Ressence TYPE 9 Jules Wittock: A Maze That Speaks at Midnight

Ressence and Belgian artist Jules Wittock release 60 hand-engraved maze watches on the TYPE 9 — a hidden word revealed only at midnight. Available 17 September 2026.

The Signature Elements

• Limited to 60 pieces across two colourways — 30 T9 JWE (Emerald Green) and 30 T9 JWB (black) — the editions are priced at CHF 20,000 each and go on sale 17 September 2026.
• Belgian artist Jules Wittock hand-traced each labyrinth freehand; the paths are milled at 0.2 mm into Grade 5 titanium and filled with white lacquer by hand.
• A hidden word is concealed within the maze, readable only when the ROCS 9 dials align at midnight and midday.
• The T9 JWE dial shifts from Emerald Green to purple depending on the viewing angle, courtesy of an ALD coating on the titanium.

The Signature Elements

Sixty pieces. That is the full extent of this collaboration between Antwerp-based Ressence and Brussels artist Jules Wittock.

Wittock draws labyrinths freehand, at any scale, on canvases up to ten metres long. For the TYPE 9, that practice was miniaturised onto a 75 mm Grade 5 titanium dial: a single entrance, a single exit, and a path that spells a concealed word. The engraving runs at 0.2 mm in width, milled directly into the metal, then painted by hand so the white fill catches against the titanium surface.

The T9 JWE carries an ALD-coated dial that reads as Emerald Green in direct light and shifts toward purple as the wrist turns. The T9 JWB uses a Black PVD-coated case and dial. Both editions pair with leather straps and a titanium ardillon buckle.

The Innovation

The hidden word is the detail that separates this edition from a graphic exercise.

At midnight and midday, the watch’s patented ROCS 9 dials align, and for a moment the labyrinth resolves. “I like hiding things in my paintings,” Wittock says. “There’s always a mystery within the maze.” The timing is a direct reference to his childhood habit of making a wish at mirrored clock moments: 11:11, 22:22. What the word spells is known only to Wittock and the 60 owners.

Ressence founder Benoît Mintiens explains the selection logic: “Jules’s labyrinths are engraved into the dial and filled by hand, so the drawing lives in depth. His line stays extraordinarily consistent across every path — remarkable mastery, given that he draws each one freehand.”

The Execution

The TYPE 9 is Ressence’s lightest watch to date, at 42 grams including the strap.

Beneath the dial, the ROCS 9 module runs on a customised automatic base calibre: 28,800 vibrations per hour, 36-hour power reserve, 31 jewels, 20 gears, and four ball bearings across 182 components total. Case diameter is 39 mm, thickness 11 mm, with a domed sapphire crystal and anti-reflective coating. Splash-resistance is rated at 1 ATM.

Heritage & Lineage

The Jules Wittock editions follow a consistent logic in Watches and Wonders-adjacent independent watchmaking: each Ressence art-series partner is chosen because their visual practice already fits the physical constraints of the dial.

Previous collaborators include Shantell Martin (TYPE 1 Square White, 2024), Stefan Sagmeister (TYPE 3X Look Up, 2020), and Terumasa Ikeda (TYPE 9 IKE, 2026). Founded in Antwerp in 2010 by Benoît Mintiens, Ressence replaces conventional hands with rotating discs via the ROCS system, a mechanical architecture the brand has applied consistently across its art editions.

The T9 JWE and T9 JWB are available from 17 September 2026 through Ressence’s online store and select global retailers.

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