Founded in 2017, Horologer Ming has gained popularity for its distinctive, limited-production watches in a relatively short time. Ahead of Watches and Wonders 2025, the brand has launched a new 35mm extra flat dress watch called ‘Project 21’, in two iterations - one, a blue souscription dial, which is already sold out, and a copper dial variant, limited to 15 pieces.
The execution of Ming’s Project 21 emerged from a unique challenge presented to founder Ming Thein during a dinner in Singapore in 2023. The question was simple: What would a watch designed entirely for himself, with no commercial constraints, look like? While this posed an intriguing opportunity for creative exploration, it also required a delicate balance between personal vision and practical limitations. Ten collectors committed to the project, knowing only the price cap, and delivery date, and that it would feature a special movement. Much like a horological ‘Omakase’, a Japanese phrase used when ordering food in restaurants, which means ‘I’ll leave it up to you.’
The movement chosen for the watch was a vintage Frederic Piguet Calibre 21, which was originally developed by Frederic Piguet in 1925 and whose derivatives most reputed brands like Patek Philippe, Audemars Piguet, Vacheron Constantin, Jaeger-LeCoultre, IWC Schaffhausen, Blancpain, and Cartier have been using with their take on it. The vintage movement has a thickness of 1.75mm and is one of the thinnest and most historically significant calibres ever produced and a favourite of Ming Thein. The project involved significant reworking, with new bridges, including one in titanium, and skeletonizing to reveal the gear train and jewels set in chatons. Ming partnered with TitAl SA and Mathis Horlogerie to implement these extensive changes. All other bridges are distinguished by polished angles and fine sablage on the surface. Visible from the caseback, the calibre provides a power reserve of about 38 hours.
To house this movement, Ming opted for tantalum, a rare and hard-to-work-with material. “I settled on 35mm – at the threshold of modernity, with a clear vintage bias. I wanted it to wear large, which it does thanks to a narrow bezel, and markers and dial elements pushed to the very outer edge. It needed to be thin, to harmonize with the movement. And it would of course have to be built to modern standards – 50m water resistance and good torsional rigidity,” Ming Thein explained. For this, he partnered with Joshua Shapiro, watchmaker and co-founder of the Alternative Horological Alliance based in Los Angeles, California.
The dial, brought to life by FEMTOprint is equally special. Despite being an extra-thin watch, Project 21 has two faces: the first features a multi-layered pattern of strakes confined within a fused borosilicate layer. This is suspended over a CVD-coated brass plate that’s only 400 microns thick, yet manages to carry milling that echoes the strake pattern above. The indices are etched into the outer crystal, and the skeletonized hands have polished and angled flanks; due to its thinness and thematic intent, there is no luminous material, making the Project 21 one of the very few watches of Ming that does not emit a glow in the darkness.
The watch is offered with a 1 calf leather strap by Jean Rousseau Paris and 1 additional strap of the customer’s choice.
Following the delivery of the original ten “omakase” pieces, for family and friends, Ming has also released a limited edition of 15 pieces for public sale. This edition features a 5N pink gold coated dial and matching movement with 5N rose gold coated bridges. The edition is priced at CHF 32,500, and is available on Ming’s official website and through authorized retailers.
This article was first published in WatchTime.com
Images: Courtesy brand
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