This Striking Everyday Watch’s Groundbreaking Dial Ensures You’ll Never Get Bored

Is there a watch brand today doing crazier things than Ming?

In the past year and change, the brand launched the industry’s first pure white-glowing lume, debuted a 3D-printed titanium mesh bracelet with no screws or fasteners, created a bracelet with links that can be removed without tools and debuted a multiphasic dial that radically changes color depending on your viewing angle.

That last one was apparently of special interest to Ming, as the brand’s latest watch takes the concept of a color-changing dial to never-before-seen places.

Ming

Now you see me

Ming’s new creation is the 29.06 Peepshow, and its approach to dial-making is exceedingly clever. Previously, any type of dial described as color-changing was illusory. Iridescent dials like the previously alluded to Ming 57.04 Iris and the Oris ProPilot X Calibre 400 Laser both have dials whose color appears to constantly shift, but this is just a trick of the light. Their dials’ appearance varies based on how our eyes perceive the light reflecting off of them, based on the angle at which they’re viewed.

Knowing this, Ming came up with a way to deliberately control the light reflecting off the dial, meaning we can only see the dial as Ming wants us to see it at any given moment. The Peepshow’s dial shifts from pitch black to the same iridescent multiphasic color seen on the Iris, and it does this regardless of your viewing angle.

Ming

So, how did Ming achieve this? By using the same technology found in your sunglasses’ lenses.

The hour and minute hands on the Peepshow look like standard Ming hands, but they actually aren’t hands at all. Each “hand” is actually etched on its own transparent sapphire disc, one on top of the other. These discs are linearly polarized to each other, meaning they control how much of the dial you can see by altering how much visible light is allowed to pass through.

When the hands are aligned, such as at 6:00 or 12:00, the discs are fully transparent, revealing the iridescent, guillochéd dial in all its purple-blue-green glory. When the hands are angled at 90 degrees, like at 3:00 or 9:30, all light is blocked and the dial appears completely black. As the hands move throughout the day, the perceived color of the dial is constantly changing, meaning your watch never looks the same for longer than a few brief moments.

Ming

Both hands are filled with HyCeram ceramic Super-LumiNova X1, while the underside of the sapphire crystal features laser-etched indices filled with Ming’s proprietary Polar White lume.

The metal dial features a machined guilloché pattern to go along with its multiphasic coating, and the case is Ming’s standard 29-series case. The 40mm x 11.8mm Grade 5 titanium case is my favorite design from the brand, as it features a hollowed-out version of Ming’s signature flying blade lugs and a glassbox-like sapphire crystal that fully envelops the bezel (or lack thereof).

Ming

Powering the watch is a pretty fantastic movement, too. It’s the Schwarz-Etienne for Ming Cal. ASE 200.M1 automatic. The movement is wound by a tungsten micro-rotor, features a skeletonized mainspring barrel and boasts some nice-looking contemporary decoration typical of Ming’s higher-end movements. The power reserve is an impressive 84 hours when fully wound.

Like many Ming watches, the Peepshow is mounted on a Jean Rousseau strap, this one in perlon-textured calf leather with an Alcantara lining. It’s secured via Ming’s microadjustable Flying Blade Tuck Buckle that keeps the strap’s tail against your wrist for a neat appearance.

Availability and pricing

Ming watches have a reputation of being especially hard to get, given their small production runs and high demand, but this has been alleviated in recent years with a series of permanent-collection models from the brand that are more or less always in stock.

With the Peepshow, however, Ming is back to its old ways.

The watch is limited to just 50 pieces, and demand is through the roof. The Peepshow went on sale yesterday and is already sold out on Ming’s website, though you may still be able to snag one through authorized dealers like Collective Horology.

Ming

Ming 29.06 Peepshow

Specs

Case Size	40mm
Movement	Schwarz-Etienne for Ming Cal. ASE 200.M1 automatic
Water Resistance	50m

• $31,000 at Ming
• $31,000 at Collective Horology

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