Ming is debuting their latest fifth generation design reference in the 57.05 Comet, a watch that marks the brand’s ninth anniversary. The Comet, so named for the world’s first commercial jet airliner, the de Havilland Comet, is quite fittingly, a worldtimer. Being a Ming, this isn’t just any worldtimer, however, and they have found a way to cleverly incorporate an adjustment to account for daylight savings time, but only for locations that observe it. There’s no shortage of Ming character to be found here, but there’s also something else that pushes this watch over the top.
Heritage design cues have had a hold on the industry for much of the past decade, and while they have resulted in some extraordinary watches, they’ve also been something of a crutch, in my opinion. Ming has largely resisted any sort of throwback inspiration (well, in so far as watches are concerned, at least), and it has served them well. This is a brand that occupies their own space within the independent watch scene thanks to their appetite for taking risks, and pushing design forward. They are shaping the future rather than relying on the past.
With the 57.05 Comet, Ming thoughtfully pulls a thread of old-world inspiration, all in service to the theme of the watch. While not overt, there is just enough of a Patek 1415-ish vibe happening here that works rather well in the confines of Ming’s distinctive case and dial work. All the details you’d expect in a Ming are there, but the broad steel bezel piece depicting the cities sticks out as the defining factor of this design. And it works.
A sense of familiarity comes from the execution of the city displacement on the bezel, but the functionality within has an unexpected twist that’s never been seen on a worldtimer prior. This is the ability to turn DST on and off with a twist of the outer portion of that bezel. Doing so shifts the affected cities one hour, allowing the wearer to more accurately account for global timezones with ease. The cities which do not observe daylight savings time are housed on the inner portion of the bezel, thus remaining in place. Not content with just the ability to shift the cities, there is also an aperture that will fill with red when DST is ‘on’.
It’s a brilliantly simple solution to a problem that has never really been addressed in a worldtimer, and it’s been done in a way that feels organic to Ming’s established DNA. The rest of the expected functionality comes courtesy of the Sellita for MING calibre 330.M2 within, which places the 24 hour scale at the perimeter of the inner dial portion. An hour scale is etched into the crystal with a pair of shapely hands reading off the time.
Not content to take a backseat to the bezel, the inner portion of the dial offers its own intrigue. The dial itself consists of multiple layers of “overlapping raster structures”, meaning it changes in appearance as the time passes. This is a shifting pattern the brand is calling the ‘Comet tail’. As with many Ming watches, this preserves a dynamic experience with the watch.
All of this is set within a 40mm 316L steel case that features art-deco style lugs that pair surprisingly well with the bezel structure. The lugs are composed of nine individual components that transition from brushed to polished surfaces. The case as a whole measures 10.3mm in thickness, so wearability should be about on par with what I’ve come to expect from Ming, which is to say excellent.
There’s a lot going on with this watch, and while I’m tempted to say one of these things could have been held back, I actually think the whole feels cohesive. One odd detail is that Ming is offering the watch on their titanium mesh bracelet, and mixing a steel case with a titanium bracelet always feels like an odd choice. Though if any bracelet were to be an exception to that rule, it would likely be this one. The watch will also be offered on a Jean Rousseau strap, if you’d rather.
Ming will produce just 200 examples of the 57.05 Comet on strap, and another 200 on the bracelet. Pricing is set at CHF 6,950 with shipping set to commence later this year. Ming
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