Ressence / Type 3 Marc Newson

Key Highlights

• First dedicated collaboration between Ressence founder Benoît Mintiens and industrial designer Marc Newson, uniting their design languages in one watch.
• Oil-filled upper chamber with 4.15 ml of silicone oil and ROCS 3.6 system creates a floating, dematerialised time display.
• Ergonomic elliptical Grade 5 titanium case with double-domed sapphire crystal and a celadon green, grey, black and yellow palette.
• Convex titanium discs on biaxial satellites with Grade A Super-LumiNova® ensure intuitive legibility day and night.
• Limited to 80 pieces worldwide, priced at CHF 46,000 (excluding taxes), available via Ressence’s e-shop and select retailers from 4 December 2025.

The meeting of two design universes

The Ressence TYPE 3 MN is a fusion of Marc Newson’s industrial design and Benoît Mintiens’ rethink of how time should be displayed. Rather than a co-signed dial, it is a synthesis where clarity, ergonomics and emotion outweigh conventional prestige cues.

Newson, long admired by Mintiens for bringing industrial-design thinking into watchmaking, approached the project as a chance to create a piece distinct yet coherent with his language of pure forms, refined curves and controlled colour. This aligns with Ressence’s idea of “Simplication”, in which good design removes friction while retaining character.

Ergonomic form, dematerialised time

The TYPE 3 MN centres on an elliptical Grade 5 titanium case topped by a double-domed sapphire crystal. The case is split into two sealed chambers: an upper section filled with oil containing the ROCS system, and a lower dry section housing the customised automatic base calibre.

Despite 387 components, the watch weighs only 95 grams including buckle and strap. Ressence’s patented ROCS 3.6—Ressence Orbital Convex System—is driven by the minute axle of the movement and relays information via magnetic transmission.

Convex Grade 5 titanium discs, arranged on four eccentric biaxial satellites, carry the indications for hours, day, date, oil temperature, runner and minutes. Engraved, pad-printed markings filled with blue and green Grade A Super-LumiNova® keep this three-dimensional dial legible at a glance.

The upper chamber holds 4.15 ml of silicone oil, cancelling refraction and delivering an immersive view of the dial. Information appears projected onto the crystal, with time floating just beneath the fingertips and the mechanics visually pushed out of sight.

Colour, character and complication

The TYPE 3 MN tempers its technical content with a precise use of colour. Celadon green, grey, black and vivid yellow bring warmth to the display, while the bold, minimal hands recall Newson’s earlier watch work.

Hours, minutes, day, date, runner and oil temperature are shown with notable clarity. A self-winding movement beats at 28,800 vibrations per hour and offers a 36-hour power reserve, using 47 jewels, 44 gears and four ball bearings to drive the ROCS 3.6 display.

Ressence’s caseback-operated system replaces the crown, allowing winding and setting of day, date and time from the rear. This keeps the silhouette symmetrical, avoids protrusions on the caseband and reinforces the sense of an object designed to be handled rather than simply admired at a distance.

A watch for those who prize purity

Newson often speaks of a “formal process” that moves between past ideas and constant reinvention, and the TYPE 3 MN reflects that balance. It is aimed at individuals who prioritise purity of form, material quality and considered engineering in their daily objects.

For Ressence, the watch is a distilled expression of “Simplication”: clarity without sterility, and simplicity that still feels human. In a landscape dominated by heritage narratives, the Antwerp-based independent presents the TYPE 3 MN as a progressive alternative made in Switzerland and intended for contemporary daily wear.

Why it matters

The TYPE 3 MN unites two of contemporary design’s most articulate voices in a single, fully resolved object. It advances Ressence’s pursuit of a dematerialised, intuitive time display while bringing Marc Newson’s mature design language back into high watchmaking. For collectors, this 80-piece limited edition offers technical originality and a clear statement of design-led, forward-looking horology.