RESSENCE

Ressence Type 3 Marc Newson Edition embraces industrial design

The ‘collaboration watch’ is a well-established design trope at this point but there are lot of ways to go about it. For example, celebrity collaborations might reflect an aspect of that person’s personality or preferences such as the Audemars Piguet x Travis Scott. My personal favourite type of collaboration is when a watch designer (which is how Benoit, the Ressence founder, describes himself) teams up with a designer from another discipline, be that an artist, architect, car designer or beyond. It’s when two creative minds meet that there is a genuine collaborative energy and the resulting project is almost always better off for it. Enter the Ressence Type 3 Marc Newson Edition.

Marc Newson is an Australian polymath who now operates out of his London-based studio working on design projects that span fine art, furniture, automotives, marine, aviation, architecture, luxury goods and yes even timepieces. His style is most commonly described as post-modern, referencing his bold use of colour and shape. Prominent works of his include the Lockheed Lounge (the most expensive piece of furniture sold at auction by a living designer) and being heavily involved in the design of the Apple Watch, for which he held the ‘Designer for Special Projects’ title at Apple.

For the Ressence Type 3 Marc Newson, the decision was to focus on his industrial style. Which translates to a predominantly greyscale design punctuated by bright, bright yellow. The peripheral date and 60-minute scales and presented as white on black while the central rotating disc of the Ressence Orbital Convex System (ROCS) display is a grainy grey colour. Then, the subdials for weeks, hours, running seconds and oil temperature are then black and white again but with yellow hands. It reminds me of the hazard signage in a factory with warning signs and hazard stipes.

If this is your first time encountering a Ressence watch, the ROCS display means that the main disc of the dial rotates moving the positions of the subdials in a constant ballet. However, to keep everything legible, the subdials also rotate in a counter direction so that they are always oriented so that you can read them. It turns the entire watch face into an interesting kinetic sculpture. The smoothness of the motion and the look of the dial is achieved thanks to the oil-filled case, which serves as both a lubricant and an optical illusion, making the dial appear closer.

Powering the watch is the ETA 2824/2 equipped with the ROCS module. It has a 36-hour power reserve, which seems low by most standards but it is driving the entire orbital display, so it’s understandable. The same argument can made regarding the price which at CHF 46’000 (approx. £43,300) is very expensive, but justified by the unique manner of its display and advanced materials including 45mm titanium case with both DLC and PVD coated elements.

Price and specs:

Model: Ressence Type 3 MN

Case: 45mm diameter x 15mm thickness, grade 5 titanium, two sealed chambers with upper oil-filled ROCS display, double-domed sapphire crystal with AR coating

Dial: DLC and PVD coated grade 5 titanium, convex discs with eccentric biaxial satellites, engraved indications with blue and green Grade A Super-LumiNova

Water resistance: 10m (1 bar)

Movement: Ressence calibre ROCS 3.6, automatic

Frequency: 28,800 vph (4 Hz)

Power reserve: 36h

Functions: Hours, minutes, runner, day, date, oil temperature

Strap: Synthetic rubber with titanium ardillon buckle

Price: approx. £41,000

--Thebestwatch--