The latest version of TYPE 1 sees the brand indulge in a polychromatic look for the dial, offering a fresh new twist for an outstanding timepiece.
The TYPE 1° M by Ressence is certainly one of the more unique timepieces I’ve come across because of the dial and how the watch operates/winds.
For those who may not have heard of Ressence, they are a brand founded in 2010 by industrial designer Benoît Mintiens. The watches are designed in Belgium, with the manufacturing process taking place in Geneva, Switzerland.
Ressence’s design philosophy is “Less is more”, which means to create watches with minimal design features. This is easily shown through their timepieces, especially the TYPE 1 collection.
“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.”
Benoît Mintiens, Founder of Ressence.
The TYPE 1 collection was first introduced in Baselworld 2014. The watch came with no crown, a flat case (compared to previous models from Ressence) and a lug design that pointed inwards. The lugs came with this design to suit smaller straps, indicating that the brand wanted to expand more into the Asian market.
While the dial looks digital from a distance (like the Apple watch), it is anything but. It certainly does seem like the discs and indications on the dial are “painted on”, which adds to the watch’s uniqueness. To indicate the time on the TYPE 1 watch, the “mechanical display module” comprises “discs” that orbit around each other, thanks to the customised 2892 base calibre movement.
The mechanism of having rotating or orbiting discs on the dial isn’t a new concept. However, I think the way it’s delivered on the TYPE 1 dial is what makes it unique. Initially, the dial can be hard to read, with the way the discs orbit around each other, but once you see the mechanism work, it becomes simple enough.
The watch’s time and day of the week feature is read through the multiple discs and hands shown on the dial. For the TYPE 1° M, the different coloured discs can easily help distinguish the different time components.
Firstly, the large green “disc” displays the hours, indicated through the 12 white indices on the disc. Next, the yellow disc displays the constant seconds. And lastly, the red disc displays the day of the week. The minutes on the dial are shown through the large blue central hand, which indicates the minutes through the blue minute track on the outer part of the dial.
For this day of the week display, each day has a portion of the “disc” split up for it, with a total of 7 portions/arcs/sections (however you want to call it) on the disc.
So how do we tell what day it is exactly? Firstly, we need to know where the “weekend” days are, which are shown as the sections with lines through the middle. With the hand on the disc reading clockwise, we can easily determine the day of the week the watch indicates.
The date disc also serves as an AM/PM indicator. The outer track only indicates minutes and not hours, so one cannot tell whether it’s AM or PM at first glance. As the day progresses, the hand on the “day of the week” discs slowly makes its way through each section on the disc (or day) in a clockwise fashion. So, if the hand is pointed to the start of the section on the disc, this indicates AM on the time, and if it’s at the end of the section, it indicates PM.
At first glance, the time can certainly be hard to decipher; however, once you learn the mechanism, everything falls into place. The real beauty of the dial is seeing the minutes progress throughout the dial. The minute hand doesn’t cross over the discs. Instead, the discs all rotate clockwise as the minute hand makes its way around the dial.
A quick way of seeing this process is by pulling the lever on the case back of the watch. This lever acts not only as the time adjustment for the watch but also as the movement winding mechanism. Once the lever is pulled from the case back, rotating it clockwise or anti-clockwise will adjust the time accordingly, which also allows you to see the discs orbiting on the dial!
The TYPE 1°M is presented on a grade 5 titanium 42.7mm x 11mm (thickness) case, which not only provides a comfortable fit due to the lightness of the material and thickness of the case but also durability as it grade 5 titanium offers a higher strength and scratch resistance compared to standard 316L steel.
More than just a pretty face, the TYPE 1°M is the latest rendition by Ressence that portrays a colourful and different way to read the time. While the watch has a simplistic dial design, the mechanism underneath governing the time and it’s adjustments is anything but. The absence of a crown also makes this timepiece versatile, as it can be a comfortable fit for both left and right-handers.
The TYPE 1° M will be available worldwide from December 2023 via Ressence’s official retailer’s network.
Reference: : TYPE 1° Round M (Multicolour)
Specification
- Case: 42.7mm length x 11mm thickness
- Case: Grade 5 titanium
- Dial: Convex German silver dial (125mm radius) with three eccentric bi-axial satellites inclined at 3° (hours) and 4.75° (seconds and day of the week)
- Hands/Indices: Shown through separate discs on the dial. The green disc displays hours, and the yellow disc constant seconds and minutes shown through the main dial.
- Crystal: Double-domed sapphire crystal top with anti-reflective coating inside
- Water resistance: 10m (1BAR)
- Movement: Patented ROCS 1.3 – Ressence Orbital Convex System – module driven by the minute axle of a customised 2892 base calibre. Caseback winding and day/time setting
- Movement frequency: 28,800 VpH (3Hz)
- Power reserve: 36 hours
- Bracelet/Strap: Ardillon buckle with a light grey rubber strap (20/20mm)
