Fratello Talks: Ressence — With Founder And CEO Benoît Mintiens
Welcome to this latest installment of Fratello Talks. Today, we are happy to be joined by special guest Benoît Mintiens, the founder and CEO of the avant-garde Belgian watch brand Ressence. In this long-form episode, we learn about Benoît’s origins as an industrial design consultant, how he transitioned into the watch world, and the philosophy that informed the creation of Ressence. Join us for this in-depth chat; you might hear something about the brand you didn’t know before. But before we jump into it, it’s time for a wrist check.
Wrist check
We kick things off with our guest’s wrists. As you might expect, Benoît is fully kitted out in Ressence, with a Type 2 on one wrist and a Type 3 on the other. Let’s start by taking a closer look at the Type 2:
This is the brand’s first watch to utilize the eCrown system. Benoît explains how this unique and innovative technological development works and shares stories about how it was initially misunderstood and not exactly welcomed by the wider watch industry. Check out the Ressence website for an in-depth look at the Type 2 and what makes it so special.
The Ressence Type 3 was another evolutionary development as it was the brand’s first oil-filled watch and the first oil-filled mechanical timepiece. We cover some of the challenges and intricacies of creating this watch in the show. But if you’d like to know more, check out the Type 3 on the Ressence website,
In the Ressence spirit of functional minimalism, Daan has gone with his Oris Artelier Art Blakey Limited Edition. Inspired by the Gretsch kit of the well-respected jazz drummer, it has a clean and distinctive presence. Daan has paired it with a Joseph Bonnie Bonklip bracelet, making for a perfect, easy-wearing combination.
Nacho has opted for his RZE × Fratello Resolute Pro Contour. This limited-edition collaboration was released earlier this year. It takes the RZE Resolute Pro as a base and adds a bit of rugged flare with a carbon dial. If you want to risk some FOMO and read more about it, you can do so here.
Fratello Talks: Ressence With Brand Founder Benoît Mintiens
In this episode of Fratello Talks, we welcome Benoît Mintiens, founder of Ressence Watches, into our studio for a chat. During this uncut and full-length discussion, we learn about Benoît’s background in industrial design and how that developed his eye for designing functional objects, including medical equipment, trains and buses, and even hunting shotguns. After spending the better part of two decades in the field, he decided to approach the challenge of designing a watch. In doing so, he focused on using a clean-slate approach and a 21st-century perspective. He cast aside the baggage of hundreds of years of watchmaking and started building from the ground up. A reflection of its ethos, the brand’s name combines “renaissance” and “essential.”
In this episode, we also delve into the technical workings that make Ressence watches tick and the problem-solving innovation that it took to make their unique way of functioning possible. So make yourselves a coffee, grab your headphones, and tune in to this week’s episode. And, as always, tune in next week for a brand-new episode of Fratello Talks.
This article is brought to you in collaboration with Ressence Watches. Click here to learn more.
