My Geneva Watch Days meeting with Ming Thein was easily one of my favorites of that whirlwind week. It was one of those hours where you?re presented with watch, after watch, after watch, and you kind of can?t help but get lost in all of the cool stuff you?re seeing. Ming was incredibly kind to pull out watches that have been out (and sold out) for years, just so I could get a look at random pieces here and there from throughout the brand?s history that I may have missed. Seeing the full scope of the brand, though, is important in understanding the newest piece, one that I saw under embargo in that meeting, that Ming is incredibly proud of. The 37.02 Minimalist is not the flashiest or most expensive Ming, but it feels like a watch that sees the brand entering a new and exciting phase. 
According to the brand, the 37.02 is the first watch in the Ming catalog to be designed, engineered, and managed by Horologer Ming SA, the brand?s new Swiss entity. Horologer Ming SA was created in an effort to streamline and internalize Ming?s complex engineering and production processes while maintaining as much control as possible over the supply chain. This, ultimately, is what the brand hopes will lead to the shorter lead times that their collectors (and would-be collectors) have been asking for for years. 
That?s exemplified nicely in the 37.02, a watch that leans on core Ming design characteristics that have been developed since the brand?s founding, while also pushing ahead in ne...