Ressence And The Quest For Complicated Simplicity

Founded in 2010 in Belgium by Benoît Mintiens, Ressence watches are instantly recognizable; not for flashy logos or traditional flourishes, but for their clean, fluid designs and complete lack of visible branding. This clarity is no accident. Mintiens, a seasoned industrial designer whose work has spanned high-speed trains, aircraft cabins, and medical devices, brings an outsider’s perspective to watchmaking. As he puts it, “We have a central vision for the brand. We have a DNA. To use a metaphor: we have the person, and then you can dress the same person in different styles. Today you’re dressed one way, maybe tomorrow differently. That doesn’t mean you’re a different person – you’re expressing yourself differently. That’s basically what we do.”

The Ressence Mindset

For Ressence, design starts with the wearer, not the movement. Mintiens’ guiding principle is to make the experience of telling time as intuitive as possible. “The relationship between the user and the product is everything,” he explains. That’s why he talks about “simplication” instead of complication. Ressence’s philosophy is to hide what’s unnecessary and show only what matters.

 

While many brands chase ever-more elaborate complications, Ressence focuses on real-world utility. “We’ll probably never do a chronograph,” Mintiens admits. “We try to focus on functions that people use regularly – daily or weekly – something that’s genuinely useful. Complexity should be hidden, that’s our job. If you see the complexity, I haven’t done my job right. Simplicity is harder to achieve than complication.”

 

This philosophy extends to the emotional experience of wearing a Ressence. “We want our watches to generate empathy. That’s the goal of any product, really. Empathy creates connection, emotion, experience – all the things that matter. And you can’t generate empathy by being complicated.”

 

This user-first thinking has earned Ressence comparisons to tech companies like Apple. It’s not about heritage or tradition for the sake of it. It’s about solving problems and rethinking how a watch should function, feel, and communicate. As Mintiens notes, “We don’t look at it from a traditional watchmaking angle, where the complication is the hero. For us, it’s the experience that matters – the mechanism is just a tool to get there. It’s a very different mindset.”

A Foundation That Adapts

Ressence’s strength lies in its adaptability. Each new model is an exploration of context: “When we define a new model, we define a new context. We ask: how do we dress for that context? Say I’m going diving – how do I adapt Ressence’s DNA for diving? Or if I’m going to a ballroom, how do I adapt it for that?” Yet, no matter the context, the core DNA remains unmistakable. “From far away, you know it’s a Ressence. We don’t reinvent ourselves – we apply our thinking to a new environment.”

 

Think of a watch like a service: if it fails to communicate the time clearly, it fails in its most basic job. That breakdown in clarity breaks the bond between object and user; just like a pair of shoes that hurt your feet, no matter how beautiful they are. At Ressence, the idea is to “simplicate” the product until it delivers both clarity and comfort, while still being beautiful on the wrist.

 

This blend of emotional connection and function drives every Ressence design. By combining the precision of traditional watchmaking with the principles of modern engineering, Benoît creates watches that look like nothing else – and feel even better to use.

The ROCS and Oil-Filled Innovation

At the heart of Ressence’s design is the patented ROCS (Ressence Orbital Convex System): a mechanism that ditches traditional hands and dials in favor of co-planar rotating discs. The entire dial is in motion, with each display orbiting a central axis – a hypnotic effect that’s as intuitive as it is beautiful. The domed, convex dial surface offers both depth and movement, aligning with how we naturally perceive time: in one linear view.

 

Another signature innovation is Ressence’s use of oil-filled cases. Instead of air between the dial and crystal, the chamber is filled with a proprietary oil. This creates a magnifying effect, eliminates reflections, and makes the dial appear projected onto the top of the crystal. In short: no glare, no distortion, just immaculate legibility. The oil also helps regulate temperature and keeps moisture and dust at bay.

Of course, oil and mechanics don’t typically mix, so Ressence split the watch into two chambers. The top half houses the ROCS display, fully sealed and filled with oil. The lower half contains the mechanical movement. To communicate between the two, Ressence doesn’t use traditional pinions. They use magnets. A series of micro-magnets transfer the movement’s information through a titanium-grade membrane, allowing the upper display to function without any physical contact. It's a system unlike anything else in modern watchmaking.

 

This breakthrough debuted in the TYPE 3, and now lives on in the TYPE 5 and the newly introduced TYPE 7 – each one continuing the brand’s pursuit of intuitive, user-first design.

Functionality First: The Type 7 and Beyond

Ressence’s recent Type 7, with its integrated titanium bracelet, exemplifies the brand’s functionality-first mindset. “For us, a watch is a tool. It has to do something for you. It’s about showing time properly – making the experience better. Functionality is central,” says Mintiens. The move to a true sports watch was as much a technical achievement as a design one: “We finally found a supplier who could make both the bracelet and the case with the same finish, in titanium, without coating. That was a very technical hurdle.”

Designing a sports watch also meant merging Ressence’s typically organic forms with the boxier, geometric codes of tool watches. “That was one of the big aesthetic challenges: to marry those two form languages and make something coherent. Then comes all the detailing – because a watch is also a tactile object. You have to consider how it feels, the haptics. We wanted it to feel fluid and logical in every touchpoint.”

Quietly Radical: A Bridge Between Eras

Ressence sits at the intersection of tradition and innovation, bridging the gap between mechanical watchmaking and the intuitive functionality of smartwatches. “People wear smartwatches for what they do. Not because they’re beautiful, but because they’re useful. Same with Ressence: we focus on function. We remove everything unnecessary. But here’s the difference: smartwatches don’t create empathy. They’re computers. You don’t relate to a PCB. With mechanical systems, you can. You see the gears, you understand the spring. Even if you don’t fully grasp the escapement, you feel how it works. And that’s why people would rather repair a mechanical watch than a digital one. There’s an emotional bond. It’s human. It’s very simple.”

 

Mintiens is candid about the challenges of being different in a conservative industry, and acknowledges that Ressence’s innovations are often ahead of their time. The Type 2 watch (introduced in 2019), which integrates electronics with mechanical watchmaking, was initially met with resistance in the traditional industry. “A Big Player from the industry came to our booth and said, ‘That’s taboo,’” he recalls.“We’re accepted by some, but it still takes time for others. We have a very different vision. We’ll see where it leads us. But we’re okay being different.” He references the principle of “MAYA” – Most Advanced Yet Acceptable – as a guide. “You want to push the boundaries, but not so far that people can’t relate to it.”

 

Yet, with guidance from Tony Fadell – Apple’s former executive and iPod inventor – he overcame critical technical hurdles, such as optimizing energy consumption and battery size, to bring the eCrown® concept to life. “Yes. He’s a collector – he owns traditional watches and Ressence pieces. So he understands both worlds. I didn’t want just an electronics expert. I wanted someone who understood finesse. He helped me save a lot of time.”

 

While Benoît has many concepts waiting in the wings, he is cautious about introducing them too quickly. “The brand still needs to mature before we can go there,” he says. While much of the watch industry trades on nostalgia, Ressence looks forward. “The idea behind our watches, especially the Type 2, is to make you believe that the future is brighter than the past. Most of the industry sells nostalgia. We want to sell optimism.”

Building for the Wearer, Not the World

Ressence’s approach is deeply personal. “Most people don’t buy watches for themselves, they buy them for others. Mainstream brands are about external validation. Independent brands – like us – are about internal connection. People who buy a Ressence buy it for themselves. And a lot of our clients aren’t even that interested in the watch industry, they’re interested in design, in meaningful products. They don’t need the traditional validation. They’re looking for something else.”

 

Mintiens’ advice to new collectors is simple: “Buy a watch that makes you happy. That’s the first rule. Don’t buy for others. Buy for yourself. It’s like picking out a pair of pants. You might own one pair that looks sharp and impresses others but at home, you always reach for the comfortable one. So which one do you really love? Go with that one. That’s the Ressence philosophy.”

 

A watch is one of the few products that combine aesthetics, ergonomics, technique, comfort, and intimate social status. Ressence embraces this complexity with creativity and discipline, but is cautious about introducing new concepts too quickly. Mintiens envisions Ressence continuing to evolve thoughtfully, always grounded in empathy and user experience.

 

At its core, Ressence isn’t trying to be a traditional watchmaker. It’s trying to rethink what a watch should be. And in doing so, it’s created some of the most quietly radical—and emotionally resonant—timepieces of our time.