Ressence Type 11 in Sky and Latte (Photo: Zahid Izzani/The Edge)
Watch collecting is a deeply personal endeavour and can be an all-consuming one at that. Many enthusiasts follow an almost customary path, driven by the pining and pursuit of a holy grail or fastidious quest for a specific vintage reference, but there are others who diverge into more idiosyncratic territories.
The thrill then, is not found in esoteric perpetual calendars or astronomical trackers — though these accomplishments no doubt deserve high praise — but the discovery of a timepiece that boldly deviates from convention or a brand proffering a refreshing philosophy that enlivens the monotonous drumbeat of hallowed heritage.
For Benoît Mintiens, founder and director of Ressence, the small independent house based in Antwerp, Belgium, timekeepers should first and foremost display time. Stating the obvious? Not quite.
Mintiens’ approach to horology is rooted in his background as an industrial designer. From high-speed rail and aircraft interiors to medical devices and travel luggage, his projects revolved around functional demand. Distinguishing between the different schools of thought in the industry, he observes: “There are two directions watchmaking has gone towards — marketing and technical.
“The marketeer will design a watch that’s instantly recognisable with a big brand name or signature, so others can see what you’re wearing. The technical side is for the geeks, those who get very impressed by complex things. But we have another perspective and that is to make sure the watch is functional. We ask how we can make our products easy to read, nice to wear, more legible or better adapted to the environment.
“If you want to be relevant in the industry, what you do has to be meaningful. As a marketing brand, the meaning comes from the status symbol. From the watchmaker’s point of view, their meaning is to show how extraordinary mechanical things can be. It’s really magical what they do. But if meaning is coming from the user’s perspective, it has to be functional.”
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A portmanteau of “renaissance” and “essence”, Ressence champions a return to the essential. While most watchmakers design from the movement up, Mintiens begins with the dial. Since its founding in 2010, the maison has made a name for itself with the Ressence Orbital Convex System (Rocs), a module of revolving discs that displays time in a bi-dimensional format, allowing the hours, minutes, seconds and days (or power reserve) to orbit each other. Other innovative features have been introduced gradually, from the patented eCrown technology, which automatically adjusts the time, to an oil-filled chamber creating a “water drop effect” that improves legibility.
But after 16 years, Mintiens acknowledges the need to move on from its modified ETA movements. “We are entering a new phase where we have customers who like the concept, but also want to make sure the internal engine is okay.
He offers an anology: “I would compare it to wine. Our first customers didn’t care if it were an Appellation d’Origine Contrôlée or if the grapes were grown in this soil or on that terrain. They would just taste it and say it’s very good. But now we get new kinds of customers who are searching for confirmation. I think this was a step we needed to take to convince people or remove doubt.”
Launched at Watches and Wonders Geneva, the new Type 11 debuts the RW-01, Ressence’s first in-house designed movement, which fully integrates with the Rocs module. “They are one entity and cannot run without each other. The fact that we designed the movement from scratch has a few advantages. It has allowed us to make the watch a lot thinner (only 11mm) and offer a longer power reserve (60 hours).”
Development took 18 months, he reveals. “That’s way too long in my opinion. I don’t have much patience,” Mintiens laughs. “But I’m super happy with the result. I gave it a triangular shape, so it has three cut-out corners that allow the two barrels and balance wheel to stick out. There’s also a small window at the back where you can see the rotor, but it’s actually to verify if the watch is running.”
Type 11 is touted as Ressence’s most “complete” watch. While its round, pebble-shaped silhouette offers classic proportions at 41mm, the use of grade 5 titanium ensures a feather light feel on the wrist, weighing just 49g with a leather strap. The power reserve indicator features a string of tiny ceramic balls in contrasting tones providing an intuitive visual gauge. As the movement winds — either via the automatic rotor or caseback lever — the lighter pearls progressively emerge while the darker ones recede. As power depletes, the process reverses.
“It’s a system with 48 balls but you only see 24 of them. It’s kind of like a little train,” he quips. The playful indication is colour-matched to the three palettes available: Latte, Pine and Sky.
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“The watch is there only to show you the time in the most efficient way possible. We try to make things simple, but there are a lot of complexities behind the scenes that ensure what you see is straightforward and there is no distraction,” Mintiens explains, adding that this is the reason Ressence will most likely never produce a tourbillon. “It’s just not in our DNA. While I appreciate the tourbillon and it’s beautiful when I see it, I don’t think we should do that as a brand. We should be coherent with our vision.”
He is aware that Ressence may not be everybody’s cup of tea, but hopes its take on the watch will be widely accepted as the brand approaches its 20th year. “I know we’re making a niche product and have a niche vision. That’s okay. Time will tell if it’s the right one or not, but so far so good. We are growing very sustainably every year,” he reassures.
The maison finds itself on solid ground, counting luminaries such as World Trade Center master planner Daniel Libeskind and Airbnb co-founder Joe Gebbia — also America’s first chief design officer — among its dedicated collectors.
“I believe this is also an important commitment to our clients because buying a Ressence is buying into a not so well-known and young name that is experimenting with things no one has done before. I also want to be responsible to my customers and say don’t worry, I’m managing my business in a sustainable way so that your watch will keep its value and be repairable,” he says.
This article first appeared on May 18, 2026 in The Edge Malaysia.
