Wowzers. What a stunner. A £10k stunner after VAT but a stunner nonetheless
https://ming.watch/collections/homep...cts/ming-19-02
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Wowzers. What a stunner. A £10k stunner after VAT but a stunner nonetheless
https://ming.watch/collections/homep...cts/ming-19-02
Beat me to it Ryan! Yep a cracking addition - keeps the design philosophy to the 19.01 and just adds. I think value wise probably even better than my 19.01. Hand-finished polished anglage too on this. I'd be all over this if I actually had any money left. But I don't! So I'll remain a very satisfied 17.01 and 19.01 owner. Does remind me I need to write up my 19.01 review....
https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/22...g?v=1547297714
Yes you do!Quote:
Originally Posted by crazyp
Right will do the write up this weekend, try and take pics that aren't terrible and post sometime during the week :eagerness:Quote:
Originally Posted by hughtrimble
Stunning and original. The movement is out of this world. When he is not designing watches Ming should be doing photography for other watch company's his the pictures really are something else.
IIRC, he used to have a deal with Hassleblad. A superb photographer.Quote:
Originally Posted by mondie
Ming did do that for quite a long time and for a lot of top Swiss brands - he very much pioneered the industry style that became popular for watch photography from the mid 2000s. He was also a valued member here for a number of years until other stuff took over and he could no longer put time aside to participate.Quote:
Originally Posted by mondie
Really worth checking his own site for photography - www.mingthein.com
That's interesting and good on him. I vaguely recall him from Timezone in the late '90s, you have to admire his skill and eye for detail and how he has used his obvious creativity to follow his passion.
Those watches really are something else! I do like that GMT watch it may be another one to add to my list for the year. The worldtimer is a fantastic looking watch the movement does look a real beauty and the whole attention to detail on the dial and case I do like. Interesting price point though with plenty of competition out there but still a lovely watch.
Very nice indeed.
The only thing is like to see is the warranty increased from 12 months for any defects.
Not a huge fan of the dial treatment, but the movement is absolutely breathtaking.
The first thing to do is remove mainstream brands as competition - you buy a watch like this to support the creators/micro brand and because you want something a bit different. You may take a hit on resale, but at the same time most potential buyers are highly unlikely to sell.Quote:
Originally Posted by robert75
So in that context there are not that many brands open to you in this price range. The quality on offer puts to shame of the bigger boys as well if you look at price. If Patek or FP Journe came out with a world timer, hand finished micro rotor I'm assuming it's be a lot more than this!
I do agree and it's a criticism I also had when buying my 19.01. Let's see how it goes over time.Quote:
Originally Posted by Omegamanic
It's the First time I have looked at Ming , I must say they do look very impressive , the worldtimer is a stunning watch .
Now that is a beautiful watch. AP should have hired him!
Looking forward to it!Quote:
Originally Posted by crazyp
Movement looks incredible especially with the gold and the micro rotor. Still can't get over not having any minute indices on the disks of any of his watches though....
Hold up a moment - if this is a Cottier world timer, what’s up with the picture, whereby the handset shows 10:10 but the 24 dial shows 14:10 at the read-off index (at “12 o’clock”)?
https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/22...g?v=1547297714
Is this just some photoshopped mock-up, or am I missing something?
Technically not a Cottier as the city ring is static. From the site -Quote:
Originally Posted by JGJG
We chose to make the cities static and the 24 hour disk rotate, as numbers are easier to recognise at a glance than airport codes. The cities are printed under the sapphire to be almost on the same level as the 24 hour disk and minimize parallax while simultaneously creating the impression of a completely seamless display. We’ve also added a crosshair to assist in fast indexing and reading of time.
Any thoughts on if it'd impact usability? I can't think of any but I've also never owned a Cottier esque world time.
Well, the 24hr ring always rotated on a cottier world timer - it’s geared to the hour hand - and the point is that generally one can manually move the cities (usually via a second crown, bezel, etc) so that the one you want is appropriately indexed and 12oclock. All referenced cities’ times are then immediately available via the 24hr ring.
I still have literally no idea whatsoever how this watch can work as a world timer, unless the 24 hour ring can be decoupled and independently set from the hands, but that makes little sense either. I’m hoping it’s just me :dontknow:
Hmm ok, got you now - my head hurts, but I get it! Reading it a few times on the site the cities are printed on. So I'm convinced the cities are static and I agree it'd only work if the 24hr ring is decoupled.Quote:
Originally Posted by JGJG
But then how do you set it up? And also if you move cities wouldn't that be a pain compared to a Cottier one?
I have two Cottier worldtimers currently; moving the cities is very straight forward. By way of example:Quote:
Originally Posted by crazyp
If in London, you rotate the city dial so that “LON” (or “GMT”, etc) is uppermost. If I’m in London at 3pm and want to know the time in Baghdad, I locate that city on the city ring and read off the local time (6pm) from the 24hr ring.
Only if I physically change my time zone location, do I rotate the city wheel. Thus if I fly to Baghdad, I would not only set the watch to local time but also rotate the city wheel so Baghdad is uppermost. At 3pm, I can then read off that it’s noon in London.
Now, how does the Ming work?
This is me theorising - I've sent Ming a message.Quote:
Originally Posted by JGJG
The 24hr ring and hour hand must get decoupled when being set and reengage and couple when not. So I set the 24hr ring to the city I am in and then change local time on the main hand. I engage and both are then 'synced'.
Would that work?
It would, though you lose the horizontally indexed day/night for local time, and the ability to have your home city riding at the top of the dial. It also seems more of a faff to set the 24hr ring than the city ring (and would need additional complexity in the movement). I suppose a positive would be that any city you want to reference is always at the same dial position...Quote:
Originally Posted by crazyp
Edit: another downside of such an approach would be its not self-evident whether the world timing is set for the current location.
Ok Ming's responseQuote:
Originally Posted by JGJG
'yes, the city names are static. The disc turns. Not a cottier, much simpler. You set local time first, then set 24h ring to match. This to allow quick setting in case you can’t be bothered with the 24h ring, at least local time is always correct'
My thoughts - i think the reference point being the same was the main driver of the static city - your eyes aren't wandering trying to figure where it is (you're probably in a better position to say if that is really the case).
It's a cleaner method, is it better compared to a Cottier? I couldn't say. He will do a video when they get the watch back - they only have one proto and it's currently doing the rounds in SIHH.
I suppose either works after a fashion, but one of the nicest visuals elements for me is glancing at the relative positions of day and night colours on the 24hr ring as they rotate around the dial; this only works for the local day on a convential type world timer, i.e. when the 24hr ring is coupled to the handset time at the uppermost position of the dial. (Or on the Ming, it would work when you’re physically in GMT but not in any other time zone).
I wonder if they considered printing the cities on a rotatable sapphire disk internally? That would have achieved the aesthetic of the watch and the conventional m.o.
Still, at least the 24 ring can be decoupled, and therefore aligned to different cities, unlike some of the stuff you see!
And it is still undoubtedly very beautiful.
I don't think the day/night colours would fit in the aesthetic - though I do think you have a point. They must have considered a rotating disk - no doubt Ming in one of the follow ups will explain why they chose this. But at least it's a proper WT, just an interesting take on it and still a lovely watch.Quote:
Originally Posted by JGJG
Great spot!
Quote:
Originally Posted by MadeOfCheese
I agree, not a fan of the brand name either. I suspect if I wore one it would get some stick....
I just see the name as 'merciless' self promotion,,I'll get my coat.Quote:
Originally Posted by kace
Is there a 'ceramic' version?