Having metaphorically dipped its toe in the water in 2019 with the experimental Abyss Concept prototype, MING returns with a fully practical and beautifully engineered diver’s watch, with a dash of contemporary styling in the ice cool 18.01 H41 Diver.

For a fleeting moment back in 2019 there was a diver’s watch from MING. Not actually an official release, it was known as the Abyss Concept, and was essentially a finished prototype constructed from the components which had been produced during the brand’s R&D exercise, and whose origins had begun around the same time as the first Ming watch, the 17.01, had been on the drawing board. Only ten examples were assembled from the experimental parts, and it required both an eagle eye and a trigger finger to get one, with demand far outstripping availability. They were gone before the word hit the street.

A relatively new brand which debuted as recently as 2017, MING has quickly become something of a collector’s favourite due to the combination of accessible pricing, cool, minimalist styling and high all-round quality. In short, while neither a fully fledged indie nor a microbrand per se, with a MING you get a lot of watch for the money, and the new diver ticks all of those boxes - emphatically.

Drawing from first hand diving experience from within its own design team, a number of whom are avid divers themselves, the 18.01 H41 is a watch which has been refined and tweaked obsessively from concept to this final realisation, and in its 40mm case of Grade 5 titanium which stands just 12.9mm tall it is light and according to MING, one of, if not the slimmest dive watches available, which considering that the sapphire crystal is 3.5mm thick is quite some achievement.

Before going into its detail, the first and most telling impression one gets is that the 18.01 H41 is not just another look-alike player in a massively saturated sector, where competing brands are often so clone-like in their appearance that many have become virtually indistinguishable from one another, unless viewed up close and staring down on the logo on the dial. In everything we have seen from them this far, MING habitually veers away from shouty exuberance, and towards clean design, and with this diver’s watch that philosophy continues, and that’s precisely what sets the H41 apart from all the others.

As a product created to do a job in a potentially dangerous environment where there is no margin for error, it is superbly designed, detailed and engineered throughout. Its full rating is not yet known, but having been tested to over 1,250 metres without any sign of stress at such pressure, the declared 1 km/3,280 ft which is inscribed onto the caseback is comfortably within its capabilities.

That it is also a cool, contemporary and handsome wristwatch which can be worn anywhere is a derivative of all of those elements combined, and even on a fleeting encounter it is quickly obvious that much thought and deliberation has been put into its development. In fact, for an interesting little snippet of trivia, the reason how it came to be called the H41 is a reference to it being the forty-first iteration of the eighth generation (‘H’) in the design process.

The titanium case is both light on the wrist and pretty much scratch resistant, even on its polished sections, such as the waist of the case and on out along the sides of the flared lugs. On the underside the centre of the caseback has a grippy, high-friction surface finish, to prevent the watch rotating on the wrist while under water, while multiple gaskets defend against any water ingress via the back, bezel or crown, which itself has a little red warning collar which stands out if it has not been fully screwed in.

Central to any dive watch of course is the instant at-a-glance legibility of its primary functions, from the constant motion of the second hand which confirms that the watch is actually running, to the length of the dive using the minute hand against the segmented scale around the bezel. To maximise optimal visibility in any low light environment, MING has incorporated three different methods of applying the powerful Super-LumiNova X1 lume to achieve this. On the dial, the chapter ring is manufactured in a novel sapphire/ceramic composite called HyCeram, which is charged with a fusion of the luminous material, and the three hands are ergonomic, functional and each readily identifiable with prominent luminous inserts on the hour and minute hands and a dot near the tip of the second hand.

The bezel is made of stainless steel, and again considerable thought has gone into how it has been designed and engineered. Although it does not look like it as there are no serrated angular grips around its edge, it rotates as would be expected on a diver’s watch, and has sixty solid clicks to ensure that it is easily set, but difficult to move accidentally. The scale around it is neatly divided into four fifteen minute segments, with the first defined in minutes followed by three parts which incrementally decrease in width before terminating with the brand name. Because it is not unknown for a dive watch to get damaged due to being exposed to impact and wear, the luminous material on the bezel is doubly protected. Firstly, it is applied as a liquid epoxy to fill the stencilled channels around the bezel, so it is embedded within the bezel as opposed to applied on top of it, and then the finished part is coated with practically indestructible DLC, ensuring that regardless of whatever nature or its owner might throw at it, the MING 18.01 H41 will emerge unscathed.

Its purposeful light show is primarily developed to be beneficial in those underwater adventures, but of course not all adventures happen underwater, and as a stylish statement of a sporty lifestyle and the individuality of understated exotica, which is part of the MING ownership experience, it is eminently effective out of the water as well.

Inside, a Top Grade ETA 2824-2 self winding movement has been modified by the renowned Schwarz Etienne manufacture, a company which has previously been a technical partner to MING, and in whose Swiss workshops the watch has been assembled, emphasising once again an underlying commitment to quality in terms of design, materials and resources.

All in all, a remarkably well conceived and uncompromisingly thoroughly executed piece from a young brand which truly can claim to use the word ‘disruptive’ (although they are not so pretentious as to do so), the MING 18.01 H41 will have two variants, with an all steel/DLC option available, as well as the two-tone titanium/steel version described here. Both come with a titanium link bracelet with folding deployant clasp, or a bespoke rubber strap with pin buckle, which are easily interchangeable.

At this time a limited edition of 280 watches has been announced, unusually in two tranches, of first 150 pieces, and two weeks later a further 130 watches, as the brand is attempting to extend the opportunity for genuine customers to buy, as opposed to the opportunist flipper who buys only to resell for a handy profit, but fresh off the back of an almost instant sell-out of its 19.02 World Timer just over a month ago, it’s still likely that if you dither you’ll miss it.

Fact File:

Reference: 18.01 H41
Manufacturer: MING
Limited edition of: 280 pieces
Gender: Mens/Unisex
Case: Grade 5 titanium, DLC stainless steel bezel with Super-LumiNova dive scale
Case dimension: ø 40mm, H 12.9mm
Dial: Black with HyCeram luminous chapter ring, luminous hands
Features: Rotating bezel
Movement: Schwarz Etienne modified ETA 2824-2 self-winding, 28’800 vib/h
Functions: Hours, minutes, seconds
Power reserve: 40 hours
Caseback: Solid, high-friction surface
Water resistance: 1 km/1,000 m/3280 ft
Strap: Titanium link bracelet with folding clasp/rubber strap with pin buckle
Warranty: Two years manufacturer
Price: 3’250 CHF (bracelet) / 2’950 CHF (strap)