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Much of watchmaking is bound by tradition, and no tradition is more respected than the basic vocabulary of the display of time: hands, radially mounted on a central post, which point to indications placed along the perimeter of the dial. To depart from this basic system is both highly unusual and technically risky, but Ressence has built its considerable international reputation as a horological design powerhouse by doing exactly that – and by rigorously exploring and rethinking every aspect of the interactions, both mental and physical, between the watch and its owner.
The new Ressence Type 1 Slim continues the exploration – by Belgian designer and Ressence founder Benoît Mintiens – of the unique-to-Ressence orbital time display system. In a Ressence watch, time is broken down into individual sub-dials, and those sub-dials rotate as satellites around the center of the watch, set into the rotating dial. The system is dubbed the ROCS, or Ressence Orbital Convex System.
ROCS and its time displays were first introduced by Ressence as part of a dramatic optical illusion: they seem to float on the crystal, despite the fact that they’re actually below it (as the hands would be on any conventional watch). This effect is achieved by filling the upper chamber of the watch, which contains the ROCS, with a transparent oil that has the same optical properties as the sapphire watch crystal. The result is that the crystal seems to vanish, giving the ROCS dials a vivid clarity unlike anything else in contemporary watchmaking. In subsequent years, Ressence has branched out, producing watches with the ROCS system which have an air-filled upper chamber, allowing for a greater range of experimentation in visual effects and finishes – this evolution of the original system is the basis of the Type 1 Slim.
The upper and lower chambers are completely physically isolated from each other. A membrane separates the ROCS system from the gear train, escapement, and balance below it, and a very clever solution has been found to link the winding and setting lever on the back of the watch to the ROCS system: they are connected to each other, not physically, but by small and powerful permanent magnets. The movement is protected from the magnetic field (which could upset accuracy) by a surrounding shield made of soft iron, the same material used to create antimagnetic inner cases for conventional timepieces, such as pilot’s watches.
The Ressence Type 1 Slim represents a significant departure from previous Ressence designs in terms of its case. Ressence watches generally have an ovoid form, which is an extension of the curvature of the crystal. In Ressence watches the curve of the crystal is a section of a much larger, imaginary sphere. This rigorous geometry is retained in the Type 1 Slim, but the geometry of the case profile is concave, rather than convex, flaring outward as it descends to the wrist.
This may at first seem a minor change but it makes a major difference in how the watch feels on the wrist. Thanks to the case shape, the Type 1 Slim fits so closely and so comfortably on the wrist as to almost feel as if it’s an extension of the wearer’s body – the physical and sensory effect of having something very closely mated to the wrist is pronounced and immediate, and a sensation unlike that produced by any other watch.
With the Ressence Type 1 Slim, time becomes not only a novel visual experience, but a visceral and tactile one as well – representing the latest expression of Benoît Mintiens’ restless and continuous research into understanding how the needs and experiences of the user can and should (in his philosophy) inform the evolution of watch design at Ressence.
Learn more about the new Ressence Type 1 Slim and shop the full HODINKEE Shop Ressence collection right here.
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