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Brand Review: Ressence Watches

Ressence watch reflects a self-reliant way of thinking of fine watchmaking no less expertly hand-crafted, but with an industrial design ideology that aims to be innovative with a simple visual style that is distinctly 21st century. This was a very good concept as it is one of the reasons why Ressence has been so successful. Another factor is the reality that a lot of initial research and development must be done to make the idea work, and that the outcomes are watches which are not only esthetically distinct from anything else but are also highly mechanical. Yeah, they're pricey, but there are justifications: classic design and how much it was needed to get there.

Ressence Watch Development and History

Benoît Mintiens in Antwerp, Belgium, established a watch manufacturer (Ressence) in 2010. The brand identity is the "Renaissance" and the "essence" portmanteau. Ressence's innovative time display mechanism is characterized by the fact that all the graphical components in the dial are positioned under the sapphire glass like numbers, graphical hands within the single planar surface The' mechanical screen unit' consists of discs and circles that rotate around each other to determine the time.
The 1st and 2nd line tasks are AM / PM, minutes hours, and seconds. Many critics said that the look was too difficult to read, but, because of its mixture of simplification and functionality the watch was contrasted with the style of Apple, because of the prominence of the minute hand, the watch was also often called a regulator Type.
The co-planar spinning discs and rings were embossed and packed with Super-LumiNova. Given specific painting silver and titanium versions with a black version of the content are not able to be seen in the night. A changed mechanical Swiss automatic caliber from ETA S.A. is utilized by the automatic module to drive it.
The use of spinning disks is no innovation in itself. In the 1970s several watches used discs to show time, rather than hands. Though few are famous, Seiko's 2007 "Discus Burger" limited edition, a more and less version of the Swatch 1994 SWA0017 model, is still very popular with collectors but with another second disc. The black and white disk burger uses discs with digital markings for hours and minutes, which are similar to each other's hands. The time is shown by a small window at 9 o'clock in the otherwise unmarked dial. Mintien's concept to rotate the whole dials chronologically in which co-planar sub-dials move around a digital axle with indexes is fresh. Harry Winston released the Opus X in 2010 focused on a similar animation but the ideas are unique in visual and technical terms. A big difference is that Opus X utilizes hands in various sizes and Types to show time.
At the BaselWorld Watch fair in 2010, the Ressence line was presented with three protoTypes. The so-called "Zero Series" was introduced during the spring of 2011 with the first run of 50 watches. In spring 2012, the "Series One" Ressence watch was released. In addition to small changes in the time unit, this latter series gave an update to the null series without having to hold back the sapphire, twisted bugs, and a shock absorption mechanism.
The Zero Series was created by VRJ in Waterloo, Belgium.[13] In collaboration with the Ludovic Ballouard Montres in Geneva, Switzerland, Ressence started the assembly in Series One. Ressence watches were given a "special mention" from the jury during the 2011 World Exhibition in Geneva (Geneva Time Exhibition). It was also watch of the year for creativity was by WatchPro in 2012. During the 2013 BaselWorld Watch Fair held in May in the year 2013, the third series Type 3" was released. The CBS News Tech crunch announced the new design as the possible future path of watches as it is one of the original watches without a crown. In November 2013, the Belgian newspaper Le Soir named the Ressence Type 3 to be Men's Watch of the Year 2013 and presented it at the Genève Grand Prix d'Horlogerie, the Horological Revelation Award.
In 2016, the Foundation of Haute Horlogerie confirmed that the methods of Horlogerie, following the applied arts, fulfill the Haute Horlogerie quality standard of excellence. The FHH entrusted this report to its Cultural Council of 46 foreign independent experts with full impartiality and pro bono.

Types of Ressence watches

In the opinion, I'm far from alone, but nobody makes such a watch as Ressence. Nobody. Because of lack of a better term, Ressence watch is a game-changer, with avant-garde innovation balanced beautifully by a thoughtful new era design language which is both amazingly understandable and stunning.

The Ressence Type 1

The Ressence Type 1 has never stopped to evolve since it was introduced in 2014 (or even 2010 when you look at the very first Zero Series, which was the predecessor to this model). In several colors, the initial display was revisited across finishes and in the squared edition the crownless case has even been modified to become the' Air-Filled' Set. Ressence thought it was time to bring its embellished look a bit of modernity. Meet the recent slim Type 1. At Ressence one aspect is guaranteed; vintage classic, tribute, and heritage are terms that are not included in the language of the company The keywords at Ressence, on the other hand, are modern, Avantgarde, and futuristic. Don't think it only means watches operated by electricity or batteries. No! Modern and revolutionary is what matters for Ressence, this was the concept behind the ultra-innovative Ressence Type 2 model, mixing best in technology with mechanical elegance.
Ressence Type 1 has been developed as the brand's signature design–and its most available item. While it may be the flagship this watch is hard to describe as a' classic' model, it seems much more' ordinary' with its cable lugs and pebble formed case relative to the most recent Ressence Type 5 and Ressence Type 2. For that reason, the Ressence team is updating its model to become the Ressence Type 1 Slim by using a new, modernized, slim-down case. The latest 42 mm Ressence Type 1 Slim has reduced to 11 mm in a pebble Type case with welded lugs measuring 42 mm in diameter and 13 mm in thickness. Even the design of a resolutely more conventional, ovoid Type case with which seems to be an embedded strap has been dramatically modified. Lugs and cases of the same block of titanium grade 5 are molded in one action. It is influenced by the latest Ressence Type 2 in this viewpoint. The new form does not revolutionize the model but makes the watch with the rest of the series more consistent. How could the height of 2 mm be lost? First thanks to the latest case back and the framework for winding and positioning. Ressence has now mounted the same system used on a Type 1 square rather than the revolving sapphire glass which implies that the watch has no crown and the process for winding and settling in the case back. Secondly, the movement of the base is slightly slimmer (3.60 mm vs. 4.60 mm) than ETA 2892/A (ETA 2824/2). Type 1 Ressence lost 2 mm in all.
It's a major minute drive (activated in the ETA travel minute axle) and three satellites for the hour and the second and on the day of the week is what remains the same. A system called ROCS creates an active dial as satellites revolve around each other. ROCS (Ressence Orbital Convex Device). The information is shown without hands on a single surface. The gears in the ROCS composed of 107 pieces, compute seconds, times and days, taking as reference only a minute from the motion.
The Ressence Type 1 slim is also available in three additional editions, first presented in black (now Type 1B),: Type 1W (whites) and Type 1N (night-blue dials).

The Ressence Type 2

Last year Ressence launched the Ressence Type 2 e-Crown Design, a design watch that first exposed the world to the notion of the "e-Crown," an electrical device mounted inside the mechanical watch that would simply allow the watch to refresh itself to the right time after the power reserve (among other things) has run down. The crystal is triggered and operated by tapping on the Ressence Type 2 dial to provide the mechanical watch with a modern tactile experience and usability. The selector sub disc and its four modes (time zone 1, time zone 2, application and e-crown off) are displayed in the dial visually.
It is constructed of anthracite PVD titanium with a curve 45 mm case and the rotary design is quintessence, with orbital discs enclosed. This is the most important component. You can note several gaps in the dial and a set of shutters opening and closing in the style indicator, enabling light to pass through and recharging photovoltaic cells driving the e-crown. There is an application that allows you to do stuff like adjust the watch to different timescales or track the power. It's also accessible on your mobile. This blends electronics ' performance with the passion and charm of mechanical engineering, controlled by user experience.

The Ressence Type 3

The other significant model of Ressence is the Ressence Type 3 right now. The Ressence Type 3 is the flagship model for the company currently with a liquid case which is somewhat more complex than Type 1. At a glance, there can be confusion between Type 3 and Type 1, however, there are many differences between the two. Type 1 is a bit simpler, has no date marker disc and is there is no liquid present. This passes the smooth case though, which is sandwiched in sapphire and has no traditional crown.
The dial indicators for the Ressence Type 3 include hours in a subdial (with the hand of Ressence 12 o'clock), minutes in a long dial radius "hand," day of the week (5 closed nodes for the weekdays and 2 open for the weekend), seconds (over a period of 6 minutes), and the date around the dial perimeter. At first, it can be somewhat difficult to follow, but you get quite used to it. The gradual moving second's disc is cool because of its movement, which gives a stoic appearance to Type 3, is hardly noticeable.
The center of the Ressence Type 3 plan is materials and mechanical technology. Every part of titanium that could be made and oil that could fill the dial chamber without reacting badly to press and temperature changes was an upright battle. Apply magnets to the dial and a gravity clutch to balance the watch, and a modern item is available here. The updated process begins as an ETA 2824-2 but is almost to the point that it is unknown. Due to the spherical shape of Type 3, the dial discs have to rotate on all axes at angles perpendicular to their center surface and involve careful tilting of the axles of the various gear trains.

How perfect is the Ressence Type 3?

Ressence Type 3 deals with physics like no watch before. For example, refracting light as it travels from one material to another-from air to sapphire crystal-can distort vision. The Ressence Type 3 cancels this impact by flooding 35.7 ml of oil in its upper half. The effect is a new sense of visibility and immediacy, as well as higher performance efficiency due to decreased friction.
A grand vision for great watchmaking needs an original, focused perspective-that of industrial design. Ressence Type 3 has taken years of careful research and innovation. Through its trailblazing proprietary ROCS-Ressence Orbital Convex System, it expresses both the heritage of watchmaking and reinvents it with modern micromechanical innovations such as magnetic transmission.
Ressence Type 3 represents the most creative and revolutionary concepts of RESSENCE focused on applied science by re-imagining what and how watches can be.

Some categories of the Ressence Type 3

Ressence Type 3w

For those unaware of what they are looking, the Type 3W depicts hours (on the 12 hour subdial), minutes (using a large central "hand," on a small display), seconds (on the seven circular display segments and with two oranges), oils (on the remaining, on a circular orange display with two orange segments), oils (on the smallest display). The Ressence Type 3W demonstrates the present generation of hours. All displays work as rotating discs independently so there are no hands and none of the measures are ever overlapping. It's remarkably readable once you know what you're looking for.
The normal model uses an extremely modern black dial that masks the seams across each rotating disc, which is linked to a custom example of the mechanical flexibility of ETA 2824. While the old original dial version has an impactful yet enigmatic beauty, the new model uses a bright silver-colored dial with almost the same function in the more modern and technological manufacturing process.
The Ressence Type 3W measures 44 mm in diameter but doesn't feel that heavy on the hand. Similarly, I don't think its thickness of 15 mm was the same. The complex dial design and the concave dome shape of the watch are somewhat decreasing in both dimensions. A set of dome sapphire crystals fitted to a Ressence Type 3 titanium frame, which also shapes the gloves, are 79 grams in weight and the Type 3W feels great in the hand because the lightest tone of this variety is adorable.

The Ressence Type 3.5 model

The Ressence Type 3 transports time from the dial to the crystal. The orbiting indications are bathed in a fluid that refracts light like air does, so the indications appear to be displayed directly onto the sapphire – closer to the eye of the beholder. The high-contrast white indicators against the black dial appear to be projected onto the top crystal as if onto a screen. Type 3 offers a tangible feeling of being able to touch time itself.
Discs displaying hours, minutes, seconds and days revolve under the domed sapphire crystal, while the date is read from the perimeter of the dial at 6 o'clock. The indications discs continually revolve, as does the whole dial itself. The face of the watch is constantly changing in the same way that a human face is transformed by each passing emotion.
With the Type 3, Benoît Mintiens, the founder of Ressence, concentrates on the user experience rather than on creating a showcase for the workings of a watch. Traditional hands are replaced by convex discs set in a convex dial, providing an abstract representation of pared-down and poetic time. Lines painted on the hours, minutes and seconds discs indicate the time just like traditional hands, but unlike traditional hands, they do not overlap so less space is required between the dial and the crystal.
The Type 3 is a mechanical watch; however the illusion of seeing indications appear on the sapphire crystal as if they were on a computer screen is reinforced by the pronounced curve of the glass and a "water drop" effect that accentuates the black/white contrast of the dial. The Type 3 provides proof of Leonardo Da Vinci's adage that "simplicity is the ultimate sophistication", because in order to take this new step forward, Benoît Mintiens had to develop some very original technical solutions.
The indications and their mechanisms are mounted inside a bubble crafted from extremely tough, antireflective sapphire crystal. The complication and indications follow the shape of the crystal. The mechanism (215 components) is enclosed in an upper compartment filled with a naphtha-type liquid that has a more similar index of refraction to the sapphire crystal than air does. Refraction bends light when it passes from one material to another, e.g. air-to-glass or glass-to-air. With the fluid-filled dial indications, refraction is greatly minimized, which tricks the brain into eliminating the impression of depth. A thermal valve automatically adjusts for any expansion or contraction of the fluid.
An unbroken hermetic titanium membrane between the upper section housing the complication module and indications and the movement prevents any physical connection, so the information is transmitted magnetically. The automatic winding movement is protected by a Faraday cage to minimize the effects of magnetic fields on timing.
The name Ressence is a portmanteau assimilating the words renaissance and essence, and stands for the rebirth of what is essential to a watch, to displaying time. Ressence's quest for “the essential”, which began with the replacement of traditional hands by flat discs, has taken another step forward in the Type 3 with the absence of a crown as well. The complete sapphire case back rotates and takes the role of the crown. A gravitational gearing system allows the indications to be adjusted separately: with the dials facing up, it is possible to change the time and date; with the backup, the watch can be wound.
Like the dial side, the back is curved convexly so that its centre touches the wrist between the bones, ensuring that the Type 3 is a very comfortable watch to wear.

The Ressence Type 5

Ressence likes to do things like no one else in the watchmaking business. Its style is both new, technological and different, but with plenty of conventional internal mechanics. Ressence decided to improve the idea with an oil-filled part, the Ressence Type 3, which was already spectacular with its in-house orbital show of the period. And then an oil-filled dive watch was introduced to take advantage of this distortion-free system. For 2019, a Night Blue dial upgrades are seen in the Ressence Type 5–key to an oil-filled dive watch! Ressence Type 5 is a fresh take on the watch of the industry. It does not appear like anything else on the market, even if it follows the ISO 6425 requirements (the accepted specification for dive watches). Blended with a screen-like, distortion-free capability due to its oil-filled upper panel, Type 5 is all about a special display–the trademark orbital indicator of time by Ressence.
However, as a reminder, for numerous reasons, Ressence Type 5 is fascinating. It is said to be "the first mechanical watch, irrespective of the viewing angle, to be fully readable under water." An ordinary dive watch can be troublesome underwater because time cannot be read at certain angles (crystal acts as a mirror-like glass). Ressence has found that the combination of oil and glass, which share similar responses to light fractions, caused a "water drop" dial effect when its dial seems to be placed directly below the glass without distortion when it built the Type 3, a watch where the upper ROCS module is filled with oil.
The company depends on dynamic technology to do it. To keep mechanical motion and oil apart, Ressence designed a two-chamber system inside the Ressence Type 5 in an ingenious way. In the lower space, there is a personalized automatic movement (based on ETA 2824) and in the upper chamber, the ROCS bath module in 37,5 ml of oil is hermetic screening. Both motions are linked to the upper display module via a magnetic system that allows the base caliber to shift. The watch has a series of seven tiny bellows, which contract or expand based on the rise or decrease in oil volumes, to offset oil pressure variations (depending on the temperature), and is located on the dial at the temperature indicator.
Besides its strong creative characteristics, the Ressence Type 5 remains a truly waterproof device (with a pressure capacity of 10 ATM/100 m). The titanium case of 46 mm has a unidirectional, 60-minute rotating bezel, and the button has a 90-second subdial. Both signals are packed with luminous content on the convex dial.
In addition to the current black dial and black box / black dial versions, the Ressence 5 will be released for 2019 in the new Night Blue color scheme. The Night Blue dial is fitted with a dark blue Cordova belt (which also fits with a blue rubber strap.

Ressence Watch Prices

Ressence watches are undoubtedly one of the rarest and most desirable brands out there. The Ressence Type 1 price ranges from $20,600 to $23,600. For Ressence Type 2 smartwatch is $48,800. The Ressence Type 3 watch price ranges between $42,200 and $43,500, and the Ressence Type 5 price range from $35,800 and $36,500.