This Stunning Art-Deco Watch Was Born in Malaysia & Built in Switzerland

By Danial Martinus • 04 Mar 2026 in Tick Talk

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An independent Malaysian watch brand quietly making waves in the Swiss watch industry might sound like a far-fetched notion, but that’s exactly what MING Watches has been doing for years.

Founded and run by Malaysians, with design work and final inspections done in Kuala Lumpur, the brand produces its watches entirely in its facility in La Chaux-de-Fonds, Switzerland to meet the highest standards of craftsmanship.

What you get in return are stunning timepieces that proudly carry Malaysian DNA with a healthy spritz of quality Swiss precision.

The MING 57.04 Phoenix is a confidently restrained step forward

At first glance, you’ll notice how restrained the Phoenix is compared to MING Watches’ previous 57.04 offering, the Iris. The watch sports a mostly grey, clean, and modern look. But if you take a closer look, you’ll realise the Phoenix is anything but plain.

The dial, for instance, curves gently inwards, with small radial cutouts revealing splashes of colour underneath. Depending on lighting angles, you’ll be able to spot subtle hints of blue, purple, and green.

It’s not loud or flashy by any stretch of the imagination. Instead, the colours reward your curiosity when you take a closer look. And despite the layered design of the dial, it’s still very easy to tell the time.

The hands stay crisp and clear during the day, and when the sun goes down, the dial comes alive with luminous material in both MING Polar White and Super-LumiNova X1. If you have no idea what those two things are, they’re essentially high-quality pigments that glow in the dark.

Setting the watch apart from conventional timepieces are the crown and single timing button, which are placed on the left instead of the right.

This “destro” layout, as it’s often referred to, makes it surprisingly comfortable, especially if you wear your watch on your left arm and hate the crown digging into your hand.

The single button that the crown encases is where you’ll find the chronograph feature. One press to start timing, one press to stop, and another to reset it. It’s intentionally simple to preserve the clean look of the watch, while also making it less complex to deal with.

If you take a close look, you’ll also be able to catch alternating brushed and polished finishes, especially around the lugs. They look like actual Art-Deco architecture.

The watch case measures a versatile 40mm, making it suitable for most wrist sizes. Powering the watch is a manually wound movement with around 60 hours of power reserve. This means you can wind it up on a Friday evening and it’ll still be ticking on Monday morning.

Only 150 units will be made, keeping the Phoenix exclusive but not totally out of reach. Another thing to bear in mind is the price, which definitely reflects the watch’s Swiss production: 6,250 Swiss Francs, or roughly RM31,566.