Get ready for something interesting with the newest release from MING — a limited edition built around a material almost nobody uses in watchmaking.
The big selling point for the new drop from the Swiss-Malaysian independent watchmaker is a dial made with hand-hammered pewter. In case you didn’t know (and I certainly didn’t), pewter is a tin-based alloy strengthened with small amounts of copper and antimony.
The pewter for this dial was provided by Royal Selangor, another company based in Kuala Lumpur. Their version runs nearly 97% tin, meeting the highest international standard for the material. It doesn’t tarnish or corrode easily, and should develop a soft patina over time.
On top of that, the production process is still largely manual: the metals are melted together, poured into steel molds, cooled, then filed and polished by hand. The hammered texture ends up catching light differently from every angle, so no two dials look quite the same.
The case is MING’s familiar 37-series in titanium, set 38mm wide and weighing just 35.9 grams, with another cool detail: there are no markers on the dial.
Instead, the front crystal itself is engraved with the hour track and filled with Super-LumiNova X1, matched by X1-coated hands. Inside is the Sellita SW300.M1 for MING, visible through the caseback.
A first for MING, too
If the name MING rings a bell but you couldn’t say much beyond that, here’s the short version: they’re an independent watchmaker founded by photographer Ming Thein in 2017, known for pushing unusual materials and mechanics that bigger brands tend to play safe on (stuff like the world’s lightest production watch, or a wild 3D-printed titanium bracelet).
Royal Selangor’s own story goes back to 1885, when a young pewtersmith named Yong Koon arrived in Kuala Lumpur and started making incense burners and candlestands for temples. Nearly a century and a half later, it’s the largest pewter manufacturer in the world.
It’s also a first for MING in the other direction. All 88 pieces will be assembled locally in Kuala Lumpur, through infrastructure the brand built specifically for this project — the first time MING has handled final assembly outside its usual Swiss operation for a collaboration.
A lot of brand collaborations amount to a special dial slapped on an existing case, finished wherever the brand normally finishes things. MING built out actual production capability in Malaysia to make this one, which is a real commitment for a genuinely independent watchmaker rather than a symbolic gesture.
Where to Buy It
The MING 37.06 Royal Selangor is limited to 88 pieces at 5,000 Swiss francs each, or around $6200 USD. It’s available now directly through Royal Selangor boutiques, with a small number of pieces going up on ming.watch starting August 6.
