Introducing Ressence Type 9 Jules Wittock

Whilst more brands than ever are turning to artists for a creative collaboration, Ressence has been at it longer than most (over 6 years), and the newest member of the Ressence Art Watches family is finally here. Ressence has teamed up with Belgian artist Jules Wittock for a pair of limited-edition Type 9s that celebrate Wittock’s intricate style on the smallest canvas to date.

Wittock creates incredibly complex hand-drawn mazes with impressive attention to detail. The mazes are solvable too, and despite being created entirely by hand, they maintain a consistent thickness and style throughout. As an artist who typically creates works on vast scales, for this Type 9, Wittock has instead presented his mazes on the rotating dials of the Type 9's Ressense Orbital Convex System (ROCS).

If you aren’t yet acquainted with this unique Ressence party trick, ROCS allows the dials – which feature a large fixed minute hand – to rotate hourly whilst the hour subdial orbits around with it. Don’t be deceived by its complexity and appearance; the ROCS is all achieved mechanically via the automatic ROCS 9 calibre. It’s based on the ETA 2892 with the patented ROCS module on top, allowing both backwinding and setting to give the Type 9 a 36-hour power reserve.

The Type 9 is one of Ressence’s simpler models with just a central minute hand and a single orbiting subdial for the hours, and Wittock’s maze features across both. Two versions are available: a high-contrast black and white with a black case, as well as a colour-shifting emerald green that changes from green to purple depending on the angle observed from. Both are cased in titanium, are paired with leather straps, and measure in at 39mm across with a thickness of 11mm.

Ressence and Wittock have approached their collaboration with a touch of playfulness, encouraging owners to think of it as more than a watch thanks to the bezel that features hand-drawn ‘in’ and ‘out’ indicators, inviting the wearer to dive in and solve the maze. Another of these fun details is how the maze hops over the hour hand, bringing a further three-dimensionality to the already sculptural Type 9 form.

The orbital dial layout adds a totally new dimension to Ressence’s art collaborations (as well as more complexity than you’re likely to find in similar collaborations from other brands), because Wittock was required to consider how the layout would orbit and reorient itself across twelve hours. Wittock took this challenge seriously, and at 12 o’clock the maze aligns to reveal a secret message written inside the lines. “What’s that secret message?” I hear you ask. For now, that’s being kept just between Wittock and the owners (though we’ve no doubt the answer will come out soon enough).

This limited edition Ressence Type 9 Jules Wittock joins a long line of artistic collaborations from the brand, including with Daniel Engelberg, Alain Silberstein and Shantell Martin, and is limited to just 60 pieces in total, or 30 of each colourway. Both versions are priced at CHF20,000 (~A$34,300).

With the recent surge in art collaboration watches, I’ve seen some rather cynical online criticism that brands are running short of ideas and are turning to artists for inspiration, but I think that perspective is lacking some knowledge in both the history of art collaborations and how watchmakers have worked with artists for centuries. Swatch is the originator of the modern art watch as we would define it today, and has worked with many, many artists in their 43 years (both human and animals – anyone remember the Swatch Pigcasso?). 

One could argue watch dials were graced with art (albeit from unnamed artists) when brands such as Patek Philippe and Rolex produced cloisonné enamel dials with slight variations due to the delicacy of the work in its application and the unpredictability of kiln firing. Even further back, some of the earliest portable watches ever created from the early 17th century became canvases for Europe’s travelling craftsmen to work on, with engravers such as Gérard de Heck creating incredibly detailed portraits and scenes with nothing but engraved lines. Whilst these aren’t art collaborations by the modern definition, it underscores the fact that artists and watchmakers have been working together for over four hundred years.

The way that Ressence have translated Wittock’s hand-drawn maze to the titanium dial plate is really something to admire. They’ve hand-engraved the channels of the maze before filling it with white lacquer by hand, ensuring a consistent difference in depth between the channel and maze wall to bring a further sense of three-dimensionality to the dial.

The pattern is also abstract enough that it doesn’t overwhelm the watch, and I could envision someone buying it purely for its design regardless of the artist who penned it. The brand’s commitment to look outside of the dial is also commendable, and I love the ‘in’ and ‘out’ lacquered engravings on the bezel, as well as the maze pattern around the edge of the caseback that serves a dual purpose of creating grip to rotate the caseback to set and wind the watch.

Brand: Ressence
Models: Type 9 Jules Wittock
Reference Number: TYPE 9 JWB (Black), TYPE 9 JWE (Emerald)
Diameter: 39mm
Thickness: 11mm
Lug-to-Lug: 42.5mm
Case Material: Polished grade 5 titanium
Dial Colour: Black and white maze, or emerald green and white maze
Lume: Super-LumiNova
Water Resistance: 1 ATM (splash-resistant)
Strap/Bracelet: Back or white leather

Calibre: ROCS 9
Functions: Hours, minutes with orbital dial plates
Power Reserve: 36 hours
Winding: Automatic
Frequency: 28,800 VpH (4Hz)
Chronometer Certified: No

Price: CHF20,000 (~A$34,300)
Availability: Now 
Limited Edition: Yes – 60 pieces (30 of each version)

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