If I am being honest, I kind of love everything that Ressence does. Their watches are original, complex yet approachable, and just cool! The latest edition to the Ressence family has just been released for this years’ Geneva Watch Days, and here are five reasons why we love it.
1. The Design
Ressence is a master of the “less is more” philosophy. Every design choice on their pieces is intentional and functional and the Type 3 BB2 is no exception. It’s designed to be worn and enjoyed. The minimalist approach doesn’t just look good—it feels good too. It’s no wonder it won the Best of the Best at the Red Dot Design Awards (the Oscars for product design) this year.
As someone who appreciates minimalist aesthetics (and as a die-hard Apple user), this speaks to me on an almost spiritual level. Ressence understands that good design doesn’t have to be complicated. It’s about making things simple, intuitive and, most importantly, enjoyable/cool.
2. The Color Palette
The Type 3 BB2 continues Ressence’s tradition of using a minimalistic color palette. It draws inspiration from the 2022 Type 3 BBB, featuring mostly white and light grey inscriptions on the dial, accented by touches of primary colors on weekends and oil temperature indicators.
With its edge-to-edge sapphire crystal, the watch gives off a mysterious, sleek and dark look and the matt black DLC-coated titanium case adds a subtle contrast against the glossiness. It delivers the essentials, in an easy and highly legible way, which brings me to my next point.
3. The Readability
When the Type 3 was first launched in 2013, it took the watch industry by storm as the first-ever oil-filled mechanical watch. This innovation wasn’t just about aesthetics—it was about enhancing readability. By filling the upper chamber with 3.57 ml of oil, the Type 3 eliminates the distortion caused by light refraction, ensuring readability from any angle. The effect is a magnified projection that makes it look like the information is literally displayed directly on the glass (which is not only practical, but also, again, really cool!).
Even in low-light conditions, the Type 3 BB2 remains easy to read, thanks to the filling of engraved indications with Grade A Super-LumiNova®. They thought of everything!
4. The Bellows System
This is further exemplified by the Bellows System. For those of you who didn’t know, oil is sensitive to temperature changes. So although it enhances legibility inside the watch, it expands or contracts depending on the heat. To counteract this, Ressence developed a self-equilibrating pressure-balance system, known as the Bellows System, which maintains even pressure inside the watch, so that it remains unaffected by temperature variations. It is visually represented by a temperature gauge on the dial – functional and fun!
5. The "Je Ne Sais Quoi"
This brings me to my last point. There’s something special about Ressence watches that’s hard to put into words – a certain “je ne sais quoi”. As Benoît Mintiens, the founder of Ressence, puts it, the “almost pitch-black TYPE 3 edition truly showcases the magic of our flush rotating discs, acting like a mechanical screen, tricking the viewer’s senses and provoking wonder." And we’re all here for it!
