Hands-On With The More Elegantly Proportioned Ressence Type 9 In Gray
Have you ever heard of UTOs? Unidentified time-telling objects can appear on the wrist out of nowhere, as sightings around the world indicate. Today, one appeared on my left forearm, and I got to try it on for a day.
As it turns out, it may be spaceship-esque in appearance, but it isn’t entirely unidentifiable after all. The dial appears sterile, but the true connoisseur will recognize the little hand icon, symbolizing friendly intent. Flipping this oddity over reveals that it is fully willing to identify itself as a Ressence Type 9. It’s not from a galaxy far, far away but, rather, from Belgium, a 90-minute drive from our office in The Hague. Things don’t look so intimidating anymore. Let’s take it for a spin!
Ressence Time Telling
Now, Lex did a fantastic job introducing the Type 9 a few weeks back. Let me refrain from regurgitating a list of specifications and instead link to his article. While Lex shared the cold facts, I got to try it out and share my views on the latest Ressence. I like this division of labor! I could get used to this.
Admittedly, this is my first serious time with a Ressence. I have handled several of the brand’s previous models but never for more than a minute or two. The Belgian brand (with watches produced fully in Switzerland) focuses heavily on design. A very specific, minimal type of design, to be precise. The idea is to make pebble-like watches with integrated regulator dials and hands. Rather than have a set of hands rotate over a fixed dial, everything here is in motion and conspiring to tell you what time it is.
Just in case you have never seen one in real life, here is how it works. The entire dial rotates in 60-minute rounds. That includes the sub-dial for the hours, always staying on the opposite end of the minute hand. The hour ring rotates counterclockwise, ensuring the numerals always point right side up. Lastly, the disc with the printed hours hand rotates within it, pointing at the correct hour. In short, it is a regulator where the sub-dial moves around the entire dial every hour.
Kickstarting the Ressence Type 9
Ressence watches always push me out of my comfort zone when I pick one up. This one is no exception. The first order of business is to get it running and to set the time. Considering Ressence uses an ETA 2892-2 base caliber, that should be as easy as pulling out the crown and…oh, wait…
Both setting and winding require the rotating disc on the case back. Ressence calls winding the automatic caliber a “kickstart,” and it is quite involved. You rotate the disc clockwise until you feel added resistance, indicating you have reached the winding zone. Next, you keep turning until you hear a click. Then, you wind back and forth over about 10 minutes (the hands move as you do this, indicating how far you turn). The watch is now running.
To set the time, you simply rotate the disc in either direction until the time is displayed correctly. Two things to note are that you have to rotate slowly — around six seconds per rotation — to prevent damage to the movement and that winding changes the time. In short, you want to take your time and mindfully interact with the watch. The rotating disc system does not disengage or click into the case in any way, likely explaining the minimal water resistance of 1 ATM.
Wearing the Ressence Type 9
With all that out of the way, let’s strap this thing on! I immediately see why Ressence decided to scale down the Type 8, resulting in the Type 9. Proportionally, this is the best Ressence watch I have ever tried on. The case measures nearly 4mm smaller in diameter, while the external (fixed) minute ring optically shrinks the watch further.
I love the new case. Ressence did not simply scale back a Type 8. Instead, the brand redesigned the entire case. The most prominent change is the inclusion of relatively traditional lugs. I am all for this choice because it dials back the gadget vibes and gives the watch a little more traditional gravitas. As always with Ressence watches, the design features natural, pebble-like lines, resulting in a sleek and friendly aesthetic.
The external minute ring gives off subtle dive-watch vibes on an aesthetic level. Optically, this reduces the dial size, making the 39mm case even smaller. All in all, I found this to be the most appealing Ressence to date! Weighing in at 39 grams, the Type 9 is also extremely light, making for a very comfortable wearing experience.
The Ressence appeal
For some reason, I never truly felt like I was wearing a watch. Even if it is a mechanical watch in a relatively traditional case, it never really comes across that way. To me, it feels more like a device. The Ressence design language clearly references modern tech. The hand symbol, for instance, looks more like an icon you might find on your iPhone than a traditional watch brand logo. The entire dial layout reminds me of a smartwatch. To me, the Ressence Type 9 feels like a mechanical smartwatch, which is its strength and its weakness.
The strength lies in the uniqueness of this design language. These watches cannot be confused with anything else but Ressence. If you love it, nothing else will suffice. At the same time, I find myself not really considering it as a luxury watch purchase. I am not saying it isn’t worth its CHF 12,500 price, but it just occupies a different space in my mind than other €10K+ watches do.
This may have something to do with the design-over-everything-else approach. These watches represent very specific, unique, and well-thought-out design principles. At the same time, operating convenience, water resistance, and easy serviceability are sacrificed at the altar of design. To be clear, this is not a problem. If the design language resonated with me, I would be happy to make such compromises. It doesn’t because I don’t want my mechanical watches to remind me of connected devices. I can, however, definitely see how this would be extremely appealing for those with a taste for something distinct and modern.
What do you think of the Ressence Type 9? Let us know in the comments below!
