Ressence Type 5. Maintaining its distinctive display aesthetic, Ressence keeps expanding its collection with the Type 5, a diving watch which guarantees perfect readability underwater regardless of the viewing angle. Benoît Mintiens, founder and designer of Ressence, explains that the organic design of the Type 5 takes its inspiration from nature, specifically sea turtles and their aqua-dynamic shape. The Ressence Type 5 has a price of Euro 26,250 (around US$ 28,850) without taxes.
Maintaining its distinctive display aesthetic, Ressence keeps expanding its collection with the Type 5, a diving watch which guarantees perfect readability underwater regardless of the viewing angle.
Benoît Mintiens, founder and designer of Ressence, explains that the organic design of the Type 5 takes its inspiration from nature, specifically sea turtles and their aqua-dynamic shape.
The patented display, without using "real" hands, indicates the hours, seconds and the oil temperature gauge in revolving discs, which in turn orbit inside the main disc of the minute display, which itself is continuously revolving. The engraved indications are filled with blue and green Superluminova.
This orbital display mechanism - the Ressence Orbital Convex System, or ROCS - employs a specially-modified automatic movement that gives the minutes, and hence the base calculation of time, from which is extrapolated all the other temporal indications on the dial.
Crafted from titanium, the 46 mm x 15.5 mm case of the Type 5 is ultralight (just 87g), corrosion-resistant, comfortable to wear and features a seamlessly integrated unidirectional bezel. The two top and bottom sapphire crystals are domed and treated on both sides with anti-reflective coating.
The 10 ATM (100 metres / 330 feet) water-resistance is achieved not using an over-sized case and thick glass but rather adopting a new and truly creative solution: the complete ROCS - all 142 components, including the dial - is immersed in 37.5 ml of oil.
Thanks to the fact that a liquid cannot be compressed, this oil compensates for pressure underwater while at the same time keeping the ROCS components constantly lubricated. And since they are suspended in a liquid, the components are lighter and hence require less power to move, which in turn improves time-keeping.
The other big advantage offered by the Type 5 is that the dial remains perfectly readable whatever the angle of view, even underwater, providing this way a solution to the typical problem of a traditional diver’s watch which needs to be viewed straight on in order to be read properly - otherwise refraction turns the glass into a mirror.
The Type 5’s internal architecture comprises two halves - the upper chamber, comprising the ROCS display system, filled with oil; and a lower, dry chamber containing the self-winding 4 Hz (28,800 vph) movement, divided from the upper by way of a grade 5 titanium, hermetically-sealed membrane.
To transmit the primary minute information from the movement to the ROCS, the Type 5 uses connected micro magnets - while a number of protective measures ensure the magnetic fields these create do no harm to the regulator.
But oil volume changes with temperature variations. How to control these fluctuations? A system of seven small bellows provides the solution. These bellows compress when, with rising temperature, the oil volume increases, or expand if the temperature drops and the volume decreases hence stabilising the fit of the oil within the watch.
The system is connected to the oil temperature gauge on the dial so the owner of the watch can see a representation of the bellows capacity in action.
Just like Ressence’s other models, the Type 5 has no crown - rather, the case-back is used both for winding (the power reserve is 36 hours) and setting the time of the watch. But, to satisfy the stringent water-resistance requirements and ISO 6425 standards, the Type 5 introduces the Ressence Compression Lock System, or RCLS, a system for the locking and compression of the gasket, with two positions, ‘lock’ and ‘setup’.
The Ressence Type 5 is completed by a black Barenia leather strap with an ardillon buckle in titanium and has a price of Euro 26,250 (around US$ 28,850) without taxes. ressencewatches.com
The patented display, without using "real" hands, indicates the hours, seconds and the oil temperature gauge in revolving discs, which in turn orbit inside the main disc of the minute display, which itself is continuously revolving. The engraved indications are filled with blue and green Superluminova.
This orbital display mechanism - the Ressence Orbital Convex System, or ROCS - employs a specially-modified automatic movement that gives the minutes, and hence the base calculation of time, from which is extrapolated all the other temporal indications on the dial.
The 10 ATM (100 metres / 330 feet) water-resistance is achieved not using an over-sized case and thick glass but rather adopting a new and truly creative solution: the complete ROCS - all 142 components, including the dial - is immersed in 37.5 ml of oil.
The other big advantage offered by the Type 5 is that the dial remains perfectly readable whatever the angle of view, even underwater, providing this way a solution to the typical problem of a traditional diver’s watch which needs to be viewed straight on in order to be read properly - otherwise refraction turns the glass into a mirror.
The Type 5’s internal architecture comprises two halves - the upper chamber, comprising the ROCS display system, filled with oil; and a lower, dry chamber containing the self-winding 4 Hz (28,800 vph) movement, divided from the upper by way of a grade 5 titanium, hermetically-sealed membrane.
To transmit the primary minute information from the movement to the ROCS, the Type 5 uses connected micro magnets - while a number of protective measures ensure the magnetic fields these create do no harm to the regulator.
But oil volume changes with temperature variations. How to control these fluctuations? A system of seven small bellows provides the solution. These bellows compress when, with rising temperature, the oil volume increases, or expand if the temperature drops and the volume decreases hence stabilising the fit of the oil within the watch.
The system is connected to the oil temperature gauge on the dial so the owner of the watch can see a representation of the bellows capacity in action.
Just like Ressence’s other models, the Type 5 has no crown - rather, the case-back is used both for winding (the power reserve is 36 hours) and setting the time of the watch. But, to satisfy the stringent water-resistance requirements and ISO 6425 standards, the Type 5 introduces the Ressence Compression Lock System, or RCLS, a system for the locking and compression of the gasket, with two positions, ‘lock’ and ‘setup’.
The Ressence Type 5 is completed by a black Barenia leather strap with an ardillon buckle in titanium and has a price of Euro 26,250 (around US$ 28,850) without taxes. ressencewatches.com
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