Since its founding in 2010, boutique brand Ressence has established a strong brand identity with its unique line of watches featuring a planetary dial. Essentially, all Ressence models to date share the same futuristic rounded design language, a graphic and minimal approach to dials, and a streamlined case form. However, what the company had not experimented with until now was color. Most of its released models tend to favor muted monochromatic shades, varying in tones of black, gray, white, dark blue, and, in one limited instance, olive green.
Now, as the watch industry experiences a wave of brightly colored dials, Ressence has joined in with its latest release, giving its elegant slim Type 1 design a new vibrant and striking personality. The new limited edition Ressence Type 1 Slim Red is a bold and effective step beyond the brand's chromatic comfort zone, yet it retains the spirit of its catalog.
Although the Type 1 Slim Red belongs to the entry-level line, the 42mm Grade 5 titanium case of the Type 1 Slim Red still offers Ressence's smooth, pebble-like approach to case form, with a high-domed sapphire crystal. This smoothness immediately catches the eye in photos due to the full mirror polish, which is an achievement in itself as titanium is a relatively difficult metal to polish evenly.
The overall shape combines Ressence's rounded organic approach to case making with a 70s-style volcano case profile, further unique by the absence of a traditional crown. Instead, the Type 1 Red uses a folding D-ring crown flush-mounted with the massive caseback. Despite this crown and the domed crystal, the case thickness is only 11mm, and the water resistance is just 10 meters.
The dial of the Ressence Type 1 Slim Red is undoubtedly the main attraction, reimagining the brand's signature orbital dial concept in a deep crimson color. The domed German silver dial surface gives this color a slightly grainy matte texture in the initial images, adding depth to the flat design.
With such a bold primary color, Ressence opts to forgo the usual yellow dial accents in favor of pure white for all indices and rounded Arabic numerals. The use of polished surrounds around the hour and minute indicators (in the Type 1 Slim Red, rotating discs with an orbital surface are used instead of actual hands) also adds a touch of flair to the appearance. Overall, however, it is a clean and simple expression of the brand's core design, allowing the new color to take center stage visually without overcomplicating the layout.
Like previous versions of the Type 1 Slim, the Ressence Type 1 Slim Red uses a heavily modified automatic ETA 2892/A movement. This 2892/A movement, featuring Ressence's patented ROCS 1 orbital dial system driven by the minute axle, offers hours, minutes, seconds, and day of the week, each set on its planetary disc.
However, compared to many models in this price range, the performance of this movement is slightly lacking: the heavy ROCS 1 system, requiring high torque, reduces the power reserve to 36 hours at a frequency of 28,800 beats per hour. Ressence pairs the watch with a bright red minimalist rubber strap.
By introducing a new bold color and reducing other visual elements, the limited edition Ressence Type 1 Slim Red represents one of the brand's purest and brightest iterations of its signature aesthetic to date.
Not limited by quantity, the Ressence Type 1 Slim Red will be produced only until the end of 2021. The Ressence Type 1 Slim Red is available now through authorized dealers at a price of 16,800 Swiss francs. For more detailed information, visit the brand's website.