Ming is celebrating their eighth anniversary this year, and they’re taking the opportunity to introduce a new design language with a chronograph dubbed the 57.04 Iris. This watch introduces the brand’s fifth generation, which they refer to as a modern take on art deco, with tightly sculpted surfaces and bold finishes all built atop a core shape that still feels very much in line with traditional Ming DNA. The Iris takes things a step further with a metallic deep dish dial with multiphasic, colour shift coating. Oh, and it’s a handwinding monopusher chronograph. They threw everything but the kitchen sink at this one, and the result is exactly as dramatic as you’d expect.
At a glance, the first thing you’ll be pulled into here is the technicolor dial that shifts between all manner of hues between thin segmentations that rise to a peak at the dial’s perimeter. It’s trippy and captivating at the same time, with only the solid black minute totalizer sub dial at six o’clock breaking with the theme. Tapered hands track the time, with the hour hand getting a full application of lume, and the minute hand receiving just an outline. Hour segmentations are set within the crystal itself in a move we’ve come to expect from the brand, leaving the dial itself uninhibited.
As unhinged as the dial is (in the best possible sense), the case itself brings plenty of new and interesting details into the mix, hammering home the art deco inspiration. The steel case measures 40mm in diameter, and features a triple step lug design with a mix of brushed and polished surfaces that feel absolutely decadent in nature. These lugs make a statement, feel like a perfect pairing to keep up with the dial. There isn’t a single boring angle on this watch, to the extent that you may have not even noticed the destro crown placement, which also houses the single chronograph pusher.
Ming is using a movement developed with Sellita called the SW562.M1, which is visible through an exhibition back. There’s a lot to appreciate with this movement, as it allows for just a 30 minute totalizer placement, uses a monopusher design, and allows for a total watch thickness under 12mm. Sure it uses a cam style chronograph actuation, but it nails the aesthetic with an anthracite mainplate, and contrasting 4N three-quarter plate. It feels like no detail has gone overlooked here.
The Iris is a watch that has so much going on that it almost feels overwhelming, but it comes together way better than it has any right to, and really serves as a wonderful stimulant for the senses. There are details here that will lay the foundation for future releases to be sure, and in that sense this is a watch that could be seen as a showcase of just how far the brand has come, and what’s in store moving ahead.
The 57.04 Iris comes with a steel brick road style bracelet (which also fits some of their other references), and an anthracite goat strap which can be swapped out. Just 100 pieces are planned for production, and pricing is set at CHF 6,250. Ming