Ressence TYPE 7 Watch Review
As Ressence celebrates its 15th anniversary, the company continues to wow horophiles with the release of the new TYPE 7, a model that changes perceptions of watchmaking. This latest creation is the product of one man’s imagination, Benoît Mintiens, the company’s founder. The Ressence TYPE 7 is packed with inventive ideas yet remains highly practical and ideally suited to daily use. It’s a luxury timepiece deserving of your attention, but please don’t refer to it as a ‘tool watch’.
The definition of a second
What is the definition of a ‘second’? Interestingly, the answer to this question has changed over time. Seconds were once based on astronomical observations, fractions of the earth’s orbit ie 1/86,4000 of a mean solar day. Currently, a ‘second’ is defined using caesium atoms which absorb and emit microwave radiation with a specific frequency. According to the US-based National Institute of Standards and Technology, ‘atomic clocks count 9,192,631,770 of those microwave oscillations, and we call the elapsed time interval a second’.
The perception of time
While the duration of a second is uniform, our perception of time varies. If you travel to the Costa del Sunshine this summer for a fortnight’s holiday, you may perceive that the second week seems shorter than the first. In youth, summers feel long, but with the onset of grey hair they suddenly seem fleeting.
Ressence – changing how we perceive watches
When Ressence arrived on the watch scene back in 2010, its products changed how we perceive watches and, specifically, how we view time. The company was founded by Benoît Mintiens, an industrial designer from Antwerp who at the time had no formal watchmaking experience. Normally, this would spell disaster; however, Mintiens was not naive nor foolish; quite the contrary. With a diverse and vast back catalogue of design hits, he understood the importance of creating inanimate objects optimised for human interaction.
The Ressence Zero Series, the company’s inaugural model, proved a radical departure from accepted norms. The traditional co-axial hour and minute hands, usually located centre stage, were rejected in favour of a large disc which, in turn, played host to three sub-discs, each conveying information while orbiting the large, dominant disc. The watch hands didn’t rotate, but rather the associated discs moved against corresponding tracks to convey meaning. Mintiens, having read many academic texts, chose to position all of the discs at the same level, aware that the human mind assimilates information better when presented on the same plane.
Ressence’s first album was highly creative, but as time has shown, it wasn’t just an isolated flurry of inventiveness. Indeed, Mintiens went on to release the all-important second album, followed by a third, fourth, etc. A watch without a conventional crown and a mechanical watch you set with an iPhone are just two of the Belgian designer’s blue-sky moments. Ironically, it was Mintien’s lack of formal watchmaking training that led to him conceiving watches containing magnets and sealed chambers filled with oil; two potential foes you normally don’t want in a watch.
Ressence TYPE 7 – new for 2025
Now, I wish to direct your gaze to a new Ressence model, the TYPE 7. Once again, Mintiens has looked at time from a different perspective. The watch brims with features not seen before on a Ressence model and yet, in common with its siblings, it proves intuitive to use. Allow me to elaborate.
Ressence TYPE 7 – Grade 5 titanium
Avid readers of ESCAPEMENT will already be aware of my fondness for Grade 5 titanium. It’s light and strong, not liable to corrode, non-magnetic and hypoallergenic, making it highly suitable for watchmaking. As the lightweight alloy is very strong, milling the metal causes CNC tools to wear out more readily, heightening production costs. The new Ressence TYPE 7 features a case, dial and integrated bracelet formed of the lightweight alloy, something that is immediately apparent when the feather-light watch is affixed to the wrist (the mass of the watch is a mere 123 g).
Ressence TYPE 7 – dial
Upholding Ressence tradition, the dial is convex, albeit unlike, say the TYPE 1° Round, this dial is more domed, creating an interesting play with depths. In common with other Ressence watches, the dial comprises a dominant disc and three sub-discs. Similar to a traditional regulator clock/watch, the minutes are the primary indication with other functions presented on orbiting sub-discs.
The hours are shown on the largest sub-disc, with noon indicated with the brand’s hand-themed logo. A small lozenge-shaped aperture reveals a soupçon of colour, indicating ‘whether the oil, influenced by both external and wrist temperature, is within its optimal range’. Yes, the Ressence TYPE 7 features an oil filled chamber in the upper half of the case (see later). The primary objective of incorporating this oil is to enhance the legibility of the display. The brand explains that the refraction of oil and sapphire crystal are near identical, resulting in a distortion-free dial. Having worn the watch, I can attest that the clarity of each coloured dial element and markings are beyond reproach.
A small seconds resides on another sub-disc (in Ressence parlance, this is termed a ‘runner’). But, the headline act, and a first for the Belgian brand, is the GMT function. The indication features a 24-hour track with a red triangle pointing to the home time.
The dial proves highly intuitive to read. Mintiens has cleverly used colours, shapes, lines and proportions to communicate with the wearer, free of ambiguity. The dial is offered in two shades: Night Blue and XV Aquamarine. This latter option, created to mark the brand’s 15th anniversary, is limited to 80 pieces.
Ressence TYPE 7 – case
As previously stated, the dial, together with the sapphire crystal, is noticeably domed and encircled by a fixed bezel which is endowed with coloured markings. Close examination reveals the bezel is slightly dished, as if intended to tempt wearers to stroke its concave form with an inquisitive index finger. When viewed from the side, the grey sections of the case are flat and angular, creating a visual tension with the adjacent, organic-shaped sapphire crystal and bezel. This juxtaposition could have been problematic, but Mintiens has once again pulled it off with aplomb.
The TYPE 7 is the first Ressence to be equipped with an integrated bracelet. The case and bracelet have been ‘glass pearled’, a technique that imbues the surface of the alloy with a matt surface. The brand has exploited Grade 5 titanium’s capacity for being polished, something that is not possible with Grade 2 titanium, enlivening the edges of the case and bracelet with a brilliant gleam. Manipulating the case and bracelet between the forefinger and thumb reveals a total absence of sharpness. Indeed, the TYPE 7 caresses the wrist wonderfully. This comes as no surprise. I have chatted to Mintiens in the past and, as you would expect of someone with a background in industrial design, he places much importance on ergonomics. In fact, the brand’s bracelet features a deployant clasp with a ‘five-position micro-adjustment system’, ideal for optimising the wrist fit.
The Zero Series and Series One models featured a regular crown at 3 o’clock; however, in 2014, with the release of the TYPE 1, the Belgian brand moved to a wholly new and highly inventive means of setting the time and tensioning the mainspring. Courtesy of a semi-circular latch integrated within the caseback, the wearer can set the time and wind the watch as required. Moreover, by eschewing a conventional crown, there is nothing to gouge the skin or restrict wrist motion. With the exception of the aforementioned TYPE 2, all Ressence models that have been subsequently released have adopted this approach, including the new TYPE 7.
Interestingly, unlike some of its siblings, the TYPE 7 is water resistant to 5 ATM (50 metres), ideal for those horophiles who like to get their hair wet.
Packed with much mechanical ingenuity, there may be an expectation that the TYPE 7 is a behemoth, but thankfully, this is not the case. Measuring 41 mm in diameter with a thickness of 14 mm, the watch is not unwieldy. Interestingly, when I placed the TYPE 7 on my wrist (see picture below), it felt smaller than its stated dimensions.
Image – watch affixed to the wrist of Angus Davies (19 cm circumference)
Ressence TYPE 7 – movement
Ressence newbies may look at the dial of the TYPE 7, note the revolving discs and question how everything works.
The watch features an ETA base movement and its canon pinion drives the brand’s innovative ROCS (Ressence Oribital Convex System). This intricate arrangement of jewelled pivots and wheels utilises the mainspring’s power to drive the various dial indications around the display in a precise, choreographed dance.
While watch movements feature lubricated pivots, etc, many components are left intentionally dry. Ressence bisects the case, employing an oil filled chamber for the display, which is physically separate from the dry chamber containing the base movement. Magnets attached to the canon pinion (dry side) influence the behaviour of similar magnets positioned in the oil-filled chamber. The idea first appeared on the TYPE 3, a model that went on to win the ‘Horological Revelation Prize’ at the GPHG awards in 2013.
Underpinning everything Ressence does is a near-obsessive attention to detail. The oil within the TYPE 7 will expand and contract depending on the prevailing temperature. Within the watch, a bellows system adjusts to compensate for changes in oil volume. As the temperature alters between -5°C and +55°C, the lozenge-shaped aperture on the hour sub-disc reveals various colours. These range from deep blue through green and yellow to a vivid red, providing ‘a quick, on-the-fly reading of whether the oil, influenced by both external and wrist temperature, is within its optimal range’.
Ressence TYPE 7 – closing remarks
When I viewed the TYPE 7 at Watches & Wonders, the company’s personnel frequently referred to the model as a ‘tool watch’. However, I have a problem with describing the TYPE 7 as a ‘tool watch’. The term could imply that it is ‘utilitarian’, a product that is practical rather than attractive.
There is no question in my mind that the TYPE 7 is practical and would prove ideal for daily use, but it is soooo much more. Each square millimetre of its lightweight torso is the product of prolonged consideration, the ‘I’m working late at the office’ obsessiveness that hones ideas and refines aesthetics to the nth degree. The model contains much technical innovation, but not for innovation’s sake. It is designed to fit in with the needs of its wearer rather than expect the wearer to adapt to an ill-considered design.
It is this wearer-centric approach that has seen Ressence grow exponentially over the last 15 years. Moreover, it is thanks to Mintiens, an industrial designer by trade, that we now look at watches from a fresh perspective and perceive time very differently.
Further reading
Technical specifications
- Model: Ressence TYPE 7
- Case: Grade 5 titanium, diameter 41 mm, thickness 14 mm, domed sapphire crystal to front, solid caseback with crown lever.
- Functions: hours, minutes, seconds, GMT and oil temperature
- Movement: ETA base with ROCS 7 module, automatic movement, frequency 28,800 vph (4 Hz), 37 jewels, power reserve 36 hours.
- Strap: Grade 5 titanium bracelet with deployant clasp with a five-position micro-adjustment system
- Price: €47,700 (RRP as of 25.6.2025)