MING THEIN

We speak to the creative director and co-founder of Ming Watches, an independent watchmaker formally launched in August 2017 and based in Kuala Lumpur who’s becoming the It brand for watch enthusiasts across the globe

Tell us about your journey.

I had a corporate career and gave it up because I wanted to do something creative. I was a photographer for many years, and I started shooting for [watch] brands. That ignited but also killed [the passion for watches]: there were watches that I would see at collectors’ meetings maybe once every year or two, and then my contracts said that I needed to photograph 10 of these [watches from the] front, side and back. That kind of killed the joy.

At that point, I dropped out for a little bit. [But later] I reconnected with some friends and we started talking about watches again, and I started getting interested again. At that point, e-commerce was in its infancy and the Swiss supply chains opened to outsiders because they needed more business. So I think the elements [for starting the business] were kind of in place; the ignorance was certainly in place, because we didn’t know what we were getting into. We wanted to make things that we liked; it was not any more complicated than that. But it’s also not as simple as that. As you get more experienced as a collector, you get to own more pieces, you see more pieces and you decide what you like. That’s what we created.

You said that you wanted to make watches you really liked—so what do you like? When we design stuff, there’s always a set of design principles that goes with it. There has to be a sort of reductionism and clarity to it, not being decorative for the sake of being decorative. As a photographer, I notice a lot of stuff, like what reflects and what doesn’t reflect: we control [the smallest details like the kind of finishing, light absorbed and reflected on the dial] very carefully, so the watch has some dynamism. I don’t want the watch to feel static; I don’t want you to own a piece and then, after two days, say, “I’m bored of it” because it looks the same all the time. We try to design watches that have different facets that you only see after owning them for some time. We want to have horological integrity, which means we have interesting movements. We spend the money where it makes more sense and has the biggest impact.

What is your biggest challenge as an Asian watchmaker in a world run by Swiss brands? Trying to get anybody to take us seriously. We have no history, we have nothing. When I went in saying I want to build watches, [suppliers] looked at me and said, “We don’t know whether you guys know what you’re talking about.” We’ve had situations where the suppliers are very traditional in the way they think, [saying:] “No, you have to do it this way because this is how it’s been all the time.” That’s kind of unfortunate. We took a lot of time to develop a rapport with them. Today, if we give them a suggestion that is physically feasible, that mechanically makes sense, they come to us saying, “We’ll try it your way.” Inevitably, it works out.

Your latest watch drop is the 37.05 Series 2. What makes it special?

It is an interpretation of the night sky. We’ve replaced the previous gradient blue-black textured dial with an anthracite one with sunray brushing and star-shaped holes, which symbolise luminous stars that appear and disappear with the moon’s phases. It is a hand-wound piece, powered by the reworked Sellita SW288-1. It’s a watch that invites its wearer to interact, offering them a chance to appreciate the intricate movements and our finishing style.