WARM ESSENTIALISM: THE RESSENCE TYPE 1 ROUND ROSE GOLD

There's something compelling about a watch that is capable of standing out without needing to. Ressence has consistently charted its own course, one defined by essentialist thinking and intuitive design rather than baroque complexity. The TYPE 1 Round Rose Gold, launched at Dubai Watch Week, represents the Belgian independent watchmaker's first exploration of rose gold, and it arrives with characteristic understatement.

Since the original TYPE 1 debuted in 2014, the design has become something of a calling card for the brand: crownless, handless, uncompromisingly modern. This rose gold iteration doesn't deviate from that philosophy. Instead, it introduces warmth—both literally and metaphorically—to a watch that has always privileged clarity over decoration.

For a brand built on reducing watchmaking to its essentials, the introduction of rose gold might seem counterintuitive. Yet in Mintiens' hands, the precious metal becomes another tool for clarity rather than ornament. It provded a means of adding character without compromising the TYPE 1's fundamental philosophy.

"Rose gold brings a certain warmth and character to our design language," explains founder Benoît Mintiens. It's a telling observation from a designer whose reputation rests on subtraction rather than addition.

The 4N rose gold plating on the convex dial creates a soft, copper-toned luminescence that feels organic rather than precious. Against this warm backdrop, cool silver subdials provide visual clarity, whilst white minute markers ensure legibility remains paramount. It's a palette that speaks to sophistication without succumbing to excess.

The finishing tells its own story: a sunray-finished dial, sandblasted case ring and bezel, guilloché-finished discs. Each surface treatment serves both aesthetic and functional purposes, catching light in ways that enhance rather than distract from the watch's fundamental purpose: telling time with absolute clarity.

At the heart of the TYPE 1 Round Rose Gold lies Ressence's patented ROCS 1.3 (Ressence Orbital Convex System), a module that replaces traditional hands with rotating discs. Driven by the minute axle of a customised 2892 base calibre, the system presents hours, seconds, and day of the week across three flush, inclined discs in a bi-dimensional layout.

It's a solution that makes complexity feel intuitive, which was precisely the point. "The TYPE 1 has always been about making complexity feel intuitive," notes Mintiens. The engraved indications, filled with Grade A Super-LumiNova, float across the dial's surface with a fluidity that belies the mechanical sophistication beneath.

The Grade 5 titanium case measures at 42.7 mm in diametre while maintaining a remarkably wearable weight of just 64 g on the wrist. The double-domed sapphire crystal, with its anti-reflective coating, completes an architecture designed to privilege legibility above all else.

The light grey suede strap is no afterthought. "The grey strap was deliberate," Mintiens explains. "We wanted something that would complement the rose gold without competing with it; something that felt modern and versatile."

It's a choice that lightens the overall aesthetic, allowing the dial's warmth to command attention without overwhelming. For those seeking a more traditional pairing, the United States market receives a special dark chocolate brown leather strap—a richer, more classical complement to the rose gold case.

"The TYPE 1 has been a popular choice with new customers because it's both approachable and unique, neither ostentatious nor timid," says Mintiens. It's this quality that the rose gold edition amplifies. Where some watches demand attention through complication or decoration, the TYPE 1 Round Rose Gold asks for consideration through understatement.

Made in Switzerland, the watch represents Ressence's ongoing commitment to what they term "Simplication", a dedication to innovation and minimalism that provides functional meaning to mechanical watchmaking. In a landscape dominated by tradition and status, it's a refreshingly contemporary proposition.

The launch at Dubai Watch Week 2025 marks a significant moment for the brand in a region that has become a global hub for horology for quite some time now. "We're honoured to debut this edition at Dubai Watch Week," notes Mintiens. "The Middle Eastern market has a deep appreciation for both craftsmanship and innovation. This watch embodies both."

Wearing a Ressence has always been something of a statement; not of wealth or status, but of optimism. It's a watch for those who believe the future holds more promise than the past, who value clarity over complication, and who appreciate design that sparks conversation without pretension.

The TYPE 1 Round Rose Gold doesn't stray from this philosophy. Instead, it adds a layer of emotional warmth to the brand's purist design language, offering collectors a refined statement of contemporary elegance that feels both timeless and entirely of this moment.

In the end, that might be Ressence's greatest achievement: creating watches that feel neither nostalgic nor overtly futuristic, but simply present. The TYPE 1 Round Rose Gold, with its warm luminescence and essentialist ethos, is a compelling argument for what modern watchmaking can be when stripped of pretense and focused on what truly matters.