To mark its ninth anniversary, independent watchmaker Ming has introduced the 57.05 Comet, a 40 mm stainless-steel worldtime watch that takes a practical approach to daylight saving time (DST).

Built around Ming’s fifth-generation design language, the 57.05 Comet introduces a patent-pending mechanical system that allows the wearer to adjust cities observing DST with a single click, without affecting those that remain on standard time. It also becomes Ming’s most accessible worldtime watch to date. The watch takes its name from the de Havilland Comet, the world’s first commercial jet airliner.

Conventional worldtime watches display standard time across multiple cities, but DST introduces a seasonal complication that separates cities according to whether or not they observe DST. Cities unaffected by DST remain positioned on the inner bezel, while DST-observing cities are placed on a separate outer bezel.

Rotating the outer bezel by one click, or precisely 15 degrees, advances only the relevant cities by one hour against the 24-hour scale. A spring-loaded ball and corresponding recesses beneath the bezel provide positive positions for standard time and DST. The status of the system can be read through a small aperture between eight and nine o’clock, marked DST ON. The indicator appears silver when DST is inactive and red when it is active. Distinct grip points along the outer bezel also make the adjustment easier to operate.44

The 57.05 Comet’s display is complemented by a multilayered blue dial featuring overlapping raster structures. Ming calls the resulting visual effect the Comet Tail. The rotating 24-hour indication surrounds the central dial. Ming has also incorporated different luminous treatments across the display. The handset uses blue-emission Super-LumiNova X1, while the 24-hour scale combines blue emission for daytime hours with orange emission for nighttime hours. When DST is activated, the DST ON indicator also glows red. Completing the display is Ming’s floating box-style top crystal, which is laser-engraved and filled with the brand’s proprietary Polar White luminous material to create white-emission markers for the primary 12-hour indices.

The 57.05 Comet uses Ming’s fifth-generation design language, identified by its triple-stepped lug architecture. The 40 mm x 10.33 mm case is crafted from 316L stainless steel and combines Art Deco-inspired elements with the more sculptural forms of Ming’s contemporary case design.

The multi-piece lug construction is particularly complex, requiring nine individual components. This allows adjacent surfaces to carry distinct brushed and polished finishes with a level of definition that would be difficult to achieve through conventional case construction. Despite the intricate construction, the watch is designed for regular travel and offers 100 metres of water resistance. It is available with either a cobalt blue goat leather strap by Jean Rousseau Paris or Ming’s signature Polymesh bracelet in titanium.

Visible through the sapphire crystal exhibition caseback is the self-winding Sellita for Ming calibre 330.M2. The movement provides approximately 50 hours of power reserve and features skeletonised bridges with brushed finishing and an anthracite coating, positioned over a matching anthracite-coated baseplate.