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Lot Essay
Ressence was launched at Baselworld in 2010, where founder Benoît Mintiens presented three prototypes introducing his radically different approach to displaying time. The first production run followed in early 2011 with the ‘Zero Series’, comprising 50 watches assembled by VRJ in Waterloo, Belgium. In 2012, Ressence introduced the ‘Series One’, an evolution of the original concept featuring downturned lugs, a shock-absorption system and a revised time-display module. Production also moved to Geneva, where Ressence began working with Montres Ludovic Ballouard.
In 2014, Ressence unveiled the remarkable Type 1 collection, a refined expression of the principles that had defined the brand from its beginnings. Housed in a sleek titanium case with distinctive inward-pointing lugs, the Type 1 dispenses entirely with a conventional crown, giving the watch an exceptionally pure and ergonomic profile.
At first glance, the dial appears almost devoid of conventional moving hands. Instead, the entire display is constantly in motion through Ressence’s patented Orbital Convex System (ROCS), in which the main dial and its subsidiary indications continuously orbit around one another. Three rotating sub-dials display the hours (green), seconds (yellow) and day of the week (red), while the central hand indicates the minutes. The day indication additionally incorporates a day/night display, creating an intuitive presentation despite the mechanical complexity beneath.
Further reinforcing the minimalist architecture of the Type 1, both winding and time-setting are performed directly through the rotating caseback, eliminating the need for a traditional crown. The result is a highly original approach to mechanical watchmaking in which case, movement and display are conceived as a unified whole, establishing the visual and technical language for which Ressence has since become renowned.
In 2014, Ressence unveiled the remarkable Type 1 collection, a refined expression of the principles that had defined the brand from its beginnings. Housed in a sleek titanium case with distinctive inward-pointing lugs, the Type 1 dispenses entirely with a conventional crown, giving the watch an exceptionally pure and ergonomic profile.
At first glance, the dial appears almost devoid of conventional moving hands. Instead, the entire display is constantly in motion through Ressence’s patented Orbital Convex System (ROCS), in which the main dial and its subsidiary indications continuously orbit around one another. Three rotating sub-dials display the hours (green), seconds (yellow) and day of the week (red), while the central hand indicates the minutes. The day indication additionally incorporates a day/night display, creating an intuitive presentation despite the mechanical complexity beneath.
Further reinforcing the minimalist architecture of the Type 1, both winding and time-setting are performed directly through the rotating caseback, eliminating the need for a traditional crown. The result is a highly original approach to mechanical watchmaking in which case, movement and display are conceived as a unified whole, establishing the visual and technical language for which Ressence has since become renowned.