Hands On: Ming 51.01 Halo

The Ming 51.01 Halo takes the brand’s experimental approach to materials in a dressier direction, pairing a pink gold-coated crystallised titanium case with a slim, hand-wound La Joux-Perret calibre. Compact proportions and a restrained black-and-gold palette bring the unusual case texture into focus, while 5N lacquer-filled indices, still etched into the underside of the crystal, replace Ming’s customary lume without sacrificing its recognisable identity. Initial thoughts As a collector, I tend to be wary of gold plating and coatings from a durability standpoint, but in the case of the Halo that personal preference confronts my affection for crystallised titanium, which I wrote about last year. This treatment process subjects grade 5 titanium to intense heat in a vacuum chamber, reaching 1,200°C. That heating and the controlled cooling that follows have the effect of ‘crystallising’ the metal.