The Ressence e-crown – A Taste Of The Future

Ressence has for some time now been one of my favourite watch brands. Founded in 2010, the Belgian watch brand has grasped my attention through its unique way of telling time. Moreover, they have retained my interest by continuously innovating their products to become more and more user-friendly through each iteration.

Their latest novelty puts them into a league of their own and is undoubtedly one of my picks for the hottest attraction of this year’s SIHH. I am talking about the new e-crown system, a concept that shows the path the brand wishes to take.

What is the Ressence e-crown system?

It has the potential to be the first of a new wave of watches not dependent or in combat with modern technology but complemented by it in an innovative nature, last seen by the spring drive technology from Seiko. The idea is simple, an automated mechanism for setting the time on the mechanical watch. What makes it so clever, though, is its implementation.

The first thing I feared when reading this announcement was that the electrical system requires a separate charging system, like, for example, with the Breitling Emergency. Instead, it has two different sources of energy, first of all, a kinetic rotor separate from the one for the mechanical movement, and secondly, photovoltaic cells hidden behind the dial.

So what can it do?

Well, first of all, when you set the time manually, the chip will remember this as a reference time to go back to. Alternatively, you can set it from your smartphone through the convenience of Bluetooth. If you do not wear the watch for a while and it stops, the chip will go to sleep only to reactivate as soon as you want it to, similar to the F.P. Journe Elegante. And as if all this could not be cooler, it can also register different timezones to which it adjusts automatically.

So how do you use it?

You tap twice on the crystal, that’s all. And this is really where it comes all together. Many technologies seem significant until you notice they are too cumbersome for mainstream adaption. While it may not necessarily be precisely this technology that will shape this feature, the Ressence e-crown does give us a taste of what we can expect about the future of watchmaking.

If you have enjoyed this article be sure to check out the rest of our blog here.