Ming Releases The 57.04 Iris, Their Fifth-Generation Design Iteration; Mido's Black Multifort Skeleton Chronograph; Micromilspec Introduces First Pilot’s Watch; Once Again, A Stunning Holthinrichs

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In this issue

• Ming Releases The 57.04 Iris, A Destro Monopusher Chronograph With Their Fifth-Generation Design

• Mido Gives Their Sporty Multifort Skeleton Chronograph An All Black Case And Dial

• Micromilspec Introduces Its First Pilot’s Watch, The Dualtimer

• Holthinrichs Teams Up With The Dial Artist For The Signature Ornament LAB Series 1.24

👂What’s new

1/

Ming Releases The 57.04 Iris, A Destro Monopusher Chronograph With Their Fifth-Generation Design

Over the past few years, we’ve seen Ming, the indie-darling brand, going through a wonderfully interesting transformation. From incredibly cool and unique watches that had a few deliverability hick-ups, they are now starting to create some of the most interesting watches on the market. While they still sell watches that are somewhat accessible, they’ve also spread out into all price points, very much motivated to do so with the winning of a GPHG award for their diver. Now, they’re ready to take a huge step with the introduction of the 57.04 Iris. Not only is this their first destro watch, or a really pretty (albeit, perhaps a bit useless as a functional chrono), it’s also the introduction of their fifth-generation design language.

It all starts with a brand new case, their take on an Art Deco watch. I love the signature Ming lugs, but these are a whole new level. They keep the pagoda-style shape, but give them a stepped construction like you might find in Art Deco architecture. Additionally, the lugs have alternating brushed and polished surfaces, which is just damn cool. The watch measures 40mm wide, 11.85mm thick — almost shockingly thin for a chronograph — with a 47.8mm lug-to-lug. You get sapphire crystals on top and bottom, while the crown sits at 9 o’clock, making for a destro configuration. That crown also has an integrated chronograph pusher, which is always a fantastic option. Water resistance is 100 meters.

The dial is something to behold. The name Iris comes from the look of the dial, which has an Iris effect thanks to a multiphasic coating over a brass base, producing colour shifts that can look turquoise, purple, green, or orange. All of that is made even more impressive with deeply fluted sunrays extending from the center. At 6 o’clock is a 30-minute chronograph counter that has a sandwich construction and a deep black color. There are no markings on the dial, as all the markers are engraved on the underside of the top crystal and filled with the brand’s proprietary Polar White lume which actually glows bright white at night. The hands are diamond cut, blue coated and filled with Super-LumiNova X1. It’s all incredibly stunning. Not particularly performance oriented for a chronograph, but stunning. And that’s exactly the type of watch I love.

Inside, you’ll find a movement made by Sellita, but heavily modified for Ming. The SW562.M1 is a hand-wound movement based on the Valjoux architecture. It beats at 4Hz and has a 60 hour power reserve, with really nice finishing that includes an anthracite mainplate with a gold-coated main bridge. The watch can be had on either the Ming stainless steel Universal Bracelet or a anthracite goat leather strap.

The new Ming 57.04 Iris is currently on sale, limited to 100 pieces and priced at CHF 6,250. See more on the Ming website.

2/

Mido Gives Their Sporty Multifort Skeleton Chronograph An All Black Case And Dial

While some other brands in the Swatch Group have their fair share of experimentation and release of watches that cause some head scratching, it seems that Mido is just coming out with banger, after banger, after banger. Their Multifort TV Big Date oozes 70s cool, and the Ocean Star line is incredible. The Tribute is a great diver, the GMT might be the best looking one on the market for the price and the Decompression Worldtimer is just a breath-taker. And lately, it seems like they are dead set on developing the Multifort line into their most diverse offering. Just a few months ago, we got the Multifort Skeleton Chronograph, a very sporty, very modern, take on the classic chronograph, and now Mido is giving us the same watch, but in an all black case.

The case is familiar, simple and not small at all. It measures a substantial 43mm wide, 14.4mm thick and has a lug-to-lug of 50.67mm. The long-ish L2L comes from the spindly lugs that extend from the fully round case. The case now has a black DLC coat and the overall finish is satin brushed with polished details. Sapphire crystals are on both sides of the case and on the right side you’ll find flat and well integrated pushers to operate the chronograph function. Water resistance is 100 meters.

While the original came with two dial options, this one gets just a black one, even though there isn’t much of a dial here. Around the perimeter is a sloping flange with a tachymetre scale, followed by several satin brushed black rings that hold the markers. There are three sub-dials in a traditional 3, 6, and 9 configuration, with cutouts in it to show of the internals. Time is indicated with satin brushed tri-faceted hour and minute hands. The only color comes from a lot of orange details, including on the central chronograph hand.

Inside, you’ll find the Caliber 60, a skeletonized automatic movement based on the ETA A05.951. It features a Nivachron balance spring, beats at 4Hz and has a 60 hour power reserve. It’s decorated with circular-grained bridges and a skeletonized rotor with the Mido logo. The watch comes on a black rubber strap with a black DLC coated buckle..

The new Mido Multifort Skeleton Chronograph in black is available now, priced at CHF 2,380. See more on the Mido website.

3/

Micromilspec Introduces Its First Pilot’s Watch, The Dualtimer

I think it was just last week that I wrote about the very cool white version of the Micromilspec Milgraph. What I completely missed then is that they also released their first pilot’s watch, the Dualtimer. And that’s a big deal for the Norwegian brand, since it existed for years without ever being available to the public. Mostly because they made special watches for military regiments, each with their own special features and looks. Only last year, after 40 successful military and first responder partnerships, Micromilspec launched the pretty cool Milgraph GMT Chronograph, their first civilian watch. So, to see more models come from this interesting brand is only a good thing.

The case of the new Dualtimer looks very familiar. It measures 42mm wide and 12.5mm thick, with a barrel shape and sharply sloped short lugs that give it an almost integrated look. It’s the exact same shape and size as the Milgraph case. However, while the Milgraph is made out of titanium, this case is made out of stainless steel that has a fully brushed finish, with chamfered crown guards on the side. On top is a sapphire crystal surrounded by a fluted 24-hour rotating bezel. Water resistance is 200 meters.

The dial is simple and classic, with a couple of really cool details. The base of the dial is matte black, with a simple printed hour and minute scale with Arabic numerals. At 12, the numeral is replaced by a triangle, at 3 with a date window that shows the date before and after the current date, and the space between 8 and 10 is taken by a military-style script that holds the logo and a few technical details. The hour and minute hands and main indices glow green, while the GMT hand and bezel have a blue glow, separating the two time zones in the dark.

Inside, you’ll find the Sellita SW330-2, an automatic GMT calibre that beats at 4Hz and has a 56 hour power reserve. This is a caller style GMT, which means that you independently adjust the GMT hand. The watch can be had on either a rubber strap, or a stainless-steel bracelet.

The new Micromilspec Dualtimer is available now, production is limited to 75 pieces until the end of this year, and deliveries will start in 2026. Price is set at €1,670 on leather and €1,735 on the bracelet. See more on the Micromilspec bracelet.

4/

Holthinrichs Teams Up With The Dial Artist For The Signature Ornament LAB Series 1.24

Two things before we get to this watch: I lived in The Netherlands and I’m pretty good with languages. And despite being able to pick up at least the basics of a language in a very short while, there is no way I will even attempt to pronounce Holthinrichs out loud. But even if I fail at that, I will gladly say that Holthinrichs makes some of the best watches I’ve ever seen. They mix classical watchmaking with super high-end manufacturing and cutting edge tech. For their latest release, they’re moving away from their recent foray into more sensible watches with the experimental Signature Ornament LAB Series 1.24 that has a dial made by The Dial Artist.

And while the dial is impressive, I am a sucker for a Holthinrichs case. Sure, it’s dimensions of 38.5mm and 9.85mm might sound rather traditional, but it’s anything but. First of all, it’s 3D printed. Holthinrichs uses selective laser melting of grade 5 titanium, which is then milled to get the desired shape. And while 3D printing of titanium might seem like a gimmick, it’s actually useful here since Holthinrichs uses it to create almost impossible shapes that will have you staring at it for hours. The most attractive part are, of course, the openworked and floating lugs that have curves and shapes you’ve never seen before. The case is also only partially finished, as they intentionally leave traces of the 3D printing process. It’s incredible.

Then, there’s the dial, which just so perfectly matches the raw nature of the case. It’s made out of brass and Holthinrichs then applies a multi-stage forced patina process using electrolysis and heat treatment to get it to a beautiful green color. They then send it to Chris Alexander, who goes under the name The Dial Artist, who then hand-applies gold leaf to make each dial unique. The dial then gets beautiful bevelled and brushed openworked hands and an inner flange that holds the floating hour markers.

Now, with all of that, one would expect the price to climb up to the mid five digits, especially with the use of a high end or in-house movement. And this is where Holthinrichs makes a decision to keep the watch accessible with an off the shelf movement. They use a familiar Sellita SW300, which beats at 4Hz and has a 56 hour power reserve. While the movement is stock, Holthinrichs does modify the rotor with a proprietary acid heat treatment process to give it a patinated look, just like the dial. The watch comes on a pretty spectacular strap, made out of rooster leg leather, with a 3D-printed titanium buckle.

The new Holthinrichs Signature Ornament LAB Series 1.24 is limited to 79 pieces, which is a nod to gold, as its atomic number is 79. Deliveries are expected by the end of the year and the price is set at €5,900, without tax. See more on the Holthinrichs website.

⏲️Wait a minute

A bunch of links that might or might not have something to do with watches. One thing’s for sure - they’re interesting

• In this piece, Laurne Goode spends two days at a San Francisco startup, Notion, to explore “vibe-coding,” a form of AI-assisted programming that is sweeping across tech companies. Simon Last, one of Notion’s three cofounders, equates running the AI coding apps to managing a bunch of interns—but they are learning fast. Should we be scared? Will this replace 100 people in the company, or rather make each person 100 times more productive?

• From the creation myth of “Stairway to Heaven” to the urban legend about “In the Air Tonight,” popular music is forever suffused with lore—and perhaps no genre reverberates with it as much as the blues. For The American Scholar, Eric McHenry investigates the apocryphal character of “the Mercy Man.” The twist? He’s real. The bigger twist? His very name peels back a lid on one of this nation’s most indelible stains.

• Every Friday morning, students from Warren Wilson College travel to a nearby prison to take a philosophy class. These “Outsiders” join “Insiders”—incarcerated students—in reading treatises by Plato, Socrates, and other philosophers. But the real learning has little to do with acquiring formal knowledge, being able to succinctly articulate the Allegory of the Cave.

👀Watch this

One video you have to watch today

Have I shown you Track Star? It’s one of the best quiz formats I have ever seen. Brilliant.

Thanks for reading,
Vuk