Introducing the Ming 27.02

Ming is a favorite of ours at Worn & Wound for their daring, contemporary designs and an extreme attention to the smallest of details. They’re back with their first new release of 2021, the 27.02, and in the broadest stroke it shares quite a bit with the 27.01, which was announced in May of last year and set a new course for Ming’s design language. The 27.02 is an iteration on the 27.01, with a whole bunch of small changes that add up to something quite different in presentation, but is still, of course, completely Ming in tone and execution. 

The 27.02 shares the same slender case profile and modest size as the 27.01, measuring 38mm in diameter and 6.9mm thick. This is a thin watch with dressy proportions, but Ming has made an effort to give the watch a significant wrist presence through the use of a monobloc stainless steel case and their trademark “flying blade” lug design. The 27.02 also incorporates Ming’s “0” marker at 12:00 and an overwhelming sense of symmetry, both qualities that are key to Ming’s design throughout their product line.

So, we have the common platform squared away, let’s get to the updates and refinements. The key development here is the use of a sapphire dial and a guilloche ring placed around the outside of the movement. The dial has a gradient effect applied to its lower surface, which results in the guilloche ring’s depth and saturation appearing to fade from the chapter ring to the very outer perimeter of the dial where it finally meets the case. Hour markers have been laser etched directly into the surface of the sapphire dial, and Ming tells us that in the right lighting conditions they appear to “float” within the case because of the mirrored finish that has been applied. This is a complex, multi-layered dial that Ming promises takes on different appearances as it plays with the light. 

The 27.02 is powered by Ming’s 7001.M1 caliber, a heavily reworked ETA 7001 that has been customized to Ming’s specifications by Schwarz-Etienne. What they’ve done here is taken a fairly rudimentary and workhorse hand wound movement and decorated it to a degree that makes it nearly unrecognizable. Bridges have been cut to allow the components that are in motion to be on full display, and plates and bridges have been coated in a black chrome finish. It looks great, and offers a taste of haute horlogerie decoration at a somewhat more modest price. 

The 27.02 is available to order now directly through Ming at a price of CHF 4,950, and is limited to 200 examples. We should note that with this release Ming is doing things a little differently with the ordering process, and have allocated the first batch to existing Ming customers. Additional batches for new customers will be made available as early as tomorrow, and then later in January. More information on the new ordering process for the 27.02 (and the final batch of the 27.01) can be found on Ming’s website right here. Delivery of the 27.02 is expected to begin in November of this year. Ming