Introducing MING Play Horological Peekaboo With The Playful 29.06 Peep Show

Hot off the heels of a flurry of recent releases, including their first integrated bracelet and the innovative 3D-printed Polymesh, MING have once again innovated - debuting an entirely unique and very whimsical new novelty in the 29.06 Peep Show.

If you’re looking at these photos, trying to make sense of this dial, let me elaborate. Despite appearing to be two watches with two different dials, this is in fact one watch with a dial that ‘peeps’, only on show when the hands deem it so.

This works thanks to the magic of polarisation in a fashion identical to a photographer rotating a polarised lens filter to bend light exposure to their will. Constructed similarly to a mystery watch, the Peep Show’s hands are transparent discs of linearly polarised sapphire, with the hour and minute hand printed on them in MING’s proprietary "Polar White" lume.

When those hands form a 90-degree angle in relation to each other, the two polarised discs align to block light and entirely obscure the dial from view in an inky black light void. When the hands oppose each other at 180 degrees or cross over each other, the polarised discs align to become completely transparent again, allowing you to see the incredible dial beneath.

The dial is finished with a deep-cut machined guilloché in a concentric circular pattern and is coated with MING’s multiphasic dial treatment, reflecting a wide array of the colour spectrum depending on the angle viewed. The colour even changes depending on the intensity of the light on the dial, which will gradually increase and decrease as the polariser moves.

We first saw MING’s very flamboyant Multiphasic dial treatment last year on their 57.04 Iris, which celebrated the brand's eighth birthday. That dial featured a simpler pattern with minute-marker grooves and a deep-dish sloping rehaut. In comparison, the Peep Show’s dial is more three-dimensional with pyramid shapes that allow the light to catch in different ways, throwing off different colours and different dramatic patterns as the light changes.

A transparent caseback puts the Peep Show’s ASE 200.M1 calibre on display. Developed for MING by Schwarz-Etienne, this automatic movement features a micro-rotor and an 86-hour power reserve. The micro-rotor in question is a thick tungsten weight, on show through highly openworked bridges and rotor guard finished with diamond-cut anglage, all amounting to an impressively finished movement.

Traditionally, colour hasn’t been one of the tools in MING’s toolbox. With their space-aged, monolithic look now cemented into their identity, and the fifth iteration of their design language unfolding, it’s very interesting to see them begin to experiment with colour. This chameleon of a dial that flashes everything from deep purples to rich, royal blues, neon pinks and tropical aquamarines is a bold step in a new direction.

As far as novelties go, the Peep Show’s creativity and surprisingly simple execution make you wonder how no one has created a watch with polarising filters before. As the watch hands move and the dial is reborn before your eyes, before returning to its dormant state, it’s somewhat reminiscent of a flower blooming then wilting, cycling every 30 minutes. On-wrist, you’d struggle to keep your eyes off it, rotating it on your wrist to catch the light, as this constant state of change means it's never the same.

The dial is on full display through a flat-topped crystal that curves down and meets the case with no bezel of any kind. This will give the Peep Show a larger feeling on the wrist as its diameter is all dial, but with it being such a showstopper, this is hardly a bad thing. The underside of the crystal also features MING’s signature hour segment printing, framed by a ring of Polar White lume.

Utilising MING’s 29-series case in grade-5 titanium, at 40mm diameter and 11.8mm thick it's a contemporary size, though I find that MING’s futuristic design language leans into the larger proportions and it wears them well. Like other MINGs that use this case, you can expect it to hug the wrist nicely, aided by its contoured flying-blade lugs and curved spring bars to create a package that wears quite well.

Limited to just 50 pieces and priced at 22,000 CHF, the Peep Show is an interesting technical showcase with some very impressive watchmaking and finishing to boot. Similar to their explorations of different Multiphasic dial designs, I hope the polarised effect isn’t relegated to this one limited edition, and we see MING continue to explore the creative potential of the technology again soon, ideally in a less limited watch across a range of price points.

Brand: MING
Reference: 29.06 Peep Show 
Diameter: 40mm
Thickness: 11.8mm
Lug Width: 22mm
Case Material: Grade 5 titanium
Dial Colour: MING colourshifting multiphasic dial treatment
Indexes: Linearly polarised sapphire discs
Lume: MING Polar White lume-coated hour and minute hands
Water Resistance: 50 meters
Strap: Perlon-textured calfskin strap with an Alcantara lining, made by Jean Rousseau

Calibre: MING calibre ASE 200.M1, made by Schwarz-Etienne
Jewels: 29
Functions: Hours and minutes, polarisation-based dynamic dial display
Diameter: 30mm
Thickness: 5.6mm
Power Reserve: 86 hours
Winding: bidirectional automatic winding via tungsten micro-rotor

Price: CHF 22,000 (approx. A$39,000)
Availability: available at ming.watch
Limited Edition: yes, 50 pieces

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