Ressence Type 3 BaselWorld 2013 Review

DonCorson · 2013-05-22T03:51:36Z

DonCorson reviews the Ressence Type 3, his BaselWorld 2013 Best Design winner, featuring a liquid-filled display and crown-less case for a unique aesthetic.

BaselWorld 2013 : Ressence

Of course we remember the Ressence watch from designer Benoit Mintiens. We have been following this watch for several years now with its rotating dial filling entirely the case diameter without any bezel. This year Mr. Mintiens has taken this design to the extreme with a new model, the Type 3, which has such a successful design that I have named it my BaselWorld 2013 Best of the Fair for Design.

By filling the space between the dial and the crystal with a transparent liquid it appears that the dial is really on the surface of the crystal. The effect is massive and surprising. Once again we see that Mr. Mintiens is an industrial designer by profession and the entire piece is satisfying both in its looks and in its feel in the hand and on the wrist.

One of the things we notice immediately is the lack of a crown on this watch. The entire back of the case takes this function. Depending on the position of the back and whether the dial is facing up or down the watch can be wound (not really necessary, as it is an automatic) and the time and date set.

Of course for the development of this watch a reliable separation of the watch movement from the liquid-filled display portion was of great importance. There are many details that need to be carefully taken care of such as the thermal expansion of the liquid and transfering the movement in a guaranteed leakproof way. To this end the watch consists of two compartments that are separated by a titanium membrane. On one side of this membrane is the liquid filled display compartment. On the other side is the watch movement. The movement is transfered from the watch compartment to the display compartment by magnetic coupling through the titanium membrane.

All in all well thought out and visially compelling.
The Ressence Type 3 is the worthy winner of my "BaselWorld 2013 Best of the Fair for Design" award.

Series 1

Type 3

Key Points from the Discussion

A contributor notes that the time adjustment on previous generation Ressence watches felt stiff and sometimes stuck, expressing interest in whether the Type 3's revised lug design and new functionality have improved the winding and setting smoothness.
The author confirms that the winding and setting on early Series 1 Ressence watches could be 'fiddly,' but states that the entirely new functionality on the Type 3 felt 'nice and smooth' during his hands-on experience.
A contributor expresses appreciation for Ressence's original brand vision and its innovative approach to timekeeping, thanking the author for the BaselWorld report.

The Discussion

Mark in Paris

May 22, 2013

I like this original brand and the way it has thought time keeping, thanks a lot for the report Don. Cheers, Mark

KIH

May 23, 2013

.. I handled the previous generation Ressence, but the time adjustment smoothness was not there. A bit stiff, sometimes stuck feeling was a bit of turn-off. Otherwise, it was very interesting design. Would like to handle it again with my hands and the revised lug design is really, really good. Kudos for these improvement! Ken

DonCorson

May 24, 2013

Yes Ken, on the Series 1 watches, at least on the early ones, the winding and setting was a bit fiddly. To tell you the truth I didn't try it this year to see if it has been improved on the Series 1. This entire functionality is new on the Type 3 and what I tried was nice and smooth. Don

Key Points from the Discussion

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