Defining ‘ultimate’

The 19.01 was conceived without a target price: it was a result of us asking the question: ‘what would our ultimate simple daily-wear watch be?’ It would be robust, distinctive, practical; subtle but layered and nuanced, with suitable horological pedigree. The kind of watch that could form the backbone of a collection. Above all, it should carry and advance the MING design DNA.

All key elements from the 17.01 are present, but have been taken a step further: we challenge the boundaries of transparency and skeletonization – but without seeing one’s wrist hair. Sapphire is extensively used in the case construction, and the easy to wind crown and distinctive flared lugs from the 17.01 are retained but gain additional sculpting; the ring motifs remain, and axial symmetry is preserved.

The strength of partnerships

The 19.01 continues to advance our philosophy of using ‘best in class’ partners for all aspects of our watches. It was designed by Ming Thein in Kuala Lumpur; serialized and assembled by Manufacture Schwarz-Etienne in La Chaux-de-Fonds. The straps are constructed for us by Jean Rousseau in Paris; even the travel pouch is handmade in Kuala Lumpur by local leather artisans Thirtyfour Bespoke.

A special movement

The 19.01 is powered by an exclusive version of the Schwarz-Etienne MSE100 – now MSE100.1 – with skeletonized bridges, anglage and two-tone anthracite beadblast. The barrel covers have also been skeletonized to allow the owner to easily determine the state of wind of the watch. It will run for over 100 hours when fully wound, and is adjusted to five positions; all components including the hairspring are made in-house by Schwarz-Etienne.

Uniqueness in construction and details

The 19.01’s case – in reality a thin titanium band holding the two deep-box sapphire crystals together – is made from grade 5 titanium with a mixture of mirror-polished and finely brushed surfaces. It is once again constructed without a spacer ring for maximum rigidity. A very small bezel diameter makes it visually larger than its 39mm physical diameter, but it still wears well on a range of wrist sizes as the lugs have been kept short. The dial is where the 19.01 is truly unique: it is a deep opaque blue in the center, and fully transparent at the edges to allow some of the movement’s baseplate to be seen. Made of sapphire, it has a reflective lustre reminiscent of enamel.

Both sapphire crystals carry double antireflective coatings inside and out. Hands are skeletonized and loaded with Superluminova X1, along with the ring inside the bezel that projects a soft glow onto both dial and crystal markings. We have also retained the quick release curved straps – now made to our specification by Jean Rousseau in Paris.