Ressence Type 1 watches

The Ressence Type 1 is the Belgian brand's crownless automatic, a 42 mm watch on which the whole dial turns to tell the time. Benoît Mintiens founded Ressence in Antwerp in 2010; the name joins "Renaissance" and "essence". The Type 1 was revealed at Baselworld 2014, a year after the 44 mm Type 3, whose display sits in a chamber of oil and which won the Horological Revelation prize at the Grand Prix d'Horlogerie de Genève. The Type 1 drops the oil and takes a slightly flatter case with lugs that point inwards.

In place of hands, the Ressence Orbital Convex System (ROCS) uses planetary discs: the entire dial rotates on itself while smaller sub-dials revolve within it to show the hours, minutes, seconds and day of the week. The small indicator gives the day of the week rather than AM/PM. The dial is slightly convex to follow the domed sapphire crystal. Underneath is a modified Swiss automatic calibre from ETA. With no crown, the watch is wound and set from the back: turn it over and rotate the caseback.

The letter after the name identifies the dial. The Type 1B is black, the 1CH champagne, the 1N night blue, the 1R ruthenium grey, the 1S silver, the 1W white, and the 1G carries a guilloché pattern on a silver dial. These all come in titanium; the Type 1RG puts the same 42 mm case in rose gold with a grey dial.

Ressence also used the Type 1 for small runs. The Type 1 V Genesis of 2015, made in five pieces for the brand's fifth year, left its titanium case unfinished with visible machining marks and used a frosted nickel-silver dial with engraved markings and no lume. The Type 1 Squared of 2017, 11.5 mm thick, was the slimmest Ressence up to that point.