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ReviewThe Bold Type—Ressence’s Type 1 Series Establishes New Watchmaking Rules

Ressence have adopted a unique approach to the art of fine watchmaking by combining Swiss-made haute horlogerie practices with unmatched innovation to recalibrate mechanical watches for the contemporary scenario

Aishwarya Sati February 16, 2024

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Ressence may be a young brand but highly dynamic, innovative, and have a distinctive style of watchmaking—probably that’s what works to their advantage. Founded in 2010, by industrial designer Benoît Mintiens, the brand have been crafting fine mechanical watches that are known for their minimalistic and sleek aesthetic, characterised by smooth, rounded edges, and a lack of traditional crowns and hands. This design philosophy emphasises simplicity and clarity, resulting in a clutter-free and modern appeal that sets Ressence watches apart from other conventional timepieces. When the brand started out, founder and creator Mintiens began by removing one dimension to create the Series Zero, featuring a unique dial with flush discs that display time in 2D, since the human eye reads two dimensions more quickly. Then came the Type 1 in 2014, where the crown was done away with to truly make it a left-right watch. Since then, there has been constant evolution for this line and the brand introduced the new Type 1° Round this year, as a result of their relentless quest for innovation. Let’s dive into more details.

Unique Typeface: The Ressence Type 1 Series

These watches are broadly divided into two sub-categories: The Type 1°, which is built on the Series Zero—one of the first timepieces by the watchmaker, launched in 2010—and features a round, curvaceous design, while the Type 1² range features a square case—designed over the Series Zero.

The Type 1° comprises 212 components, which constitute the timekeeper’s ergonomic and functional design, thanks to the revolving discs that display time in a bidimensional format by means of the Ressence Orbital Convex System (ROCS), allowing hours, minutes, seconds, and days to orbit each other. The iconic pebble design is sleek and sits comfortably on the wrist, resulting in a strikingly smooth watch with a satisfying tactile quality, that’s highly responsive and foolproof. This also features the shock-absorption system, based on a bottlenecked oil flow that ensures accuracy and smooth functioning of the timepiece and the absence of a crown makes the watch comfortable in both left or right fit—definitely an added advantage. The hydraulic shock absorber is an ingenious mechanism where blades under the runner disc generate a flow of oil that is guided through small apertures. ‘When the watch undergoes a shock, the oil flow increases and will exceed the capacity of these. This will induce a hydraulic friction that will slow down the rotation speed of the runner disc, which is mechanically connected to the rest of the watch via a set of gears. The system will keep the ROCS and the rest of the watch connected together and will prevent the uncoupling of the magnets’, as explained in the brand module.

Ressence Type 1²

The Type 1² range, features square-shaped cases and comes in options of blue or white dials. The blue version looks stately with a dial that has sunray-finished discs, which emphasise the movement of the dial. They also stand out as the design is a round dial within a square case—giving it a slightly robust yet elegant appearance. Ressence have ensured that the legibility of the watch is not compromised under any conditions, thanks to the numerals, markers, and hands filled with extra-strong Super-LumiNova. Also, the use of the caseback for winding and adjusting improves ergonomics, making the watch equally wearable on the right or the left wrist.

A Multicolour Offering

Ressence have also expanded the Type 1 portfolio with a polychromatic dial. This colourful offering—the Type 1 M—features a vibrant dial with hues of blue, green, yellow, and red making it the perfect canvas for the brand to showcase their watchmaking skills.

“With the Type 1 Round Multicolour, we further pursue our exploration in the realm of colours. This watch embodies the principle of a functional colour palette, combining soft hues to create a visually pleasing and practical timepiece. I have long wanted to bring a colourful watch to the core collection. With this new piece owners are sure to make a strong and distinctive impression,” explained Benoît Mintiens, founder, Ressence in an official release.

The 42.7mm watch is crafted in grade-5 titanium and is imbued with the brand’s signature sleek design and unconventional watchmaking spirit. Here, the primary colours have been used in a manner that enhance the functions on the watch and complement the tactile design of the case—thereby creating a symphony between form, colour, and material. The vibrancy of the hues doesn’t distract either.

The contrasting, yet complementary colours highlighting the hour, minute, second, and weekday discs bring the dial alive while the numbers and indexes are coated with white paint and the hands are grey with coloured tip. The engraved indications are also filled with Super-LumiNova, to allow unhindered visibility even in low-light conditions.

Striking Features Of The Type 1 Watches

To reinvent watchmaking in the modern day and age, one must constantly rethink the relationship with watches. While the most important aspect of a watch is to tell time, but there’s also an emotional attachment with the timepiece. There are certain defining characteristics of the Type 1 watches like the round, smooth, curves, the ergonomic design, and the detailed finishing on each watch.

For the Type 1² range, Ressence have ensured that the legibility of the watch is not compromised under any conditions, thanks to the numerals, markers, and hands filled with extra-strong Super-LumiNova. Also, the use of the caseback for winding and adjusting improves ergonomics, making the watch equally wearable on the right or the left wrist

The watches are crafted in titanium, measuring 42.7mm for the Type 1° and 42mm for the Type 1², however, they are water-resistant to only 10m—not the best in terms of waterproofness. But they operate on intuitive simplicity ie, when setting the time, the timepiece is simultaneously being wound.

The dials have also been graphically simplified with indexes every 10 minutes and a weekday dial that subtly unites the two non-working days of the week with a touch of colour. The seconds and weekday hands are larger for an improved reading.

The watches are brought to life by the patented ROCS 1.3 (Ressence Orbital Convex System) module driven by the minute axle of a customised 2892 base calibre. This automatic movement with 40 jewels and 27 gears, beats at a frequency of 28,800vph and keeps them ticking for at least 36 hours.