Description
Ming has built its reputation on luminescent sapphire tricks and layered minimalism, so the 37.06 Royal Selangor is a deliberate change of course: an 88-piece limited edition whose dial is hand-hammered in pewter by Royal Selangor, the Kuala Lumpur pewter house founded in 1885 and today the largest of its kind in the world. Founder Ming Thein is drawing directly on his Malaysian roots — and for the first time in the brand's history, all 88 watches will be assembled locally in Kuala Lumpur.
Pewter is a tin-based alloy (here 97% tin, fortified with copper and antimony) that almost never appears in watchmaking. It does not tarnish easily and develops a soft patina over time, and because every dial is hammered individually by hand, no two of the 88 pieces are identical. At CHF 5,000 on a customised Sellita base, this is Ming's accessible line carrying a genuinely artisanal dial.
Design
The hand-hammered dial carries irregular dimples that catch light at changing angles, its soft grey metallic sheen playing against the matte, entirely brushed grade-2 titanium case — a purer (99.8%) form of titanium than the usual grade 5, harder to machine and impossible to polish, which gives the watch a raw, industrial monochrome. The 38mm case keeps the 37-series' signature flared pagoda-style lugs and slim 11.05mm profile, and the head weighs roughly 36 grams. There is no branding on the dial at all; Ming and Royal Selangor are engraved on the caseback instead. As on other 37-series models, the underside of the double-domed sapphire carries laser-cut channels filled with blue-emitting Super-LumiNova X1, matched by the coated hour and minute hands.
Specifications
- Reference: Ming 37.06 Royal Selangor
- Case diameter: 38mm
- Thickness: 11.05mm
- Lug-to-lug: 44.73mm; lug width: 20mm
- Case material: grade-2 titanium, fully brushed
- Crystal: double-domed sapphire front and rear, double-sided AR coating
- Water resistance: 100m
- Dial: hand-hammered pewter by Royal Selangor; laser-cut Super-LumiNova X1 chapter ring on crystal underside
- Movement: Sellita SW300-M1 for Ming, automatic, anthracite baseplate, skeletonised bridges and custom rotor
- Frequency: 28,800vph (4Hz)
- Power reserve: 50 hours
- Functions: hours, minutes
- Strap: blue-grey Jean Rousseau goat leather, curved quick-release spring bars, flying blade tuck buckle
- Limited edition: 88 pieces, assembled in Kuala Lumpur, pewter presentation box
- Price: CHF 5,000 (excl. tax)
- Availability: Royal Selangor boutiques from 30 July 2026; ming.watch from 6 August 2026
What's Exciting
Hammered dials usually mean gold or silver and a five-figure independent; a hand-hammered pewter dial is essentially unheard of, and pairing it with a 141-year-old Malaysian craft house rather than a Swiss cadranier gives this piece a story no other 2026 release has. The move to assemble all 88 pieces in Kuala Lumpur matters too — it turns a dial collaboration into a statement about where Ming comes from, not just what it looks like. And at CHF 5,000, the artisanal content per franc is remarkable: a unique handmade dial, a fully machined grade-2 titanium case, and a decorated SW300 base in a watch that wears at 38mm and 36 grams.
History
Founded in 2017 by photographer Ming Thein, Ming rose from Kickstarter-era obscurity to one of the most respected design-driven independents, winning the GPHG Horological Revelation prize in 2019. The 37 series is the brand's core collection, home to models like the 37.02 Minimalist and the 37.05 Moonphase. Royal Selangor, founded in 1885 in the tin-rich Malaysian state of Selangor, employs over 200 craftspeople and is the world's foremost pewter manufacturer. The 37.06 is the first time the two Kuala Lumpur names have joined forces — and the first Ming assembled in the city where the brand was born.
