This Titanium GMT Dive Watch Is Unlike Anything Else I’ve Seen

At last year’s GPHG Awards, colloquially referred to as the Oscars for watches, one of the biggest shockers of the night was Ming taking home the prize for Best Sports Watch, beating out far bigger and more traditionally sporty brands, including Tudor, IWC and Zenith.

But that’s not to say in any way that Ming’s victory was undeserved. The 37.09 Bluefin diver that won is a highly innovative and attractive dive watch that packs 600m of water resistance into a compact and incredibly comfortable case while also featuring a unique innovation typical of Ming: instead of an internally rotating bezel, the watch’s second crown rotates the entire sapphire dial on which the dive scale is printed — in Super-LumiNova, of course.

Ming followed up the Bluefin with a blacked-out version called the Uni, and now the brand is once again revisiting its 37-Series diver architecture with its first-ever GMT diver, the 37.11 Odyssey. I’ve spent the past week with the watch, and let’s just say I won’t be surprised if the watch picks up some hardware at next year’s GPHG Awards.

Photo by Johnny Brayson for Gear Patrol

An award-worthy GMT

I’ve never tried on a Ming that was anywhere near uncomfortable, but even for a brand that has wrist ergonomics down to an exact science, the Odyssey stands out for its unsurpassed comfort. It measures 38mm across, 12.6mm thick and 44.5mm lug-to-lug, but feels even smaller on the wrist thanks in part to the curved lugs of the 37-Series case. Despite its automatic GMT movement, it’s just as slim the Bluefin, thanks to that watch’s 600m water resistance being halved to a still highly capable 300m rating here.

The fully brushed case is made of pure Grade 2 titanium, so it’s exceptionally light. Physically, the watch disappears on the wrist, but visually, it does no such thing. Thanks to the thin bezel and expansive dial of the 37-Series case, the Odyssey has plenty of wrist presence, even though I continually forgot I was wearing it. (True story: I forgot to take it off while sanding down some drywall, and it got covered in white dust. Nothing a quick rinse under the faucet couldn’t fix; thanks, 300m water resistance!)

Photo by Johnny Brayson for Gear Patrol

The dial is classic Ming, in all the best ways. It’s made of sapphire, of course, but instead of the dark metallization effect used on the Bluefin, the Odyssey’s dial is smoked.

When viewed straight on, it appears mostly black with just a faint hint of visible gears from the movement. But turn the dial into the light and Ming’s trademark “inversion” effect takes place, with the black dial disappearing and revealing more of the movement.

Photo by Johnny Brayson for Gear Patrol

Replacing the dive scale printed around the edge of the dial is a 24-hour track that makes use of several colors. The markers for hours 5 through 19 are all in orange for the nighttime hours, while the daytime hours from 7 to 17 are in blue.

The four cardinal markers representing hours 6, 12, 18 and 24 are all in white, with the latter being a Ming wordmark. They are, of course, all printed in Super-LumiNova and glow orange, blue and green, respectively.

Photo by Johnny Brayson for Gear Patrol

The hour markers, which incorporate the Ming logo at 12:00, are printed on the underside of the slightly domed sapphire crystal, creating a cool floating effect that Ming simply does better than any other brand. The overlapping lines of the indices, which are borrowed from the brand’s 37.02 Minimalist, can be a bit hard to read at first, but I got used to them quickly enough.

Like on the Minimalist, the hour markers are printed in Ming’s proprietary Polar White lume, the only lume that glows white. This is the second watch I’ve reviewed featuring the stuff, and it’s fantastic. The white glow is very ethereal, and it looks like nothing else. It also seems like Ming has strengthened its formula, as the Polar White here seems much brighter and longer-lasting than when I tested it before on the 57.04 Iris.

The hands are unique to the Odyssey, and they’re pretty novel. White at the tip and black at their base, they feature Ming’s first-ever application of gradient lume. Green-glowing Super-LumiNova X1, in this case. The watch also keeps the fully lumed seconds hand from the Bluefin, which is very welcome here, as most Mings don’t have a seconds hand at all.

Then there’s the GMT hand, which is one of my favorite parts of the watch. The hand itself is black, and it’s invisible against the dial most of the time. But at its tip, lining up with the 24-hour scale, is a white indicator that looks like a little starship. I’m not sure what it’s actually supposed to be, but given Ming’s sci-fi aesthetic, I’m going with starship.

The movement inside is a custom Sellita for Ming Cal. SW330.M2 automatic, and it’s the best-looking SW330 you’ll ever see with an anthracite skeletonized mainplate, bridges and rotor. Since it’s a Sellita, that means this is an “office” GMT, meaning you can’t adjust the local hour hand independently. But I didn’t mind, because my preferred way of adjusting the GMT setting was by rotating the bezel. Or, in this case, the dial.

Photo by Johnny Brayson for Gear Patrol

The Odyssey uses the same rotating dial architecture as the Bluefin, and it’s such a joy to operate. Turning the crown at 4:00 rotates the entire sapphire dial, one step at a time, with each turn resulting in an uber-satisfying click. It’s bidirectional and has 24 clicks, each one an absolute tactile pleasure.

The two crowns are adorned with luminous rings, one blue and one white (that glows green). They give the watch an almost biological feel, looking like a pair of eyes in the dark.

Photo by Johnny Brayson for Gear Patrol

Speaking of the dark, the lume is one of this watch’s coolest features while also being its greatest flaw. Because of the different colors used, not everything glows evenly. The hands and blue/green sections of the bezel glow brightest, followed by the Polar White hour markers, which hold their own. But the disappointment comes from the orange elements.

I’ve never seen orange lume that works well, and the Odyssey’s application doesn’t change that. Freshly charged from a UV light, it looks cool as hell, but the orange fades fast and becomes invisible before too long. That fact, combined with how tiny the printing is on the GM24-hourT scale, makes the GMT fairly difficult to read in the dark.

Photo by Johnny Brayson for Gear Patrol

Lastly, there are the strap and bracelet options. Ming offers the Odyssey on your choice of their Universal Bracelet in titanium, their rubber strap with Tuck Buckle, or the brand’s new 3D-printed titanium Polymesh strap. I received the first two for review, so I won’t comment on the Polymesh except to say that I did briefly go hands-on with one at the WatchTime watch fair last month in New York, and it’s quite insane. It’s silky smooth and crazy light, but it is expensive, so your mileage may vary.

I can say with confidence, however, that you won’t be disappointed with either the Universal Bracelet or the rubber strap. The bracelet’s small links give it excellent articulation, and its hidden butterfly clasp creates a seamless design. My favorite, though, is the FKM rubber strap, which is also the cheapest.

Ming makes the softest, most supple rubber straps I’ve used, with the possible exception of Moser, and I adore the brand’s simple yet brilliant Tuck Buckle. It keeps the tail of the strap against your wrist without the additional bulk of a deployant clasp, and it’s something I wish more brands would start incorporating. It’s just amazingly comfortable and looks clean.

Photo by Johnny Brayson for Gear Patrol

Pricing and availability

I’ve been on the hunt for a Ming for some time now, and I’m starting to think the Odyssey might be the Ming for me. It has all of the Ming elements I love: the classic flared lugs, an inversion-ready sapphire dial and floating indices, plus my favorite of the brand’s newer innovations: Polar White lume and the rotating dial.

It’s also on the more affordable end of the brand’s collection, though I definitely wouldn’t call this an affordable watch. Ming has firmly been in luxury territory for several years at this point, and the Odyssey is very much a luxury watch. It’s priced at CHF 4,950 (~$6,150) on the rubber strap, CHF 5,500 (~$6,835) and CHF 5,950 ($7,395) on the Polymesh.

Worth noting is that Ming also sells the FKM rubber strap and the Polymesh bracelet separately, but not the titanium Universal Bracelet.

Ming

Ming 37.11 Odyssey

Specs

Case Size	38mm
Movement	Sellita for Ming Cal. SW330.M2 automatic GMT
Water Resistance	300m

• Starts at $6,150

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