The Dive Watch Refined & Reconsidered

The 37.09 Bluefin is Horloger MING's latest interpretation of the dive watch genre, their first watch with an internally rotating dial and in keeping with the brand's current design language.

Initially, MING wanted to exceed the brand's H41 diver in technical ability. This was achieved but at the cost of severe aesthetic and ergonomic compromises we simply could not solve despite dozens of iterations – after all, there is only so much you can do with a 19mm thick case. In the end MING decided to take a step back conceptually to a slimmer diver in the more elegant architecture of the 37-series.

It turned out that by tweaks to the curvature of the front and rear crystals, prototypes achieved a crush depth of 900m after 24h saturation – more than three times MING's initial target. The 37.09 Bluefin is thus conservatively rated at 600m of water resistance. It remains a comfortably-proportioned 38mm in diameter with a 12.8mm thickness, 2.8mm of which is externally domed sapphire crystal. Paired with the alternating polished and brushed finishes, this is a dive watch that wears much thinner on the wrist but has a generous visual presence due to the almost complete absence of a bezel.

The 37.09 Bluefin has its own unique internal construction for two reasons: pressure resistance, and to support the timer scale required of a diver. Instead of using the traditional rotating bezel, MING moved this internally onto a Super-LumiNova X1 filled sapphire dial. A sealed crown at 4 ’o clock rotates the entire sapphire dial via a 60-click, unidirectional mechanism secured by sprung bearings. The crown does not pull out or screw down, has luminous fill to be easily located, and may be operated underwater.

MING continues their design tradition of minimizing dial text with new timing scales that are easy to index and read for both main time and elapsed time. They use both color and diminishing boldness to make it easy to see where the scale begins. As the sapphire dial rotates, the Hyceram lume hour indices are on the underside of the top crystal. The dial also uses a new sapphire process: a deep blue colored metallization that compliments the scales and handset. It still delivers MING's signature inversion, which ensures optimal legibility under all lighting conditions – an ideal for a technical dive watch – as well as a dynamic presence and visual character.

The Bluefin would not be a MING without their traditionally excessive amount of luminous material; essentially every marking and hand is treated with various mixtures of Super-LumiNova X1. MING now has a new multilayer process for printing on hands that should be brighter, longer lasting and more homogeneous than before. Through the display back, you can see the customized Sellita for MING SW300.M1 with skeletonised rotor and bridges in a matte anthracite finish. It offers 50 hours of power reserve, bidirectional automatic winding and the central running seconds required of a dive watch.

Completing the 37.09 Bluefin is something that has been in development nearly as long as the watch itself – a moulded FKM rubber strap, with curved bars and universal compatibility with all of of the brand's other 20mm lug watches. It was developed to follow the natural shape of the wrist, with the relaxed curvature of the strap forming a 70x50mm oval. In addition to the sculptural surfacing and MING logo on the top, the buckle side is also pocketed to comfortably receive the longer end in the same fashion as our tuck buckle straps. It is keeperless and tapered in thickness to sit comfortably on the wrist, and with a compound balanced between softness for comfort and support for heavier watch heads.

Key Details

Case: 316L Stainless Steel with a polished-brushed finish, 38mm diameter, 12.8mm thickness, 20mm lug width, 44.5mm lug-to-lug, Domed sapphire crystals front and rear, with double-sided antireflective coating, Super-LumiNova X1 indices inside top crystal, and on sapphire dial
Hands: Super-LumiNova X1 coated hands
Water Resistance: 600m
Movement: Sellita for MING SW300.M1, Anthracite skeletonised bridges, and customised rotor, hacking seconds, Self winding with ~45h power reserve at full wind
Functions: Hours, Minutes, Seconds. Internal 60-click timer scale on unidirectional rotating dial, via crown at 4.
Strap: 20x18mm, Blue FKM Rubber and fitted with tuck buckle, with built in microadjustment

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