When Benoît Mintiens founded Ressence in 2010, he set out to rethink how we represent time. The resulting creation completely deconstructed the notion of a traditional watch, doing away with hands altogether in favour of an unconventional and visually arresting display of rotating discs. Two decades on this vision feels as fresh as ever, as the brand continually evolves its signature design harnessing the latest technology. 

The new Type 3 BBB (standing for ‘black, black, black’) presents Ressence’s distinctive aesthetic in sleek monochromatic style. Like all the watchmaker’s timepieces it is defined by its unique ‘hands-free’ and crownless formation, with the black DLC-coated titanium case bringing an even more futuristic feel. On the dial all the colour has been removed from the indicators, leaving only starkly contrasting white and light grey against the black background. 

The true pleasure of a Ressence watch has to be experienced in person, with its pleasingly smooth, pebble-like design playing with optical illusions to give the appearance of the dial display being extremely close to the glass. This is due to its oil-filled dial, which thanks to the liquid’s similar response to light refraction as glass’s, momentarily tricks the eye into losing its depth perception. 

This innovative approach brings its own unique challenges. The movement within cannot operate properly submerged in oil, requiring the designing of a two-chamber system to keep the two elements well protected. And because of this separation there is no longer a direct mechanical link between the movement and the display, which again demanded some creative thinking. The result was to use a magnetic transmission to link the modules together. Speaking to the special nature of the design, this new model will be produced only until the end of the year. 

ressencewatches.com