BY HARLAN CHAPMAN-GREEN
Only Watch is the bi-annual charity auction where watchmakers create a one-off piece following the theme of that year’s auction, where the money raised goes towards researching Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy, one of the most common and most serious forms of muscular dystrophy.
Ressence is a watchmaker based in Belgium which is known for its striking watches which don’t seem to have any hands. That’s not quite true, they do, and they’re really remarkable watches to behold. It’s fairly easy to read the time on a Ressence watch; the main dial is the minute indicator with a ring on the outside, and it moves around to point at the ring. The hours are set on the small dial with the Ressence logo, and there’s a running seconds hand and a day indicator. The Ressence website has a handy interactive tool to get you used to using their watches.
Ressence has been contributing to the Only Watch auctions for years and always bring something new and intriguing to the table. Their newest Type 12 watch signifies their commitment to making a watch for this cause.
The blue ribbons on the dial are a segment of DNA and align correctly every Sunday night. The movement is a self-winding calibre with the patented ROCS (Ressence Orbital Convex System) 1.3 being added to adapt the time display to the iconic Ressence layout. These watches are unique already, so this one-off for Only Watch is even more so.
The auctioneers expect this to sell for between 20,000 – 30,000 CHF, and I think this will match that.
