Touted as the world’s lightest mechanical manual-wind and automatic wristwatches, the MING LW.01 Manual and LW.01 Automatic weigh an almost ethereal 8.8 and 10.8 grams, respectively.
The LW.01 truly pushes the boundaries of watchmaking. MING’s ambition to blend the “lightness” of advanced materials with the practicality and tactile feel of traditional watches sets a new bar in the world of ultralight watchmaking. The watch’s buttressed chassis utilizes AZ31, a special high-strength alloy made of magnesium-aluminum-zinc-manganese that is lighter than composite alternatives but maintains a metallic feel—a design constraint Ming Thein set when he set out to design the world’s lightest mechanical watch. The crystal is made from ultra-lightweight Corning Gorilla Glass 6 rather than traditional sapphire. Even the screws are made from an ultra-lightweight PEEK composite.
Every design decision was made to achieve the lightest weight possible without compromising durability or wearability, another set of Ming Thein’s design constraints.
Reporting by Zion-Grace Rosareal
The LW.01 displays a delicate balance between ultra-lightweight design, robust functionality, and supreme wearability with its conventional shape, 38mm diameter, and 6.5mm thickness. This approach is a testament to MING’s ingenuity—a mission accomplished without compromise.
Several design elements pay homage to MING’s previous creations. It’s one of the few timepieces that perfectly blends legacy, modernity, and innovation. Between the unique pulsing star seconds disc, which was created just to show at a glance that yes, there is in fact a movement, the shuriken hour hand, and the gradient skeleton ring on the crystal, there’s no doubt that this expertly designed, ultralight timepiece is a MING through and through. It’s a true masterpiece.
Priced at only CHF 19,500, it embarrasses far more expensive entries in the world of ultra-light watchmaking, most of which are made from much more exotic materials with far more compromises than the LW.01. Itself proving that it’s not just an accessory—it’s a personal statement piece. It screams from the wrist, “I’m an aficionado whose taste intersects avant-garde technology and traditional craftsmanship.”
The MING LW.01 exhibits both engineering and design prowess and is the lightweight champion in a market segment dominated by far less comfortable, multimillion-dollar options. For those who seek the ultimate featherweight luxury watch, the LW.01 is a dream come true.
Despite its astonishingly low price—or maybe because of it—acquiring an example may prove difficult. At the time of writing, all 200 MING LW.01 timepieces have been reserved. Join the waitlist here for a chance to own the lightest mechanical watch ever made.
PRESS RELEASE
PRESENTING THE MING LW.01
A few years ago, we took on the challenge of making what we believe are the world’s lightest ever mechanical wristwatches. Solving this took an exhaustive amount of metallurgy and development, and today, we’re proud to present the MING LW.01 Manual and LW.01 Automatic, which weigh in at just 8.8 and 10.8 grams respectively.
MT set some ‘conventional’ constraints for this watch: it had to be a wearable (38mm) size and retain the tactility of metal. More importantly, it could not be technically compromised purely for the sake of lightness. You can probably see why it took quite a bit longer than expected to get there.
Every single component on the watch is optimised to hit the absolute balance of durability and weight, from rethinking case construction and assembly to exploring a wide range of ultralight materials (including carbon fiber derivatives and hollow-core 3D printing).
The final result is a complete head weight of just 8.8 grams with manual winding or 10.8 grams with automatic winding. The matching material buckle adds 0.6 grams, and the ‘record’ spec Alcantara strap just 1.2 grams. This puts a ready-to-wear watch at 10.6g or 12.6g.
You can discover the watch here and we also have a short video below discussing the design and engineering challenges of the LW.01.
The LW.01 is a Special Projects Cave release, limited to a total of 200 watches across both variants, and priced at CHF 19,500 (a 50% deposit is required for order confirmation). Collectors on the SPC Interest List will have early access starting now*, and we will open for general orders tomorrow, 27 October 2023 at 1PM GMT, or:
6AM in San Francisco
9AM in New York
2PM in London
3PM in Geneva
5PM in Dubai
9PM in Kuala Lumpur
10PM in Tokyo
12AM, +1 in Sydney
The choice between manual (ultimate lightness) or automatic (practical) is up to the customer at the time of order. Deliveries are expected to begin Q4-2024. As always, we’re available at hello@ming.watch if you have any questions, and thanks in advance for your support!
-Team MING
*if you registered for the SPC Interest List, please check your Inbox (or Spam folder) for a separate email with early access details. We will also be holding a small number of the watches for our US event and Dubai Watch Week guests and visitors.
(Probably) The World’s Lightest Mechanical Watches
Out of our Special Projects Cave and several years in the making, we’re proud to present what we believe are the world’s lightest mechanical wristwatches: the MING LW.01 Manual and LW.01 Automatic. They are a featherweight 8.8 and 10.8 grams respectively and for the watch head only.
The Challenge
We wanted to push the envelope further than we – or any other brand – has ever done. Why? Because we wanted the challenge.
We set ourselves some ‘conventional’ constraints, though: the watch had to be a wearable size, and retain certain tactile qualities such as the texture and thermal transfer of metal. More importantly, it would have to be practically wearable and not technically compromised purely for the sake of lightness. As it turns out, it would take us a couple of years longer than expected and an exhaustive amount of metallurgy and testing.
Exotic Solutions to Chase Numbers
MT began by rethinking the entire case construction to minimize the amount of metal used, whilst retaining (and maximizing) rigidity. In a normal watch, the dial is fixed to the movement, which is in turn fixed to the caseband, with upper and lower bezels forming the front crystal and caseback respectively. The MING LW.01 has a combined “dial” ring and movement holder shaped like a hat, just 0.5mm thick in places but ribbed for strength. To prevent injury to the dial or disruption of the movement, this assembly is supported from the rear by a cage with 3D struts. It also caps and seals the entire assembly to the bezel, which despite being very narrow, is internally hollowed to save further weight.
There is no actual dial per se: the outer ring/background is the movement holder, and the central movement portion is occluded by a gradient print on the outer crystal – which also contains the index markings.
We explored a wide range of ultralight materials including carbon fiber derivatives and hollow-core 3D printing, but ultimately found that AZ31 Magnesium-Aluminium-Zinc-Manganese alloy from Smiths High Performance was both lighter than carbon (1.77g/cc, vs ~2g/cc density), more consistent to produce than hollow 3D printing, and more importantly retained the feel of metal. It is further surface treated by plasmaelectrolytic oxidation by Keronite for corrosion resistance and biocompatibility, with a further composite protective layer.
Material choices do not stop there: even the crystal is not sapphire, but instead Corning Gorilla Glass 6 via Knight Optical with an additional hardening treatment. At 2.40g/cc, it is significantly lighter than the 3.98g/cc of traditional sapphire whilst retaining 670 Vickers hardness and high impact resistance.
Every single component on the watch – down to the screws (in PEEK composite), hollowing of the bezel, and anglage of case buttressing – was optimised to hit the absolute balance of durability and weight. The crown is in anodised aluminium for durability of threading reasons. Finite element simulation was used to check overall torsional rigidity of the watch case. Fixed integral bars machined from the same billet as the case both contribute to rigidity and are lighter than steel springbars.
The final result is a complete head weight of just 8.8 grams with manual winding, 10.8 grams with automatic winding, and an additional 0.6 grams for the matching AZ31 buckle, and 1.2 grams for the ‘record’ spec Alcantara strap. This puts a ready-to-wear watch at 10.6g or 12.6g.
Referencing Details
The LW.01 has a several distinctive features that pay tribute to our earlier creations: the pulse seconds disc with an interference pattern as an evolution of MT’s own Ochs und Junior Simpleton of 2016; a shuriken hour hand from the 17.03, and the gradient and skeleton peripheral ring on the crystal from the 19 series. Indices are a visually ‘lighter’ skeletonized version of the 37 series. It also of course carries the same flared lugs and ergonomic crown of our other watches.
It Takes an Entire Village
To machine AZ31 magnesium – let alone to the wall thicknesses and tolerances required – requires some special expertise. Reto Helfenstein of Helfenstein Mechanik was brought in on the recommendation of some mutual friends; his expertise with similar materials for the aerospace industry has proven invaluable. The raw AZ31 billet comes from Smiths High Performance in the UK, and Keronite handles the plasmaelectrolytic oxidation. Manufacture Jean-Rousseau created the single layer Alcantara straps that weigh just 1.2 grams, yet are soft and comfortable to wear without being floppy. Included with the watch are also a selection of other straps for a different feel.
We also include a second buckle – in aluminium and in our tuck buckle design – by DBMF. Manufacture Schwarz-Etienne figured out which components within the ETA2000 could be removed or lightened to further save weight, and which had to remain untouched for reliability. Final assembly and testing are conducted at Schwarz-Etienne.
Functions
- Hours
- Minutes
- Running indicator
Ultralight
- Head 8.8g
- Buckle 0.6g
- Strap from 1.2g
Case, Dial & Hands
- 38mm diameter, 6.5mm thickness
- PEO treated AZ31 magnesium alloy case and dial; crown in anodised aluminium; screws in PEEK composite
- Corning Gorilla Glass 6 crystal with hardening and antireflective treatment
- Unique buttressed case construction with integral “dial”/movement holder
- Pulse seconds running indicator
- 25m water resistance
- 20mm lug width with fixed bars
Movement
- ETA 2000.M1 modified by Schwarz-Etienne for MING
- Estimated 36h power reserve at full wind
Straps or Bracelet
- ‘Record’ single layer Alcantara strap by Jean Rousseau Paris, with signed AZ31 Magnesium buckle
- Two-tone double layer Alcantara strap by Jean Rousseau Paris, with signed Aluminium buckle
- Single layer natural rubber strap by Jean Rousseau Paris, with signed Aluminium buckle
– Extended 3-year mechanical warranty
– Made in Switzerland
