MING, known for pushing boundaries in watchmaking, has unveiled a groundbreaking timepiece that redefines lightweight luxury. After several years of meticulous craftsmanship and innovation, the MING LW.01 Series – Manual and LW.01 Automatic are here to challenge the limits of mechanical wristwatches.
For MING’s fourth anniversary, the brand aimed to create the world’s lightest mechanical watches, and they succeeded with the LW.01 Manual weighing a featherlight 8.8 grams, and the LW.01 Automatic at 10.8 grams, for the watch head alone.
What makes these watches extraordinary is not just their weight but the engineering marvel behind them. The team at MING employed exotic materials, including the AZ31 Magnesium-Aluminium-Zinc-Manganese alloy, known for its lightweight properties and metal-like feel. They used advanced techniques like plasma-electrolytic oxidation and finite element simulation to ensure both durability and weight efficiency.
The design is a testament to MING’s commitment to innovation. The absence of a traditional dial, replaced by gradient-printed crystal, and the use of Corning Gorilla Glass 6 contribute to the watches’ lightweight profile. Even the screws, crown, and bars were meticulously optimized for the perfect balance between durability and weight.
The LW.01 pays homage to MING’s earlier creations with distinctive features like the pulse seconds disc, shuriken hour hand, and skeletonized indices. It’s a masterpiece of collaboration, with specialists in materials, machining, and assembly contributing to its creation.
The MING LW.01 Series is a limited edition release, with only 200 watches available, priced at $21,744. Customers can choose between the manual and automatic versions. Order availability begins on October 27, 2023, at 1 PM GMT, exclusively on MING’s website. Deliveries are expected to start in the fourth quarter of 2024, offering a select few the chance to own a piece of history that defies the norms of mechanical watchmaking.
For more news from MING, check out the MING 37.07 Monolith.