Glad to hear the 37.02 is a great daily driver for someone as horological experienced as you. I've long admired Ming and came close to buying several of their more affordable options.
My respect for Ming goes way, way back, to before he began creating his delightfully unique watches, back when he was a regular on the forums and shared his magnificent photos. It can't be easy to create distinctive watches with a unified and instantly identifiable brand style, but Ming has done it. Somehow he even manages to make same-length hour and minute hands legible; if that ain't a horological miracle, I'm not sure what is. Bravo!
One quibble: am I the only person who wishes that all 100M+ WR watches would come with screw-down crowns? Not because I doubt the rating--I'm sure the crown-in water resistance is as claimed, screw-down or no screw-down--but because without the screw-down feature it's just too damn easy to accidentally and unknowingly pop the crown out, or just forget to push it back in. And then, well, a little bit of water and you truly are, um, screwed.
Hi Rip! I don't know if a non-screw down crown is any more likely to be accidentally left open than a screw down crown ... someone out there might have that data cough cough *Rolex but I don't. I will say the only time I have ever left a crown open by accident it was a screw down crown, although there was no water intrusion anyway – it was a Tudor Ranger first gen and the immersion was in a kind of deep tub in a hotel, so make of that what you will 😂
Well, truth is, the only time I ever left a crown out was a screw-down, so now we're up to two data points against my hypothesis! 🤓 But to me, I guess it boils down to a word I didn't use: "seem." Whether they actually are or not, screw-down crowns SEEM more secure, just as dive watches SEEM more rugged, and I like that sense of worry-free security even though odds are I'll never need to take advantage of it.
Ouch, that has to be a very unpleasant experience! But meanwhile, it's beginning to look like the answer to my opening question is "yes, you are the only one!" 🤓
I think a very great many enthusiasts would prefer a screw down crown, all other things being equal, so you're not alone 😉 and it's psychologically reassuring. And I'm sure you get an extra margin of safety, but I don't think, with modern gaskets and sealants in a properly maintained watch, that the absence of one is a dealbreaker.
Yeah I'm not as much of a fan of screw down crowns as I used to be, largely for that reason. It almost always feels fiddly to get the threads to engage and while I'm reasonably sure you get better watertightness from an SCD, for anything other than frequent swimming/diving, it just seems more trouble than it's worth.
I like your thoughts on the Ming style and his unique hands. However, I have 50m & 100m (non-screw-down) watches and 200m (screw-down) watches, and I find it easy to remember which is which and how to use them. Knock on wood, but no issues in 25 years!
I’ve had my 37.02 since release and while I haven’t quite worn it everyday since, I have given it considerable wrist time. To be honest, as nice as it is, something about it wasn’t quite working for me. That is until I put it on a leather strap. I agree that the Ming rubber strap is very well though out and about as nice as they come (I generally prefer rubber straps on my watches), but I think this watch is a bit miscast on the OEM rubber strap. The watch wears very elegantly and while supple/pliable, the strap feels a bit too bulky for the watch. I recently took delivery of a textured calfskin strap and I think it’s really singing to me now.
I've been toying with the idea of swapping out the rubber strap for leather but so far I haven't felt the urge to go ahead and do it – I'm sure I will at some point though. I'm a little curious how it'd feel on one of those universal tantalum bracelets Ming, Shapiro, and Fleming are offering through the AHA, although that would probably make me wish for a version of the 37.02 with a tantalum case to match. And then of course I'd wonder about an upgrade to the movement, yadayadayada ... you know where this goes; before you know it it's a $25k limited series which somewhat defeats the purpose 😂 although it's fun to speculate what a ruthlessly upgraded 37.02 would look like.
There is not, as far as I can remember although it's a great idea. The Minimalist with an independently set-able hour hand would be terrific, even more so if there were a hidden home time hand under it, a la the Patek Travel Time. Set it up so that you can set the local time hour hand with a pusher at 10:00 and you'd really have something ...
Glad to hear the 37.02 is a great daily driver for someone as horological experienced as you. I've long admired Ming and came close to buying several of their more affordable options.
My respect for Ming goes way, way back, to before he began creating his delightfully unique watches, back when he was a regular on the forums and shared his magnificent photos. It can't be easy to create distinctive watches with a unified and instantly identifiable brand style, but Ming has done it. Somehow he even manages to make same-length hour and minute hands legible; if that ain't a horological miracle, I'm not sure what is. Bravo!
One quibble: am I the only person who wishes that all 100M+ WR watches would come with screw-down crowns? Not because I doubt the rating--I'm sure the crown-in water resistance is as claimed, screw-down or no screw-down--but because without the screw-down feature it's just too damn easy to accidentally and unknowingly pop the crown out, or just forget to push it back in. And then, well, a little bit of water and you truly are, um, screwed.
Hi Rip! I don't know if a non-screw down crown is any more likely to be accidentally left open than a screw down crown ... someone out there might have that data cough cough *Rolex but I don't. I will say the only time I have ever left a crown open by accident it was a screw down crown, although there was no water intrusion anyway – it was a Tudor Ranger first gen and the immersion was in a kind of deep tub in a hotel, so make of that what you will 😂
Well, truth is, the only time I ever left a crown out was a screw-down, so now we're up to two data points against my hypothesis! 🤓 But to me, I guess it boils down to a word I didn't use: "seem." Whether they actually are or not, screw-down crowns SEEM more secure, just as dive watches SEEM more rugged, and I like that sense of worry-free security even though odds are I'll never need to take advantage of it.
Personally have experienced more instances of stripping the crown tube on a screw down crown (twice) then leaving a non-screw down open (zero).
Ouch, that has to be a very unpleasant experience! But meanwhile, it's beginning to look like the answer to my opening question is "yes, you are the only one!" 🤓
I think a very great many enthusiasts would prefer a screw down crown, all other things being equal, so you're not alone 😉 and it's psychologically reassuring. And I'm sure you get an extra margin of safety, but I don't think, with modern gaskets and sealants in a properly maintained watch, that the absence of one is a dealbreaker.
Yeah I'm not as much of a fan of screw down crowns as I used to be, largely for that reason. It almost always feels fiddly to get the threads to engage and while I'm reasonably sure you get better watertightness from an SCD, for anything other than frequent swimming/diving, it just seems more trouble than it's worth.
I like your thoughts on the Ming style and his unique hands. However, I have 50m & 100m (non-screw-down) watches and 200m (screw-down) watches, and I find it easy to remember which is which and how to use them. Knock on wood, but no issues in 25 years!
I’ve had my 37.02 since release and while I haven’t quite worn it everyday since, I have given it considerable wrist time. To be honest, as nice as it is, something about it wasn’t quite working for me. That is until I put it on a leather strap. I agree that the Ming rubber strap is very well though out and about as nice as they come (I generally prefer rubber straps on my watches), but I think this watch is a bit miscast on the OEM rubber strap. The watch wears very elegantly and while supple/pliable, the strap feels a bit too bulky for the watch. I recently took delivery of a textured calfskin strap and I think it’s really singing to me now.
I've been toying with the idea of swapping out the rubber strap for leather but so far I haven't felt the urge to go ahead and do it – I'm sure I will at some point though. I'm a little curious how it'd feel on one of those universal tantalum bracelets Ming, Shapiro, and Fleming are offering through the AHA, although that would probably make me wish for a version of the 37.02 with a tantalum case to match. And then of course I'd wonder about an upgrade to the movement, yadayadayada ... you know where this goes; before you know it it's a $25k limited series which somewhat defeats the purpose 😂 although it's fun to speculate what a ruthlessly upgraded 37.02 would look like.
Thanks for the detailed review. I am also becoming very interested in Ming - good that this model is not supply restricted.
Couple of questions:
Does the hour hand move separately for convenience when changing time zones?
Or is there a Ming which does have this function?
Thanks.
There is not, as far as I can remember although it's a great idea. The Minimalist with an independently set-able hour hand would be terrific, even more so if there were a hidden home time hand under it, a la the Patek Travel Time. Set it up so that you can set the local time hour hand with a pusher at 10:00 and you'd really have something ...
The only one watch guy is a watch collector.
The real one watch guy has one watch ,who when it dies,buys a new watch.
As for the reverse snobbery of beating up an expensive watch that other people dream of,that’s just a wanker showing off.
Just purchased my first Ming, from an auction. The 22.01 gilt. Pretty stoked to give this brand a try.