Ressence
Ressence is a Belgian luxury watch brand founded in Antwerp in 2010 by industrial designer Benoît Mintiens. It is known for a patented display in which rotating discs show the time on a single flat surface.
| Founded | 2010 |
|---|---|
| Founder | Benoît Mintiens |
| Bases | Antwerp and Geneva |
| Signature | Oil-filled co-planar display |
| Website | ressencewatches.com |
What is Ressence?
Ressence is an independent luxury watchmaker founded in 2010 by Benoît Mintiens in Antwerp, Belgium. The company is based in Antwerp and Geneva.
Products and positioning
The brand's watches use a patented display in which all dial elements sit on one co-planar surface beneath the sapphire crystal. Discs and rings orbit one another to show the time instead of conventional hands.
- Type 3 (2013): a 44mm watch with a sealed, oil-filled chamber below the dial, awarded the Horological Revelation prize at the Grand Prix d'Horlogerie de Genève
- Type 1: a crownless line-up from 2014, followed by the Type 1 Squared in 2017
- Type 5 (2015): a 46mm titanium diving watch whose oil fill keeps the dial readable underwater
The oil fill in models such as the Type 5 cancels total internal reflection, so the display remains legible from wide angles and under water.
Why it matters
Ressence is one of the few independent brands that rethinks how a mechanical watch displays time, bringing an industrial design approach to high watchmaking from outside Switzerland.
Frequently asked questions
Where is Ressence from?
Ressence is a Belgian watch brand founded in Antwerp, with operations in Antwerp and Geneva.
Who founded Ressence?
Ressence was founded in 2010 by Belgian industrial designer Benoît Mintiens.