Introducing Ming unveils the LW.01 Ultra Light, the lightest watch in the world

Ming seems to have broken a record with the announcement of the new Ming LW.01 series from their "Special Projects Cave." With a "head-only" weight of 8.8 grams for the manually-wound version and 10.8 grams for the automatic, Ming claims that they believe they have created "the world's lightest mechanical wristwatches.

The result is a watch that looks a lot like every other Ming in any traditional sense. You have the traditional "Ming'' case shape and lugs, the case construction, at 38mm by 6.5mm thick, it's a thin watch as well. Instead of a sapphire crystal, they also chose a crystal that is not sapphire, but instead a lighter Corning Gorilla Glass 6 via “Knight Optical solution” with an additional hardening and anti-reflective treatment. Other weight-saving features include PEEK case screws and an anodized aluminum crown. Ming has also chosen fixed strap bars to enhance rigidity in the design.

 Instead of a traditional construction where a dial is fixed to the movement, then the movement to the caseband, Ming has gone in a different direction. The MING LW.01 has a combined "dial" ring and hat-shaped movement holder. That assembly is supported from the rear by a cage with 3D struts for more strength and rigidity. That construction is made out of AZ31 Magnesium-Aluminium-Zinc-Manganese alloy from “Smiths High Performance” a leading English company specializing in high-performance materials.  that is both lighter than carbon , more consistent to produce than hollow 3D printing, and retains the feel of metal. To enhance durability, the case surface undergoes a plasma electrolytic oxidation treatment provided by the advanced surface treatments company "Keronite," adding corrosion resistance.

To save weight, there is no dial on this watch. Ming has removed the dial and done a gradient print on the surface of the crystal to hide the movement. That printing has an "interference pattern," a positive pattern on the top of a disc and a negative pattern on the bottom of the crystal. The result is a central display that pulses like a star to show that the movement is running. The hour hand is a shuriken shape and an openworked triangle hand for the minutes.

within the Ming LW.01 series the choice between automatic or manual-winding movement . Both are based on the ETA 2000 and are finished by Schwarz-Etienne. The movement is visible via the gradient crystal, and wearers can expect a 36-hour power reserve. 

The Ming LW.01 will come on a new single-layer Alcantara “Record” strap from Jean Rousseau with an AZ31 buckle. Two additional straps will ship with the watches, including a rubber and a double-layer Alcantara version.

The watch is limited to 200 pieces, priced at CHF19,500, which is equivalent to 79,600 AED.

For more information, please visit Ming official website.