Ressence Watches

When it comes to watches, Ressence stands out not only as a high-quality watch brand,  but also as a coveted watch designer that reimagines how mechanical timepieces can function. Since 2010, this Antwerp-based manufacturer has produced a unique breed of modern timepieces that have unconventional displays.

Ressence founder, Benoît Mintiens, attracted the attention of many when he unveiled Ressence Type 1, a watch with a flatter case, no crown, and inward-pointing lugs. Three years later, his passion and commitment for creating new designs led him to manufacturing one of the 21st century’s most exciting watchmaking concepts: he filled the top half of the Ressence Type 3 watch with oil. This was the first mechanical watch to be filled with oil.

Oil-filled dials

The upper dome of the Ressence Type 3 has 32.3ml of oil with suspended discs that show the time in hours, minutes, and seconds as well as the oil temperature and date. In Ressence Type 5, Mintiens increased the oil suspended in the upper dome to 35ml. With the main dial and discs flawlessly rotating, the watch creates a unique visual effect that separates it from other brands.

These watches are designed to eliminate reflection and refraction so that the dial can be easily read from any angle. Additionally, oil creates a magnifying effect that gives you an illusion that the sapphire crystal isn’t even there.

Ressence ROCS

The Ressence Orbital Convex System is an ingenious invention. ROCS blends various time displays, from second to hour subdials, all lying on top of a fixed dial with a mono-surfaced display. The minute hand (the large main disc), rotates after every hour while the day-of-the-week and timing indicators rotate independently. The movement is guarded against magnetism by a soft-iron Faraday cage.

Setting and reading the time

To set the time on Ressence watches, turn over the watch and rotate its back bezels to move the time on the dial.

Popular Ressence watch model

Ressence Type 3

Originally launched in 2013, Type 3 features two different sealed chambers; one contains time indicating components and oil while the other is for movement. It’s slightly smaller than the Type 5 and measures 44mm in diameter.

Looking for Ressence watches? Chicago residents can find a Chicago-based watch shop that sells the Ressence timepiece of their dreams at either or both of our Swiss FineTiming locations (downtown Chicago and Highland Park).