As a supplies engineer, I get excited each time a watchmaker makes use of an atypical materials. Over the past decade, carbon and ceramics have grow to be extra prevalent for watch instances. Nonetheless, other than new gold alloys, it has been comparatively quiet on the metals entrance. Utilizing tantalum isn’t new, nevertheless it’s so unusual that it deserves consideration each time a watch model chooses it. When one among my all-time favourite manufacturers decides to work with the notoriously difficult steel, I’m greater than . Challenge 21 is Ming’s newest creation, and regardless of its exclusivity, it may lay declare to the title of my favourite watch of 2025 up to now.
I’m an unabashed Ming fanboy. This small unbiased model not often releases a watch I don’t love, however I’m actually extra drawn to some than others. I’ve put my cash the place my mouth is and personal a number of fashions. Whereas the highest-end items are sadly outdoors of my finances, I nonetheless take pleasure in masking them as a result of they present what Ming can do with out too many constraints. In the present day’s Challenge 21 exemplifies this completely due to the tantalum building.
Challenge 21 — Background
In 2023, Ming hosted a dinner in Singapore for a few of its most loyal collectors. Throughout the night, somebody requested founder Ming Thein what a private watch would seem like if there have been no industrial constraints. I’ve been lucky to spend time with the Ming staff and may solely think about the philosophical discussions that should have occurred. On the finish of the night, a deal was struck with the assist of the attendees. Ming supplied an higher worth restrict, estimated supply timing, and the usage of a new-to-Ming motion. Challenge 21 was born.
The design stage
Unsurprisingly, Ming Thein selected a vintage-esque watch model, measurement, and motion for Challenge 21. Beginning with the final one, Ming had by no means labored with the Frederic Piguet 21, a manual-winding caliber with a mere 1.75mm thickness. This caliber was in manufacturing from 1925 till the early 2000s when the motion maker turned a part of the Swatch Group. The listing of manufacturers using this caliber is prolonged and spectacular, together with Patek Philippe, Audemars Piguet, Vacheron Constantin, and extra. With this motion’s 20.8mm diameter, Ming opted for an applicable case measurement.
Usually, Ming watches hover across the 38mm mark. For Challenge 21, Ming answered the decision to design a look ahead to himself and selected a 35mm diameter and 6.9mm thickness. The scale had been additionally extra applicable for the Piguet motion. With these numbers in thoughts, what case materials may present the correct quantity of torsional rigidity, water resistance, heft, and uniqueness? Enter tantalum.
Tantalum, a difficult materials
Tantalum is a uncommon, extremely corrosion-resistant steel with greater than twice the density of iron. It simply satisfies the heft requirement, however it’s infamously difficult to machine and kind. Blame the steel’s ductility, penchant for work hardening, and low conductivity for wreaking havoc on instruments and displaying an unsightly floor. That is the place the Alternative Horological Alliance, comprised of Ming, J.N. Shapiro, and Fleming, got here to the rescue.
When the AHA was first introduced throughout Geneva Watch Days 2024, Josh Shapiro confirmed a tantalum bracelet for Ming watches that he and his staff had made of their Los Angeles workshop. This now appears to be like like foreshadowing as a result of, as soon as once more, Josh painstakingly created the instances for Ming’s 21.01. Impressively, the instances include meticulously polished, brushed, and sandblasted surfaces. I truthfully can’t think about the extent of issue.
Even the three.5mm tantalum crowns are produced internally and include a number of floor finishes. Shapiro carries out all these operations in-house. Praneeth Rajsingh, Ming’s CEO, was sort sufficient to ship pictures of the manufacturing course of from a current go to. The result’s a single-piece case with a screw-affixed tantalum show again. The dearth of a separate bezel will increase the visible mass and makes the watch seem stronger. The highest facet is brushed, whereas the rear and sides are blasted. The interior rehaut has a sophisticated end.
The Souscription
There’s extra to Ming’s Challenge 21 than the case. The Piguet 21 caliber was extensively reworked by the surface-treatment agency TitAl SA and Mathis Horlogerie. Mathis re-envisioned the motion and added a titanium skeletonized bridge, chatons, anglage, and sablage (sandblasting). TitAl supplied floor remedy to the actions in dial-matching colours.
Relating to the dial, the ten authentic “backers” of Challenge 21 have bought a blue Souscription model of the watch. The truth is, the dial is fabricated from two layers. The highest layer is borosilicate by FEMTOprint, just like the 20.01 Series 3, and it comprises a sample of multilayered strakes. The decrease brass dial is 400 microns thick and has an analogous strake sample. For the Souscription, the dial has a blue CVD coating.
The serial-production Ming 21.01
Maybe “serial” is a beneficiant phrase for the non-Souscription Challenge 21 as solely 15 items can be made. Nonetheless, that’s a rise of fifty% over the blue model. This mannequin has a dial and motion coated in warm-looking 5N rose gold.
It should ship with a brown calf strap from Jean Rousseau, which features a Flying Blade buckle fabricated from brushed titanium. Consumers may also select an extra strap from the Ming store. Maybe a sporty choice would work to benefit from the watch’s 50m water resistance ranking.
Availability, value, and last ideas
The Ming 21.01 “Challenge 21” is a phenomenal watch that mixes course of and manufacturing know-how, modern supplies, and basic watchmaking. It additionally is available in a measurement that’s notably enticing for somebody with a medium-to-small wrist. In different phrases, I’d like to personal one. It looks like a contemporary tackle the Borgel-cased Patek Philippe Calatrava 565, and I’m in love with that watch. The design is fabulous, and I’m certain all 15 “serial” watches can be gone inside minutes by means of Ming’s site or the model’s rising variety of retail companions. I say this regardless of a price ticket of CHF 32,500. It’s superior, and if I may go for it, I most actually would.
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