SJX Watches
Interview: Benoît Mintiens, Founder of Ressence
The left field of watchmaking has yielded many unusual and exotic time displays, but few have the same sense of function and purpose as Ressence. In fact, the essence of the brand is its name, which is short for the “Renaissance of the Essential”. Perhaps a key ingredient of the renaissance is the fact that its founder is not a watchmaker. Ressence was founded a decade ago by Benoît Mintiens, a Belgian industrial designer whose past work included trains, newsstands, and luggage. From the start, the identity of Ressence was crystal clear. The brand’s debut line of watches had dials that relied on a planetary gear mechanism to indicate the time (as well as a crown, which has since been removed from all its watches). Akin to a 21st century regulator-style display, it was an avant-garde way of displaying time, while still surprisingly intuitive. Benoit Mintiens Even more surprising was the longevity of the planetary time display, which has since spawned various iterations, often accompanied by novel innovations ranging from the oil-filled time display in the Type 3, to the more recent Type 2 that’s a mechanical watch that can set itself thanks to an electronic module. When Benoît visited Singapore in late 2019, I got a chance to explore his design philosophy, especially on how his background in industrial design helped inform his unique approach to watchmaking. He also delved into the subtleties of a Ressence wristwatch, and dropped a few hints about a new time ...
