Last Year’s Award-Winning Dive Watch Is Back With a Tougher, Sleeker New Version

Just when I thought this diver couldn’t get any cooler.

a closeup of the crowns on a ming dive watch

Published January 22, 2025

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If you’re familiar with Malaysian independent watchmaker MING, then you know the brand loves to — to paraphrase Fleetwood Mac — go its own way.

It has a unique visual style that’s all its own and a penchant for innovation that’s arguably unmatched for a brand its size. Recent innovations include a house-made white-glowing lume and the world’s lightest mechanical watch.

Then there’s the 37.09 dive watch. Unveiled last year as the blue-hued “Bluefin,” the 37.09 was unique among divers in that it doesn’t feature a traditional rotating bezel. Instead, the entire sapphire dial rotates to track elapsed time, with the indices remaining fixed in X1 Super-LumiNova on the underside of the crystal.

ming dive watch underwater — The Bluefin Diver won the “Watch Oscar” for Best Sports Watch last year.

The watch was innovative enough to win the GPHG Award — basically the Oscars for the watch industry – for Sports Watch of the Year in 2024.

The Bluefin launched in May of last year, and it just won its big award two months ago in November. But despite the watch’s recency, MING has already launched a new version of the 37.09 diver.

In keeping with the Bluefin’s sushi-inspired nomenclature, get ready to meet the Uni.

a MING dive watch — Meet the Bluefin’s new sibling, the Uni.

The Armored Dive Watch

The uni takes inspiration from its namesake animal in both design and structure.

Design-wise, the new model adds orange highlights inspired by the (delicious) edible gonads of the uni, with the seconds hand and the first 20 minutes of the dial’s elapsed time markers both bringing a bright burst of orange.

Notably, the orange details also glow orange in the dark thanks to orange-emission Super-LumiNova, making this the first MING watch to boast such a feature.

a closeup of a MING watch dial glowing in the dark — The Uni is MING’s first watch to feature orange-glowing lume.

Structurally, the 38mm stainless steel case has been given a black DLC finish, which gives the watch a sleek dark makeover reminiscent of a black sea urchin while also creating a more scratch-resistant exterior, mimicking the spiny, armored exterior of the animal.

The indices remain a Super-LumiNova X1-printed ring on the underside of the watch’s sapphire crystal, but they’ve been redesigned to resemble a sort of abstract urchin. The look is more uniform and futuristic than the indices of the Bluefin, and I slightly prefer it.

a MING dive watch on a mans wrist — The Uni is mostly identical to the Bluefin but is sleeker and tougher.

The hands remain unchanged from the Bluefin and are still coated in extremely bright-glowing Super-LumiNova X1. The movement is still the Sellita SW300.M1 automatic, a custom calibre from the Swiss manufacture exclusive to MING that features anthracite skeletonized bridges, a custom rotor and a 50-hour power reserve. It once again is visible behind a sapphire caseback.

As discussed already, the rotating sapphire dial for tracking elapsed time works identically here as on the award-winning Bluefin, and the watch remains water resistant to an impressive 600m.

Finally, the Uni receives the same molded FKM rubber strap with the micro-adjustable ‘flying blade’ tuck buckle introduced on the Bluefin, but the strap is now black instead of blue. MING has also hinted at releasing an orange strap to amplify the Uni’s orange highlights.

two MING dive watches with one facing forward and one backward — Like the Bluefin, the Uni boasts a 600m water resistance rating despite having a sapphire caseback.

Pricing and Availability

Presumably due to the higher cost of the DLC coating, the Uni is priced slightly higher than the currently sold-out Bluefin. (The Bluefin will be restocked at some point.) It’s priced at CHF 5,250 (~$5,790) compared to the Bluefin’s CHF 4,950 (~$5,460)SRP.

Traditionally, MING watches have sold out immediately and been very difficult to get at retail, but the hype surrounding the brand has subsided more recently and there are even some other models currently in stock in the brand’s online boutique, so if you’re interested in an Uni, there’s a solid chance you’ll be able to pick one up.

The watch will go on sale on MING’s website tomorrow, January 23, and will be shipped out to customers in 2 – 4 weeks.