LW.01M Lightweight

The Challenge

It all started with a challenge. Could MING create the world’s lightest mechanical watch? However, we wanted to do so within certain boundaries: the watch had to be a wearable size (38mm) and retain certain tactile qualities such as the texture and thermal transfer of metal. It had to be practically wearable, reasonably affordable and not technically compromised purely for the sake of lightness. It took us a few years and an exhaustive amount of testing and metallurgy to arrive at the MING LW.01M.

Ultralight Materials

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, and more importantly retained the feel of metal. It is further surface-treated by plasma electrolytic oxidation by Keronite for corrosion resistance and biocompatibility, with a further composite protective layer. 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.

Rethinking Case and Dial Construction

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.01M was completely reengineered to have 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 not even an 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.

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 LW.01M even has a 25m water resistance.

From ordinary to extraordinary

Right from the onset, we ruled out using an exotic, dedicated featherweight movement, which would have been easier but less of a challenge. Instead we wanted to use a standard movement for reliability and affordability. The ETA 2000 was chosen and then extensively re-engineered into the ETA 2000.M2 together with Manufacture Schwarz-Etienne in order to remove or lighten multiple components to further save weight.  

Manufacture Jean-Rousseau created the Alcantara straps that are soft and comfortable to wear without being floppy. The final result is a 38mm watch in a metal case with a complete head weight of just 8.8 grams. The LW.01M is the perfect expression of the exacting standards of design, engineering and experimentation at the heart of MING.