It?s a little hard to believe, but it?s been five whole years since Ming launched the 17.01, which is a watch that has become something of a cult classic in the world of small watch brands. With that release and many others, Ming helped to change what we think of as a ?microbrand? in the last half decade, offering watches at what you could easily describe as a traditionally competitive price point, as well as timepieces that aspire to true haute horlogerie. Every bit as impressive as the breadth of watches they?ve made in a relatively short time period is the way that Ming has honed in on a very particular aesthetic and design language, regularly advancing it, but never actually deviating from it. The result is that if you?re around watches at all, a Ming is as easy to spot as a Speedmaster or a Royal Oak – the distinctive flared lugs and a unique hand shape used throughout the catalog easily gives them away. For their latest release, an anniversary watch that?s a riff on one of their rarest and most objectively beautiful limited editions, the brand has hewn fairly close to what we expect from them, while making small changes that really add up. In short, it?s a typical Ming release. 
The headline here is the mosaic dial, a style borrowed from the 20.11 linked above. That watch used multiple layers of sapphire to create a deep mosaic effect, and the five figure price point was a reflection of the watch?s complex manufacturing process. For this new watch, th...