Without a doubt, I consider Ressence one of the most interesting watch brands that exists today.
I recognize that this comes as an extremely bold and uniformed statement considering I’ve never seen a Ressence in the metal (a.k.a. ‘in person’ for any non-watch folks that somehow found their way here and are reading this). Considering their rarity and cost to acquire, many of y’all reading this probably haven’t seen one either; And to clarify up front: I don’t, or haven’t yet, reviewed watches for Worn & Wound; I just write somewhat interesting takes from a designers point of view on things that I find worthy, and this time around it just so happens to be the Ressence brand, of which I am deeply fond of having viewed it only on the interwebs; but I digress, back to the story!
On paper, and through their perfectly crafted collaborations and partnerships, Ressence scratches all of my itches for a dream watch, albeit a watch that is extremely out of reach in price and availability for myself and many, hence the word ‘dream’. However, I fully respect and understand the price these watches sell for, because of Ressence’s approach to innovation and what goes into making each and every piece of art. I don’t actually like using the word innovative at all, if ever, because I think it is so grossly over used; but for Ressence I am happy to anoint them worthy of that distinction. This is not a new take, or a new perspective I hold, considering that Ressence has been turning heads since 2010. Benoît Mintiens has built a modern classic brand in record breaking time; pun intended.
There are certain things that just make sense to us, and that we are drawn to as individuals. Lots of things lead to this inexplicable love or interest in particular products or experiences, whether we are aware of it or not. It could start with someone we respect suggesting a great book they just read, so we naturally go read that book; but we only respect that person’s point of view because they too, are massive fans of the Arctic Monkeys and Vampire Weekend; and we naturally like those bands, because they are bands that some of our best friends, with whom we did plenty of stupid stuff together in college and high school, also like; and we only like those people because, well, you get the point.
We follow the advice and provenance of those whom we trust the most through the years.
We can also fully operate under the guidance of gut feel. I very much do this for the vast majority of things in life, probably much to my detriment. We have all experienced this gut feel, or intuition; whether it’s seeing a Cezanne for the first time in person and having…feelings, or catching sight of a poster that just says it all in a few words. Anthony Burrill is one of my favorite designers; realistically though, he’s probably more of a writer and poet than a designer, but one of my favorite pieces of his is a large letter pressed poster that simply reads “I LIKE IT, WHAT IS IT?”, and this says it all for me. If you like it, there is no need to explain any further, or potentially for that matter seek to know more. There are folks that say you should always read the plaque, and those who say you don’t need to. Neither is right per se, but I lean towards the latter, and choose to imagine what that plaque says based on how the work brings me joy, awe, or envy. This gut feeling was very strong the first time I saw Ressence, and is strengthened the more I read the plaque’s about it, even if my gut says I don’t need to.
When it comes to design, I am for sure a big fan of what Apple has done for industrial design; therefore I find it interesting to point out the folks that cross paths between Ressence and Apple, and suggest that it’s not a coincidence.
Tony Fidel, who was one of the most influential people behind the iPod and many more things at Apple and beyond, is a partner and collaborator with Ressence. If you haven’t read the book Build by Tony himself, I highly suggest it if you’re interested in how products, brands and successful companies are built. Tony is a natural builder, and helped Ressence dream up the Type 2 with eCrown® technology which is pretty amazing. This technology, in the words of Ressence “will put itself in sleep mode [if not in use] and wake up as soon as the watch is back on the wrist. eCrown® will then automatically set the mechanical watch to the right time (based on the registered time)”.
That’s future quartz stuff right there.
Same goes for Marc Newson, who essentially designed the Apple Watch with the design team at Apple alongside Jony Ive, his best buddy; a person who continues to inspire designers inside and outside the walls of Apple. No wonder Benoît Mintiens has elicited the skills of some of the most influential folks in design in the last 3 decades. Marc Newson also happened to lead the rise of Ikepod when he started that brand, and clearly had some unfinished business that he needed to see to when he partnered with Ressence. Their latest partnership, the TYPE 3 Marc Newson, blew my mind when I saw it online for the first time. With an eye watering price tag of $59,800 for those that can indulge, it’s a bargain. Limited to 80 pieces, I wish all those 80 owners the happiest of times with that watch, I am not jealous.
Stefan Safmesiter is another name that rings strong in the design world, and Benoît again, clearly knew who to work with. The same goes for Alain Silberstein and their collaboration that is a design masterpiece. What I find interesting about all of these collaborations, is that Ressence has found a way to make a canvas worthy of the world’s greatest aesthetic minds. A canvas that is strict, yet open to interpretation, and not just another circle with hands in the center set at 10 and 2 for photography, but a geometric playground for them to explore. All of the folks knew there was something special at Ressence when they said yes to collaboration.
As they say: game recognizes game.
We all know deep down, especially us degenerate watch collectors and dreamers, that these things, these chunks of metal on our wrists, serve little to no actual functional value in 2026. That said, the emotional weight these shiny metal things bring us is off the richter scale. It’s unjustifiable to have this strong of a feeling towards a watch that I have only seen on a Chrome tab on my McaBook Pro. But so goes the watch world, and so goes my heart.
I am sure each and every one of you has that brand or watch or object that you have these same insane thoughts about. We live on nostalgia and intrigue some days of our lives, and that to me is totally fine. For now, I will live in this zone until one day I can see a Ressence in person. I hope it’s not like the saying goes, “never meet your heroes”. But I have no doubt that I will be blown away by a Ressence TYPE 3, but more specifically that Marc Newson work of art, because when it comes to their watches, the one that has me smitten til the end of time is the TYPE 3 Marc Newson. Very seldom do partnerships just make sense, or tick all the boxes for folks; but to me, this one is the grail that will forever be my white whale. Ressence
Sam Amis
2026-02-19 19:00:00