Ressence - Type 1 Round Rose Gold

When Essentialism Meets Warmth

Ressence’s first venture into rose gold arrives not with fanfare, but with the quiet confidence of a brand that knows exactly what it stands for.

The Type 1 Round Rose Gold, limited to 70 pieces and launching at Dubai Watch Week 2025, introduces precious metal to the Belgian watchmaker’s purist design language without diluting its essentialist core. It’s a study in how warmth and sophistication can emerge from a system built on mechanical innovation rather than decorative tradition.

Reimagining Time Display from the Inside Out

Since 2014, the Type 1 has challenged a fundamental assumption: that reading time requires hands rotating over a static dial. Ressence’s patented ROCS 1.3 module (Ressence Orbital Convex System) replaces conventional hands with three flush, inclined discs that continuously revolve beneath a domed sapphire crystal. The minute disc operates as the central drive, while hour, seconds, and day-of-the-week sub-discs orbit in a hypnotic, bi-dimensional ballet. This isn’t a cosmetic quirk—it’s a complete rethinking of how to display time more intuitively, using the minute axle of a modified ETA 2892 base caliber as its foundation.

Rose Gold as Soul

Benoît Mintiens, Ressence’s founder, describes rose gold as adding “soul” to the Type 1’s essentialist language. The 4N rose-gold plating on the convex dial creates a soft, copper-toned luminescence—never brassy, always shifting with ambient light. This isn’t the ostentatious gold of traditional dress watches; it’s a deliberate choice to introduce emotional warmth to a design that has always prioritized function.

The dial’s sunray finish catches light radially from its center, while the guilloché pattern on the rotating discs adds a micro-texture that rewards close inspection. Cool silver subdials provide necessary contrast, and white minute markers ensure legibility without disrupting the monochromatic harmony. The sandblasted case ring and bezel introduce a matte counterpoint to the dial’s glow, preventing the precious metal finish from feeling precious in the conventional sense.

Craftsmanship Within Constraints

Ressence manufactures in Switzerland, but its philosophy is resolutely Antwerp: industrial design first, horological convention second. The guilloché work on the discs is executed with precision, yet it serves a functional purpose—enhancing grip for the ROCS module and improving light diffusion across the dial surface. Every engraved indication is filled with Grade A Super-LumiNova®, the highest luminous standard, ensuring the watch remains readable in darkness without the typical greenish cast.

The 70-piece limitation reflects production reality rather than marketing scarcity. Each ROCS module is assembled by hand, and the dial finishing requires specialized expertise that simply doesn’t scale. This is watchmaking as a deliberate, small-batch discipline.

A Strap That Knows Its Place

The light grey suede strap might seem like an afterthought, but Mintiens intended it as a specific counterbalance. “We wanted something that would complement the rose gold without competing with it,” he notes. The suede’s matte texture absorbs light, allowing the dial’s warmth to command attention while keeping the overall aesthetic modern and versatile.

Launching in a Market That Understands Both

Dubai Watch Week has become a global nexus for collectors who value both technical innovation and traditional craftsmanship—exactly the audience Ressence has cultivated since its inception. The Middle Eastern market’s appreciation for limited, meaningful releases makes it the right stage for a watch that isn’t about status, but about status quo disruption.

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Techical Specifications

Case

• Grade 5 titanium

• Double-domed sapphire crystal top with anti-reflective coating inside

• Manual winding over12° and set up via lever

• 42,7 mm (diameter) x 11mm (thickness)

• 1 ATM splash-resistance

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

• Self-winding

• 36 hours powerreserve

• 28,800 vibrations per hour

• 40 jewels

• 27 gears

Dial

• 4N gold-plated Convex German silver dial (125mm radius) with 3 eccentric biaxial satellites inclined at 3°
  (hours) and 4.75° (seconds and day ofthe week)

• Engraved indications filled with grade A Super-LumiNova®

Buckle & Strap

• Ardillon Buckle

• Leather strap (20/20mm)

Weight

• 64 grams (including strap and buckle)

Price: HKD $186,000