This New Steel Sports Watch Solves an Annoying Aspect of Watch Ownership

Ming isn’t your typical watchmaker.

Virtually every new watch launched by the Malaysian brand contains something we’ve never seen before, from its 3D-printed Polymesh bracelet to its Polar White lume to its lume-layered Mosaic dial.

So, with Ming finally joining the ranks of the integrated steel sports watch club today with its new 56.01 Starfield, you just knew the brand was going to bring something unique to the well-trodden integrated bracelet.

Well, I’m happy to report that the Starfield is unlike any integrated sports watch I’ve ever seen before — but that’s not all. With the watch, Ming may have just perfected the integrated bracelet with its first effort out of the gate. Other brands, take note.

Ming

Brace(let) yourselves

There’s a whole lot of cool stuff going on with the Starfield, but I’ll start with the bracelet, as it’s the biggest departure for the brand as well as the watch’s most impressive aspect.

Ming set out to create the most comfortable integrated bracelet in the world, and while I’ve yet ot try the Starfield in person, it sure sounds like Ming accomplished its mission, at least on paper.

For starters, the stainless steel bracelet is mounted at a higher pivot point and features curved links, combining for a more versatile fit that conforms to a wider variety of wrists. More impressive are the two patent-pending technologies integrated into the bracelet.

Ming

The first is a toolless adjustment system for removing links, allowing you to size the bracelet when you get it without requiring any tools. I’ve only seen this kind of system from Timex before, oddly enough, but this is the first time I’ve seen such a solution from a luxury brand. Ming’s system works via a slider on the back of each link that’s locked in place except when you deliberately move it to remove a link.

Next is the toolless microadjustable clasp. These are commonplace on many high-end integrated bracelet watches, but Ming takes things up a notch by reducing the bulk and creating a clasp that’s barely thicker than the rest of the bracelet while still offering a total of 5mm of on-the-go adjustment (2.5mm per side). It works without the use of any buttons or pushers; you simply pull and push the links to your desired length.

Ming

Ming things

Outside of the bracelet, much of the rest of the 56.00 Starfield should be familiar to Ming fans. The watch brings back the fan-favorite Mosaic dial featuring multiple layers of sapphire and Super-LumiNova X1 lume, creating a deep, hypnotic, glowing pattern.

The brand’s signature HyCeram luminous indices are again etched on the underside of the crystal to bring unparalleled depth; only here, the crystal is a box sapphire, further elevating the floating hour markers.

The indices are more intricate than usual, too, and the lume used for them is the brand’s proprietary Polar White lume, which is one of the only formulas in the world to glow white. The hands are in one of Ming’s usual styles and are heat-blued and heavily coated with blue-emission Super-LumiNova X1.

The case is in 316L stainless steel and, like the bracelet, is entirely mirror-polished. The case is also a new shape for Ming and is decidedly compact, but with more wrist presence than most Ming designs. It measures 40mm across and just 9.7mm thick, and despite its integrated design, it also incorporates the silhoutte of Ming’s signature flying lugs — a welcome sight.

Ming

The case also features curved HyCeram inserts on the case below 12:00 and 6:00, mimicking where there would normally be a gap on previous non-integrated Ming watches. It’s a cool callout that makes the design more cohesive with the rest of the brand’s catalog, and I’ll never say no to more lume. The case, as brand founder Ming Thein noted in a video reveal, resembles a UFO — especially when all lumed up.

Finally, we have the caseback, which is where the Starfield derives its name. Instead of a typical display caseback, we have a solid black caseback featuring several narrow streak-like cutouts. When the rotor moves or when you wind the crown, a white animation occurs behind these cutouts, giving the illusion of flying through space at warp speed. The effect is especially prominent in the dark, as the animation is lumed with Super-LumiNova X1.

The movement used is decidedly premium, and is manufactured specifically for Ming by Vaucher, the in-house movement arm of Parmigiani Fleurier that also makes movements for seriously high-end brands including Audemars Piguet and Richard Mille. The Starfield’s engine is the Vaucher for Ming Cal.3002.M1, which features a custom rotor that brings the caseback animation to life.

Ming

Availability and pricing

I didn’t love Ming’s 57.04 Iris as much as most of my contemporaries did, as it felt like too much of a departure from the brand’s previous designs, of which I am a huge fan. So I was a little skeptical when I first heard that the Starfield would be Ming’s second watch to feature the “fifth-generation” design language introduced on the Iris.

Thankfully, however, I love the design of the Starfield. It incorporates all of the hallmarks that make a Ming a Ming while still bringing something new to the table and piling on the innovation. It is already one of my favorite Ming watches ever.

Almost as cool as the watch itself is the box it comes in. Custom-made by Malaysian pewter maker Royal Selangor, it basically looks and works like a giant version of the Starfield’s animated caseback, complete with lume and a dial for controlling the animation.

As much as I love the Starfield, I’m sad to say I won’t be getting one. That’s because the watch is priced at CHF 19,500 before tax, which as of this writing converts to $25,400. What’s more, the Starfield is limited to a paltry 20 pieces in total, making this one of the rarest Ming watches yet. It goes on sale on Ming’s website tomorrow, February 10, at 8 am EST.

Ming

Ming 56.01 Starfield

Specs

Case Size	40mm
Movement	Vaucher for Ming Cal.3002.M1 automatic
Water Resistance	100m

• $25,400 at Ming

Read More

• 

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

  I Guarantee You’ve Never Seen a Chronograph Watch Like This Before
• 

  This Minimalist Masterpiece Reinvents a Classic Watch Style

Related Topics