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The Iris – our first 57.04 – marked the start of the 5th generation with a colourful bang. It quickly became clear that 100 watches weren’t enough, and fortuitously we were already working on the follow up. After all, monopusher chronographs have become something of a core pillar for MING and it was time we added one to our core collection.
We bid the MING 57.04 Phoenix welcome. This version of the 57.04 is a little more restrained than its flamboyant peacock of a cousin but still shows its colours underneath the deeply dished grey dial – radial cutouts offer a window to a baseplate treated with the same colour shifting multiphasic coating seen on the Iris.
The watch has what we think of as tonal structure: mostly monochromatic, whilst remaining very three dimensional, quite graphic and with pops of colours peeking through. The dial is a study in texture and shadow, complete with curved sculpting, negative relief elements and a lot of depth. Even the subdial has been redesigned to enhance this feeling, and as is our signature – everything carries luminous material, in both MING Polar White and Super-LumiNova X1.
The Phoenix is a destro monopusher chronograph with the crown and single button on the left side. It shares the uniquely configured Sellita for MING Cal. SW562.M1 now with a sculpted anthracite three-quarter plate to better match the dial side. The movement offers ~60 hours of power reserve at full wind and a nice large crown for a tactile winding experience.
The 40mm stainless steel case is intricately detailed and a sculpturally modern take on Art Deco. It showcases our experience with complex, unconventional case construction especially in the multi-piece stepped lugs that allow for crisp definition and alternating brushed-polished finishing on adjacent surfaces which would be otherwise impossible. No fewer than 9 separate pieces are required for the lugs alone. Despite the complexity and crown pusher, it remains water resistant to 100m, making for an ideal daily companion. It is available together with our FKM rubber strap in a new grey shade or our revolutionary MING Polymesh.
Functions
Case
Dial & Hands
Movement
Strap