Independent watchmaking is at its absolute best when it transcends competition and embraces true collaboration. For years, collectors have watched the friendship between Ming Thein of Horologer MING and Los Angeles-based artisan Josh Shapiro grow through shared initiatives under the Alternative Horological Alliance (AHA).
While they have previously collaborated on components like tantalum bracelets and custom cases, the new MING x J.N. Shapiro 37.06 Lightning marks their very first co-created, co-signed timepiece.
Ringing in at CHF 6,250, this watch represents far more than a simple dual-logo branding exercise. It is a literal physical fusion of two distinct design philosophies, where hand-operated, old-world engine turning directly meets avant-garde, minimalist Malaysian architecture.
A Dial Crafted Across Two Continents
The defining narrative of the 37.06 Lightning is its extraordinary, high-stakes dial creation process. The journey begins across the Atlantic inside Josh Shapiro’s Los Angeles workshop.
Here, each individual dial blank is formed from grade-2 titanium and engine-turned by hand on a traditional, manually operated rose-engine lathe.
Shapiro utilizes a mesmerizing, jagged pattern known as “Lightning guilloché”—marking the very first time this incredibly intricate texture has appeared on one of his wristwatches.
The pattern brings a dynamic, kinetic energy to the metal that feels right at home within the established MING design language.
* Material: Grade-2 Titanium
* Technique: Hand-operated Rose-Engine Lathe
* Pattern: Proprietary "Lightning" Guilloché
Once the physical texture is locked in, the dials are flown to Kuala Lumpur, where Ming Thein personally takes a handheld butane torch to the titanium. Through precise application of heat, the metal transforms into a brilliant, polychromatic gradient spanning a spectrum of deep blues, rich purples, and vibrant bronze-yellows.
“Because this coloring process relies entirely on heat, timing, and the natural variations of the titanium’s crystalline structure rather than paints or lacquers, no two dials will ever look identical. Lightning, quite literally, does not strike twice.”
This dual-artisan process carries an incredibly high failure rate. A fraction of a second too long under the open flame, or an unseen impurity in the titanium, will ruin the dial completely.
Ultimately, only about one in every three dials survives both stages of production to make it into a finished watch.
The Architecture of the 37-Series Case
To house this volatile piece of wearable art, MING utilizes its familiar, highly wearable 37-series case geometry. Machined from high-grade 316L stainless steel, the case measures a sweet-spot 38mm in diameter, 10.9mm in thickness, and a compact 44.5mm lug-to-lug distance.
The case sports a remarkably narrow bezel, which allows the intricate dial to push all the way to the edges of the sapphire crystal. This deliberate design choice makes the watch wear visually larger and thinner on the wrist than its physical dimensions imply.
The highly sculpted flare of the lugs requires complex multi-axis machining to flow cleanly from the case flanks, providing a sharp contrast of polished and brushed surfaces.
Hovering above the dial is a domed sapphire crystal that integrates MING’s signature design trick: laser-hollowed cavities filled with luminous HyCeram to serve as floating hour indices.
The hands are cleanly minimalist—devoid of a running seconds hand to keep the focus uninterrupted—and finished with a combination of Super-LumiNova X1 and blue anodization.
Custom Swiss Mechanics
Beating inside the 37.06 Lightning is the manual-wind Sellita for MING calibre SW210.M1. This is a highly customized execution proprietary to MING, showcasing skeletonized, rhodium-plated bridges contrasted against a striking anthracite-coated baseplate, yielding a beautiful view through the sapphire exhibition caseback.
Technical Specifications
| Attribute | Specification |
| Movement | Sellita for MING Calibre SW210.M1 (Manual-Wind) |
| Power Reserve | Approximately 42 hours |
| Dimensions | 38mm Diameter x 10.9mm Thickness x 44.5mm Lug-to-Lug |
| Water Resistance | 100 Meters (10 ATM) |
| Indices | Laser-hollowed Sapphire filled with HyCeram |
With deliveries starting in June 2026 and rolling out through late 2027, the 37.06 Lightning stands as a triumphant testament to independent camaraderie.
For CHF 6,250, it offers an unrepeatable piece of watchmaking history where both masters have left their physical fingerprints on the exact same piece of metal.
