with micro adjustment

• Leather travel pouch handmade in Kuala Lumpur by Studio Koji Sato

• 2-year warranty against defects

• 1-year complimentary WAX Shield insurance coverage against theft

• 1 complimentary service within the first 5 years of ownership

• Made in Switzerland

• Pricing
o CHF 43,500 with 30% deposit and balance on delivery
o Deliveries expected to commence October 2024
o Edition of 20 watches, available exclusively via www.ming.watch

• Ming continually aims to improve its products where possible to enhance aesthetics and functionality; to this end the brand reserves the right to make minor changes prior to final delivery.