Ressence is a company that has done some really weird (in a good way) things over the years when it comes to watchmaking. Most notably have been some of their truly innovative dials. For those models, oil is filled into a chamber, engulfing much of the interior of the watch, causing the dial to look as if it is almost part of the crystal as opposed to being set under it. The watch featured here might not be quite as “out there” as the aforementioned models they’ve released, but it’s still cool nonetheless. The watch featured today is a new iteration of their Type 1 Slim in red, a watch that, thankfully, bucks the trend of green dials for 2021.
The inspiration for the Ressence Type 1 Slim Red actually comes from a unique watch that Ressence made back in 2020 for the Prince Albert II of Monaco Foundation. The watch in that case was dubbed the Type 3 “MC”. For this model, Ressence went instead with the “slim” case and has made a few changes to the overall design and colour scheme that I actually prefer to last year’s piece unique. Most notably, I like the change to use mostly white and some grey as the accent colours on the dial (especially in place of orange), and I feel that this case shape lends itself better to the red… especially when taking into account the fact that there is more visible metal here to provide a contrast.
The case for this watch comes in at 42mm in diameter and is 11mm thick, as opposed to the 13mm of the non-“slim” version. The case is created from a solid block of grade 5 titanium, allowing the weight of the watch to be kept even lower than a comparable steel watch on a strap. The red dial features white hands and pale grey minute markers, yet when the lights go out, you’ll notice that the dial’s accents are coated in red and white SuperLuminova. Above the dial is a domed sapphire crystal, and like many of Ressence’s watches, the dial is highly legible and looks fairly close to the crystal itself. What’s also neat about this watch is that since it uses the Ressence ROCS (Ressence Orbital Convex System) 1 automatic movement (a modified ETA 2892-A), the entire dial will rotate continuously while all the sub-dials still retain their correct orientation. The ROCS 1 movement has a 36-hour power reserve. When looking at the back of the watch, it’s important to note that the watch doesn’t use a crown, but instead a lever system that is hidden on the caseback. All the wearer needs to do to operate the watch is to remove the watch, pull the lever, and then operate it to set the time, date, or wind the watch. One more feature about the inclusion of the lever system and absence of a traditional crown is that it allows for the watch to be ambidextrous, allowing either a right-handed or left-handed person to wear it comfortably. The watch comes on a red rubber strap with an ardillon buckle and is water-resistant to 10m in water.
The Ressence Type 1 Slim Red is priced at 16,800 CHF and is limited in its production, not in that it will be produced in a set number, but instead that it will only be produced during 2021.