GPHG, Grand Prix d’Horlogerie de Geneve is one of the prestigious award ceremonies that happens every year where new and existing watchmakers partake to share their creations and potentially win the category they are competing in. This GPHG 2024 is a rather special one because apart from my favourites, one brand that stood out and caught my attention happens to be the Ming 37.09 Bluefin, which won the GPHG Sports Watch Prize – but what’s special is that this Malaysia brand takes the win for the second time.
Ming 37.09 Bluefin GPHG Sports Watch Prize Winner
Ming is an independent brand based in Malaysia, was founded by Ming Thein – a name that is synonymous in the Malaysian industry for his amazing photography (at least, that’s how I know). The brand came into existence in 2017 and fast forward to today, they have won their second GPHG Award – which shows that they are making an amazing stride in the world of horology.
Following their last win in 2019 for their 17.06 Copper watch which took the award for the Horological Revelation Prize, this time in 2024, they won the Sports Watch Prize for their new 37.09 Bluefin Dive watch. And unlike other dive watches, MING sure did make this one extremely minimalist and functional. It’s powered by a self-winding mechanical movement with 50 hours of power reserve and priced at 4950 CHF (roughly RM 24,726, as of 23rd November 2024).
Unlike traditional dive watches which we have seen from many makers, MING took this in a different direction – and not without its challenge as their goal was to make an aesthetically pleasing and meet the technical standards of a dive watch and they did exactly that. A watch that took 2 years to make – the base sapphire is machined and laser engraved and the reverse side of the dial houses a proprietary double layer, chromium-based metallization and this is done before the watch is filled with multiple layers of Super-LumiNova X1. All that gives the watch a nice depth when you look at it.
Both the decompression and time adjustment crown are on the right side, positioned roughly at 2 and 4’o clock. It offers 600m of water resistance and the dial measures 38mm but the best part is: all of this is in a 12.8mm thick case. I have to say that, it is the kind of watch that flies under the radar when you first glance at it but when you see it, you know it’s the Bluefin.
While they are an independent brand, it’s genuinely nice to see a homegrown brand make it once again and get the recognition it deserves globally. Click here to check out GPHG and more details on this watch.
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