Ressence & Alain Silberstein for Revolution – the Ressence Type 1 REV Grail Watch: magic results when two designers with a passion for fine watchmaking come together. Benoît Mintiens and Alain Silberstein have known each other since Ressence’s short history began.
This collaboration is, above all else, about a friendship between two men with a passion for watchmaking design and innovation – resulting in an exclusive watch.
Representing one half of this duo is Benoît Mintiens, the designer and founder of Ressence. With its focus firmly fixed on the future of fine watchmaking, this brand puts function and the user at the centre of its sleek and minimalist creations. Behind the apparent simplicity lay a wealth of innovative solutions that are integral to the Ressence brand – making it possible to express time in this remarkable and original way.
Benoît is joined in this venture by Alain Silberstein, an architect in watchmaking who has developed a unique style in the watchmaking world since 1987 in which the structures of geometric shapes communicate mischievously with a rainbow of eye-catching colours and cutting-edge materials. His is an artistic, yet playful approach to fine watchmaking that is sometimes surprising but more often seductive.
Alain Silberstein wanted to create a watch that evokes the ephemeral nature of life and the fragility of material possessions, taking his inspiration from Philippe de Champaigne’s 1646 “Vanitas”. This watch encourages us to seize the joys of the moment with our family and friends.
When asked by Revolution – Grail Watch about the brand he envisioned for this collaboration, Alain Silberstein was quick to reply: “Ressence and Benoît Mintiens“.
Only a Ressence watch with its unique discs and planetary movements could embody this equally unique interpretation of the passing of time. Seduced by Alain Silberstein‘s creative project, Benoît Mintiens offers the 41.5 mm Ressence Type 1 Slim watch as the basis for the design.
Equipped with an automatic movement, it has 36 hours of power reserve. The rotation of this watch’s minute dial perfectly symbolises the passing of time, with a small wilting tulip indicating the hours and a small skull punctuating the seconds. The moving dial is a nod towards the hourglass and the passing of time.
Priced at CHF22,500 (excluding taxes), there are just 36 pieces of the Ressence T1 REV Grail Watch available.
Available from May 1st 2022 exclusively on: www.grailwatch.com
Ressence Type 1 REV Grail Watch Technical Specifications
Name: Type 1 REV Grail Watch
Functions
- Hours
- Minutes
- Seconds
- Day of the week
Movement
- Patented ROCS 1 – Ressence Orbital Convex System – driven by the minute axle of a specially modified 2892/A
- Manual winding and time setting system via a lever on the back of the case
- Self-winding
- 36-hour power reserve
- 28,800 vibrations per hour
- 40 jewels
- 27 gears
Dial
- Convex mesh dial (radius of 125 mm) with 3 eccentric biaxial satellites inclined at 3° (hours) and 4.75° (day and day of the week)
- Engraved indications filled with grade A Superluminova
Case
- Grade 5 titanium
- Concave/convex sapphire with anti-reflective treatment
- 41.5mm (diameter) x 11 mm (thickness)
- Splash resistance
Buckle and strap
- Ardillon buckle
- Blue leather strap (20/20mm)
Components
- 212
Weight
- 67 grams
Price & Availability:
- CHF 22,500 (excluding VAT),
- Limited production of 36 units, only available via grailwatch.com
About Ressence
Ressence was founded in 2010 with one goal in mind: improving the function of the mechanical watch in the 21st-century context. The attention was primarily given on making the watch more legible and easier to use. Ressence created a unique dial with discs, then filled it with oil and replaced the crown by a lever to only name a few of their ground-breaking developments. By improving the functionality, Ressence ultimately improved our relation with the mechanical watch. Winners of the 2013 Horological Revelation Award at the prestigious Grand Prix d’Horlogerie, Ressence takes a distinctive approach to the craft of contemporary Fine Watchmaking, combining Swiss-made calibres with unmatched self-engineered innovation to reimagining how mechanical watches can function and interact with its user in the modern age.