To give the latest watch from Ressence its full name, it’s the Type 1° Round Multicolour, known more succinctly as the Type 1° M. It’s a new colourway of the Type 1° Round that was introduced at the start of the year. The majority of Ressence designs tend to focus on a single colour such as blue, black, sage green or red, so a multicoloured version is a pretty substantial departure from the norm, worth a closer look.
If you’re unfamiliar with Ressence, they’re a Belgian watch brand known for their innovative Ressence Orbital Convex System (ROCS) calibre and display. ROCS essentially means that the entire display rotates to indicate the time with the main body of the convex dial serving as the minute counter. There are then a trio of subdials that rotate independently to indicate the hours, seconds and days of the week.
For the Type 1° M the main disc of the dial is a pure white, the peripheral minute track is blue, the hours is green, the seconds counter is yellow and the days of the week are red. The vibrant colours actually serve to make this the easiest Ressence to read that they’ve ever produced as it’s easy to memorise what each of the colours mean. It’s also easy to keep track of where each indicator is as they rotate around the display. At the same time, it’s a bright and fun selection of primary colours (plus green).
In terms of structure, the circular case is made from grade 5 titanium and measures 42.7mm in diameter. The rotating display consists of a German silver dial topped with a double-domed sapphire crystal. It uses the updated style codes introduced with the Type 1° Round, which is namely the fact that it has a completely circular design rather than a cushion or tonneau shape.
Powering the piece is the ROCS 1.3 automatic movement. The way the calibre works is that Ressence’s patented module converts the minute hand function of the ETA 2829 into the signature orbital display. As such, the watch has the same technical specifications as the 2829 including its 36-hour power reserve and 28,800vph frequency.
To be honest that power reserve is a touch on the low side, especially because the Type 1° M has a price tag of CHF 16,800 (approx. £15,100). I understand why the reserve is low, the ROCS mechanism requires a lot of power to turn multiple dials simultaneously, but it would be nice to see it bumped up a little bit. Ressence have already proven that they’re a serious player when it comes to intriguing horology so with a little development, I’m sure they’ll be able to create an innovative solution. And anyway, the focus here is the colourway which is on point as a bright and fun design.
Price and Specs:
Model:
Ressence
Type 1° Round Multicolour
Case:
42.7mm
diameter x 11mm thickness, grade 5 titanium
Dial:
Convex
German silver dial
Water resistance:
10m
(1 bar)
Movement:
Ressence
calibre Patented ROCS 1.3, automatic, 40 jewels, 212 parts
Frequency:
28,800
vph (4 Hz)
Power reserve:
36h
Functions:
Hours,
minutes, seconds, day of the week
Strap:
Light
grey rubber with Ardillon buckle
Price:
CHF16,800
(approx. £15,100)
More details at Ressence.
Oracle Time