6 minute read
Time for change How Ressence founder Benoît Mintiens has created a Smartwatch with Swiss soul
Ressence Type 2’s E-Crown promises the most exciting hybrid to date of Swiss manufacture and technological innovation
TIME FOR CHANGE
Tempus meets the founder of Ressence to find out how these revolutionary watches combine smart technology and timepiece tradition
Words: Michelle Johnson
When the quartz watch movement reached the peak of its popularity in the 1970s and 1980s, it nearly called time on mechanical horology – particularly in Switzerland, where the ‘quartz crisis’ saw employment within the watch industry cut by nearly two thirds. So it would be easy to assume the latest technological trend – smart watches – would be approached with some trepidation by Swiss watchmaking.
In fact, smart watches have become a small but important part of the development of some the best-known Swiss manufacturers. TAG Heuer’s Connected Modular watches are uniquely customisable while Montblanc released a classy smart watch last year with its Summit 2. But it’s Ressence’s E-Crown that is promising the most exciting hybrid of Swiss mechanics and technological innovation to date.
Founded in 2010 by industrial designer Benoît Mintiens, Ressence’s unique orbital disc system replaces traditional dials, while the convex face and removed bezel make the time legible at any angle – especially useful in the brand’s Type 5 diver’s watch, which has a depth of 100m. Each model also features a manual lever rather than a crown.
But it’s the brand’s remarkable Type 2 that is breaking new ground; not only is it powered by tiny solar panels, but it combines this disc system with a bluetooth-enabled E-Crown interface, changing between time zones or communicating with its mobile app with just a tap of the glass face. Billed as the world’s first mechanical watch with a smart crown, it’s no coincidence that the independent Belgian company chose to manufacture in Switzerland.
“We began designing Ressence watches with the user experience in mind, wanting to bring the best of technology available today combined with traditional watchmaking. But we soon realised that the paradox of fine watchmaking is that, even if you’re wearing a very unique and expensive watch, if you’re looking for accuracy, you’ll check your smartphone,” says Mintiens. “So that’s where we began. We wanted a watch that was autonomous and mechanical with a power reserve of 36 hours, at least. But on top of that we wanted for the user to have extra convenience and accuracy when setting or changing the time.”
Mintiens explains that the ‘codes’ of industrial design are what inform Ressence’s unique interface. “Watchmaking traditionally starts at the technicality of the watch, whereas we try to dematerialise what you see as a design. We asked, ‘What is the essence of time keeping? What around this is necessary and what can we try to take away?’
“With a mechanical watch, the time is normally displayed in different layers, but actually our eyes don’t like layers. »
So, how can you solve that when you have all these dials that join at different levels? We took the approach of replacing traditional dials with discs, which turn within each other, and this is the basis of our orbital convex system.”
The Type 2 will be available to purchase from October this year, featuring a convex grade 5 titanium 75mm dial with three eccentric biaxial satellites on jewel micro-ball bearings. The engraved indications are filled with grade A superluminova for night-time legibility, and the patented self-winding ROCS 2 movement (Ressence Orbital Convex System) is driven by the minute axle of a specially customised 2892/A caliber. And although the smart functionality is currently basic, Mintiens says these are first- and second-generation models and that further merging of analogue and digital function is only a matter of time.
“With our Type 2 watch, you can change the time and time zone very easily using our mobile app [right], so you can align the mechanics of the watch with all the information and accuracy from the digital world,” he says. “But the mechanical aspect is important, because the watch will accurately retain the time you’ve set without having to stay online. And the accuracy of the time is much more precise than if you were only setting it manually, as once a day the watch will automatically correct any deviation via wireless connection.”
Ressence sells around 300 watches a year and boasts highprofile fans including Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi and designer Philippe Starck. Its growing popularity, Mintiens suggests, is down to the soul of the product.
“We can see that there’s a shift in the way we are communicating. We are very confident that we’re on the right track, because people like the products. Our customers are often creative, in technical jobs, architects, engineers. They’re people who want to break the traditional codes but who still like fine watches and purity of design. They believe in the innovations that we’re making. It’s not just another gadget,” says Mintiens.
“Above all, we want to uphold the values of fine watchmaking, because there’s an emotional value to mechanical watches,” he says. “You will never have an emotional attachment with an Apple watch, or whatever, because you are treated like a consumer – you can feel from the moment you buy it that it will be outdated after a couple of years, maybe even months. Ressence watches, we believe, will last this generation and still be something you can hand down to the next generation – just like the amazing Swiss watches built 50 years ago.”
Crucially, Mintiens assures us that this is just the first step towards a lasting union between digital technology and Swiss watchmaking, that will see the industry step into the future while honouring the past. “Time is not something static,” he says. And who would know better than a watchmaker?
Ressencewatches.com
TAG Heuer is the titan of high-end fine watches. Its Connected Modular series was the first fully-functional smartwatch delivered by a fine watchmaker, with its most luxurious version paved with diamonds. This year, the brand’s new Golf Edition comes with a new app that lets the watch digitally map more than 39,000 golf courses globally – including distances to greens and hazards – track scores for up to four players and more. tagheuer.com The Ressence Type 5 diver’s watch
GET SMARTER
Make time for our pick of the best hybrid watches
TAG Heuer Connected Modular 45 “Golf Edition”
is perfectly legible from any angle
Frederique Constant Hybrid Manufacture
The next generation of Frederique Constant smart watch launched this year with a Swiss-made automatic movement, a connected module allowing activity tracking, sleep analysis, dynamic coaching and a worldtimer, and a calibre analytics function that works with the Hybrid app to keep its movement up to date. The real draw for horological purists, however, is that all that clever tech is hidden beneath an elegant and timeless dial appearance.
frederiqueconstant.com
Montblanc Summit 2
A powerful hybrid of fine watchmaking and smart technology, the Summit 2 is designed for the gentleman runner, featuring a Running Coach app that logs heart rate and performance data for your workout, providing personalised insights and training guidance. Launched last year, CEO Nicolas Baretzki described the watch as combining “easy access to functional features and apps… while still enjoying the experience of wearing a fine timepiece”.
montblanc.com
Breitling Exospace B55 Yachting
Breitling’s ‘connected chronograph’ allows its wearer to sail smoothly through its smart functions. The titanium-carbon watch contains an exclusive caliber that is tailor-made for pilots and yachtsman, featuring an electronic tachymeter, and a ‘chrono flight’ and ‘chrono regatta’ device for recording your best times for flight and regatta times respectively. Its two LCD screens features a backlighting system controlled by a tilt of the wrist.
breitling.com
