The Real Time Show — Geneva Watch Days 2025: Praneeth Rajsingh, MING

Date: September 7, 2025
Host(s): Rob Nudds (A), Josh Shapiro (B, guest host)
Guest: Praneeth Rajsingh (C), MING
Location: Glass igloo outside the fair’s pavilion, Geneva Watch Days

Overview

This lively episode, recorded live on the last day of Geneva Watch Days 2025, features Praneeth Rajsingh, a key figure at independent watch brand MING. With Alon Ben Joseph absent, watchmaker Josh Shapiro steps in as co-host, adding an insider’s perspective. The conversation explores MING's creative process, the challenge of transforming bold ideas into commercial realities, branding across diverse price points, and MING’s evolving approach to engaging new audiences. Listeners are treated to candid takes on industry norms, authentic communication, and an insider look at breakthrough collaborations.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The MING Process: From Creative Vision to Market Reality

• Creative Spark vs. Pragmatism:
  • Praneeth describes the process of turning Ming’s creativity into tangible products as variable and collaborative, not formulaic ([01:35]).
  • “Sometimes I’ll be talking to Ming … like you take two and you multiply it five times, you get ten… then there's taking that and figuring out how to explain multiplication to someone else.” — Praneeth [01:39]
• Role Differentiation:
  • Praneeth acknowledges his role as a “perpetual pessimist and cynic” who grounds the creative energy with realism — especially regarding timelines and feasibility ([02:16]).
  • “Ming is like we can do this in six months, I’ll be like, eighteen months. Why? I don’t know, ask me in eighteen months.” — Praneeth [02:19]

2. Commercial Realities and Brand Evolution

• Balancing Artistic Pursuit vs. Business Needs:

  • Praneeth often has to urge the creative team to move forward even when perfectionism kicks in, ensuring commercial deadlines and sustainability are met ([03:47]).
  • "We're running, at the end of the day, a commercial business… not profits first, but they still have to be profits enough to sort of pay your salaries, rent." — Praneeth [03:47]

• Unique Brand Positioning:

  • MING’s ability to shift between accessible and high-end price points is highlighted as almost unique in the industry ([04:44], [05:40]).
  • Rob nudges Praneeth: “Most brands would not be able to sustain that simultaneously. To me, that's a masterpiece of communication." — Rob [05:18]

3. The Myth of MING’s Communication & Sales

• Self-Reflection on Communication:
  • Praneeth paradoxically claims MING isn’t strong at marketing or selling but credits their authenticity and product quality for consumer traction ([05:44]).
  • “I think what’s gotten us this far is just that the ideas and the product itself… have outstripped the need to really be good at communicating or sell it.” — Praneeth [06:00]
  • Rob counters, pointing to the desirability and fast sell-outs of new MING watches ([08:29]).
  • Praneeth attributes much of their early commercial survival to outsourcing management to Asia, keeping costs lean and allowing more investment in product innovation ([06:19]).

4. The Power of Authenticity and Community

• Community-Centric Brand Building:
  • Praneeth values the close-knit community of MING clients and the organic, word-of-mouth nature of their growth. He extends the challenge of “communication” to reaching outside the core collector audience ([10:49]).
  • "To build a brand that's sustainable, I think we need to bring new people into the fold, get people excited about watches..." — Praneeth [11:42]
• Accessibility & Fun:
  • Cites early successes of brands like MB&F in fostering approachability and fun—feeling inspired by their early inclusivity ([12:36]).

5. Watchmaking’s Changing Landscape — Past and Future

• From Obscurity to Mainstream:
  • Rob provides context on how the watch industry’s audience has shifted—from Swatch’s pop culture breakthrough to today’s more seasonal, collector-driven market ([12:50]).
  • "Watchmaking as a craft is 300 years old. Our industry started in 1983 post quartz crisis..." — Rob [13:09]
• Appealing to New Generations:
  • Praneeth reflects on how to make mechanical watches relevant and engaging to young or previously uninterested audiences ([16:21]).
  • “Younger people just find the fact that you could do all this mechanically super fascinating.” — Praneeth [18:38]
  • The need to avoid intimidating jargon and make technical aspects inviting ([18:38]).

6. Creating Wonder — The “Magic” of MING

• Sense of Adventure:
  • Josh praises MING watches for retaining a sense of magic and adventure, both in watch design and technical collaboration ([19:08]):
  • "You look at it and you instantly know it's a MING. And you are excited to see what special thing did they put into this watch? ...I was floored." — Josh [07:56]
• Emphasis on In-Person Experience:
  • Praneeth stresses the importance of physical interaction—pictures can't do justice to their watches' real presence, fueling an increase in events and retail partner involvement for hands-on experiences ([20:01]).
  • “The only way to experience that is in person… nothing [the photographer] can do will get the pictures to look as good as the real thing in the metal in great light.” — Praneeth [20:01]

7. Pioneering Collaboration in the Independent Space

• Breaking Down Walls:

  • Rob and Josh reflect on the rarity and significance of actual technical collaboration (e.g., shared bracelet development, Project 21 cases) between independent brands ([21:21]).
  • The effort to make a tantalum bracelet more accessible by transferring know-how from Josh's American workshop to MING's Asian production partners, aiming for scalability and cost reduction without sacrificing quality ([23:17]).
  • Praneeth’s openness on the process and rationale:
    • “A bracelet really is not an art… so I said, Josh, would you be willing to work with our production partner… and help them develop this knowledge?” — Praneeth [22:50]

• Transparency and Value for Customers:

  • Addressing concerns about altering production locations, Praneeth emphasizes that transparent communication and tangible benefits (lower prices) will win community support ([23:32]).
  • Rob highlights the wider industry impact of sharing R&D for the customer’s benefit ([23:58]).

Notable Quotes & Moments

• Praneeth on perfectionism vs. pragmatism:
  “I know you're not 100% happy with this, but we gotta get a move on… We can't spend another six months fine-tuning the last half a percent.” [03:47]

• Rob on MING’s magnetic allure:
  "Ming is well known. It feels like the best kept secret in watchmaking. But it's not a secret. … One of the most mainstream, visible independents because you've led from the front." [08:53]

• Josh on MING's ‘magic’:
  "Your products really speak for themselves… I was floored… It’s a joy to work with them, and it’s a joy to experience their watches as a friend and as a collector." [07:56]

• Praneeth on brand authenticity:
  "We don't know how to dress a watch up in any other way… The story is just that we thought the idea was cool and we're going to do it." [10:20]

• Rob contextualizing market evolution:
  “Watchmaking as a craft is 300 years old. … Prior to the quartz crisis… watches weren't collectible. Watches could be a status symbol… Nobody collected until Swatch.” [13:09]

• Praneeth on opening up the world of watchmaking:
  "The big barrier is… how do you make the technical stuff not so obscure, intimidating?" [18:38]

• On the value of collaborations:
  "Sharing that research and development for the common good, for the benefit of the customer is just, it's wonderfully responsible, considerate and progressive." — Rob [23:58]

Important Timestamps

• 01:08: Josh asks about the creative-to-reality process at MING.
• 02:16: Praneeth details his role as a realist and planner.
• 03:47: The challenge of balancing perfectionism and timely delivery.
• 04:44: Discussion around MING’s price-point agility and brand story.
• 05:44: Honest take on MING’s self-perceived communication weaknesses.
• 08:29: Conversation on product desirability and the myth of 'bad' sales.
• 10:20: The power of authenticity in communication.
• 11:42: Need to bring new people into the watch fold.
• 13:09: Rob outlines pivotal shifts in the watch industry post-quartz crisis.
• 16:21: Praneeth on the need to grow beyond core collectors.
• 18:38: Making watches less intimidating for younger generations.
• 19:55: The 'magic' of MING; importance of physical experience.
• 20:21: Retail partnerships and expanding events.
• 21:21–23:58: In-depth collaboration discussion: MING x Josh Shapiro, bracelet development, and the Project 21 case.
• 23:58: Closing reflections on the societal value of sharing R&D in watchmaking.

Tone & Style

The conversation is candid, playful, occasionally self-deprecating, and deeply knowledgeable—reflecting industry insiders comfortable with challenging conventions and each other. Both Rob and Josh bring warmth and humor, while Praneeth is sincerely reflective, focused on tangible realities and grounded optimism for the future.

Final Thoughts

This episode reveals the human factor driving one of independent watchmaking’s most talked-about brands. Praneeth’s grounded wisdom, honest self-assessment, and collaborative spirit illuminate not just how MING maintains excitement and exclusivity, but how it hopes to inspire a new, broader audience of watch lovers—without losing its authentic soul.