At SIHH 2018 last year, Ressence presented a concept watch that had a lot of people talking: the Ressence Type 2 e-Crown. The watch contained a module sitting between the brand’s patented Ressence Orbital Convex System (ROCS) display and the mechanical movement of the timepiece, which housed an automated setting technology for mechanical watches. If you want to read more about it, we published a story here which details how the e-crown technology works.
After presenting the watch during last year’s fair, the brand went quiet. The production version of the Type 2 was supposed to be available later in 2018 but that never happened, which brings us to SIHH 2019 and the official presentation of the Ressence Type 2 along with two smaller updates.
Ressence Type 2
Based on last year’s concept, Ressence did not change anything regarding the overall design but added a set of apertures on the hour disc. The smallest disc indicates the four modes that the watch has: time zone 1, time zone 2, app and e-Crown off, and the wearer switches between the modes by tapping on the crystal on the dial of the Type 2. The companion smartphone app can be used to set the various time zones but you can also do that manually on the watch.
Around the mode selector you will find the micro-shutters which open when needed to reveal the photovoltaic cells used to provide energy to the watch and making it self-sufficient. This is quite amazing if you think about it, you really only need to set the watch when you receive it. The Type 2 has a power saving function where the e-Crown system will automatically hold the barrel of the mechanical movement after the watch has been off your wrist for more than 12 hours, while registering and keeping track of the time digitally. Once you start wearing your watch again, double tap the crystal and just like that, the Type 2 will automatically set itself to the correct time, even after three months of inactivity, the brand says. It’s safe to say that the Type 2 is the “smartest” mechanical watch out there.
The case remains at 45mm and is made of titanium with anthracite PVD coating and will be available with an anthracite or grey dial.
Ressence Type 1 Slim
All Ressence watches feature the company’s patented ROCS display, it’s what they are known for, which is a set of co-planar discs of different sizes, all revolving at the same time around the dial. The Type 1 is the brand’s most stripped-back model. The largest hand indicates the minutes on the outer track while the hours are displayed in their own disc, and two sub-dials indicate the seconds and day of the week.
First introduced in 2014, the Type 1 gets its first major makeover with a new case design identical to the new Type 2 and it’s also made of grade 5 titanium. The watch is now slimmer and sits at 11mm thick compared to 13mm on the previous version of the Type 1. The winding and setting mechanism is still incorporated into the caseback of the timepiece and the domed sapphire glass extents to the very edge of the case.
Ressence Type 3 with White Dial
Rounding up the new releases of Ressence for SIHH 2019 is the Type 3 but now featuring a white dial for the first time.
The Type 3 is the flagship model of the brand and was revolutionary when it was introduced in 2013 as it featured a sealed chamber filled with oil which contained the time indicating components. The oil is there to “project” the dial up to the crystal and cancels the effect of distortion. As a result, it makes for a crisp time reading experience. The lower sealed chamber of the watch contains the mechanical movement and the information from the movement to the ROCS mechanism is transmitted via micro-magnets through a titanium plate.
On the dial you’ll find information such as hours, minutes, running seconds, day of the week and date, but also the oil temperature. The oil is further controlled by seven bellows inside the watch which will expand or compress to compensate for changes in the oil’s volume due to the temperature.
Previously only available with a black dial, Ressence now offers the Type 3 with a new white dial giving a fresh and bright new take on the model.
