As a material engineer, I get excited every time a watchmaker uses atypical materials. Over the past decade, carbon and ceramics have become more common in watch cases. However, aside from the new gold alloy, it was relatively quiet on the front of the metal. Using tantalum is nothing new, but it’s so rare that it’s remarkable whenever a watch brand chooses it. I’m interested when one of my greatest brands of all time decides to work with the infamous and challenging metal. Project 21 is Ming’s latest work, and despite its exclusiveness, you can claim the title of my favorite watch to date.
I’m a shy fanboy. This little independent brand rarely releases watches that I don’t like, but I’m certainly attracted to more people than others. I put my money where my mouth is and own a few models. The finest pieces are unfortunately outside my budget, but I still enjoy covering them as I still show that Ming can be done without many constraints. Today’s Project 21 illustrates this perfectly because of the structure of tantalum.
Project 21 – Background
In 2023, Ming held a dinner for some of Singapore’s most loyal collectors. In the evening, someone asked founder Ming Thein what a personal watch would look like without commercial constraints. I was lucky enough to spend time with the Ming team and could only imagine the philosophical arguments that must have occurred. At the end of the evening, we worked to support the attendees. Ming provided the use of price caps, estimated delivery timing, and new movements. Project 21 was born.
Design stage
Naturally, Ming Thein chose vintage-inspired watch style, size and movement from Project 21. From the last one, Ming never worked with the Frederic Piguet 21, a manual winding caliber that is only 1.75mm thick. This caliber was produced from 1925 until the early 2000s when movement manufacturers became part of the Swatch Group. The list of brands employing this caliber is long and impressive, including Patek Philippe, Audemars Piguet and Vacheron Constantin. With a diameter of 20.8mm for this movement, Ming chose the right case size.
Usually, the Ming floats around the 38mm mark. For Project 21, Ming responded to a call to design the watch for himself, choosing a diameter of 35mm and a thickness of 6.9mm. The dimensions were also suitable for Piguet’s movements. With these numbers in mind, which case material can provide the right amount of torsional stiffness, water resistance, weight and uniqueness? Please enter tantalum.
Tantalum, a challenging material
Tantalum is a rare, highly corrosion resistant metal that is more than twice the density of iron. It easily meets the weight requirements, but is an infamous challenge for machinery and formation. It condemns metal ductility, tendency to harden work, and low conductivity to wreaking havoc on tools and display ugly surfaces. This is where an alternative clock alliance consisting of Ming, Jn Shapiro and Fleming came to rescue.
When the AHA was first announced on Geneva Watch Day in 2024, Josh Shapiro showed off the tantalum bracelet of a Ming watch that he and his team made at the Los Angeles workshop. This now looks like a prediction, as Josh struggled to create Min’s 21.01 case. Impressively, the case contains a meticulously polished, brushed and sandblasted surface. Honestly, I can’t imagine the difficulty.
Even the 3.5mm tantalum crown is produced internally and includes multiple surface finishes. Shapiro does all of these operations in-house. Ming CEO Praneeth Rajsingh was kind enough to send pictures of the production process from a recent visit. The result is a single piece case with a tantalum display bag with screws attached. The lack of another bezel increases the visual mass and makes the watch look stronger. The top is brushed, but the rear and sides are blown up. The inner rehout has a sophisticated finish.
sousscription
Ming’s Project 21 has more to do than cases. The Piguet 21 caliber has been extensively reworked by surface treatment companies Tital SA and Mathis Horlogerie. Mathis reconfigured this movement, adding titanium skeletonized bridges, chat, angulars and sub-larges (sandblasts). TITAL provided surface treatment for dial matching color movement.
As for the dial, the original “Bucker” from Project 21, purchased the blue Suzuripto version of the watch. In fact, the dial is made up of two layers. The top layer is borosilicate with femtoprints like the 20.01 Series 3 and contains a multi-layered strake pattern. The lower brass dial is 400 microns thick and comes with a similar strake pattern. For suspension, the dial has a blue CVD coating.
Serial Production Ming 21.01
Perhaps “serial” is a generous word from Non-Suspension Project 21, as only 15 can be made. However, this is a 50% increase over the blue version. This model has a dial and movement coated in warm 5n rose gold.
It comes with a brown calf strap from the genre saw. This includes a flying blade buckle made of brushed titanium. Buyers can also select additional straps from the Ming Shop. Perhaps the sporty option will work to take advantage of the watch’s 50m water resistance rating.
Availability, cost, and final thoughts
Ming 21.01 “Project 21” is a beautiful watch that combines process and production know-how, innovative materials and classic watchmaking. It also has a size that is particularly attractive for those who have small wrists from medium to medium. In other words, I want to own it. It looks like a modern take on a Borgel-covered Patek Philippe Calatrava 565 and I love that watch. The design is fantastic, and I’m sure all 15 “serial” watches will disappear within minutes through Ming’s site or an increasing number of retail partners on the brand. Despite the CHF 32,500 price tag, I say this. It’s great, and if I could go for it, I would definitely do it.
