Introducing Type 5L, The New Diving Watch from Ressence

Founded by Belgian industrial designer Benoît Mintiens in 2010, Ressence is redefining the essence of contemporary watchmaking. From the start, Benoît adopted a "Less is More" approach, stripping away unnecessary attributes that traditional watches have clung to for decades. By combining Swiss-made calibers with his own innovations, he has reimagined the interaction between mechanical watches and their owners.

Ressence's journey began with the Zero Series, featuring a revolutionary dial design where time is represented on flush two-dimensional rotating discs, eliminating traditional hands. This hallmark of simplicity continued with the TYPE 1, which eliminated the crown, resulting in a truly ambidextrous watch. The TYPE 3 pushed boundaries further with its oil-filled dial, eliminating refraction and enhancing legibility. This innovation earned the 2013 Horological Revelation Award at the Grand Prix d’Horlogerie de Genève. Today, Ressence continues to innovate with their diving watch, the Type 5.

The new Ressence Type 5L is crafted in titanium and is slightly larger, measuring 46 millimeters in diameter with a thickness of 15.5 millimeters. The company considers the TYPE 5L a diving watch, offering a water resistance of 100 meters, which is significantly greater than the company's previous versions like TYPE 1 editions that only provided 10 meters of water resistance. 

The TYPE 5L features a unidirectional rotating bezel with an easy-to-grip tactile design, a 60-minute dive scale on this bezel with full markings for the first 15 minutes, allowing for precise and reliable adjustments. Ressence watches do not feature a traditional crown; rather, the wearer can wind the watch and set the time by turning the case back. The specially developed case back of the Type 5 features the Ressence Compression Lock System (RCLS), a mechanism that closes the gasket sealing the lower air chamber when the “crown” is pushed back into its resting position. The case is topped by double-domed sapphire crystals on the top and bottom, with an anti-reflective coating inside.

The watch features two separate sealed chambers, with the upper one filled with 3.75 ml of oil, a hallmark of every TYPE 5. The oil cancels out light refraction and makes the watch readable from any angle. Despite the complex design, the TYPE 5L meets the rigorous ISO 6425 standard required for underwater exploration, adhering to the highest levels of safety and reliability. The watch is water-resistant up to 100 meters and has passed tests for magnetic and shock resilience.

The dial itself still has the remarkable setup with a main disc and three subdials that are constantly in motion. The three counters display the hours, seconds, and minutes. The main disc indicates the minutes on the outermost 60-minute track. What is truly striking here is the full luminous effect on the entire dial. In the dark, it produces a gentle green glow from grade A Super-LumiNova. 

The dial features a mix of darker titanium gray, light gray Super-LumiNova, and yellow and blue for some hints of color. Yellow is used for the markers at 15, 30, 45, and 60 minutes, as well as the lume pip on the bezel. Additionally, yellow and blue indicate when the oil is extremely hot or cold, respectively.

Exposed under the transparent case back made of crystal sapphire is the automatic movement, the customized ETA 2824/2 caliber, which powers the minute axle to drive the patented ROCS 5 – Ressence Orbital Convex System for the special time display on the dial. The movement uses a magnet transmission rather than a mechanical transmission to reduce friction. The movement beats at 28,800 vibrations per hour and offers a 36-hour power reserve.

The watch comes with a gray fabric strap with yellow leather lining plus a blue rubber strap. The watch is priced at CHF 34,500, equivalent to AED 141,000.

For more information please visit the Ressence official website.