Ressence has a history of collaborating with artists and designers to great effect, as their watches seem to be perfect fodder for conceptual visionaries. Nowhere is that more evident in this latest collaboration with industrial designer Marc Newson and the resulting Type 3MN, a watch that picks up where things left off with Ikepod in a manner that perfectly suits the pebble-like Type 3 platform. This is no ordinary Type 3, however. With Newson’s input, the case has been reimagined, and the dial taken on a familiar instrumentation, resulting in a Ressence that feels unlike any other.
Marc Newson is a prolific designer with a portfolio that spans consumer goods such as footwear and luggage, all the way up to aircraft interiors and even a yacht of sorts called the Aquariva. He’s no stranger to the watch world, either. Newson co-founded the brand Ikepod (along with Oliver Ike) in 1994 and made an immediate impression thanks to the organic, lugless design that somehow still feels futuristic today. Newson would leave the brand in 2012 to work with another brand on another watch you’ve likely heard of, the Apple Watch. There is plenty of connective tissue between these watches and objects designed by Newson, and his work has had a lasting impact on not only the watch industry, but on product design as a whole.
With this Type 3MN done with Ressence, we find a familiar structure and design ethos at work, and almost feels like the modern Ikepod vision we never got. Unlike other Type 3 references, this one ditches the lugs entirely in favor of a clean singular pebble shape with the strap integrated directly into the case. Fans of Ikepod will immediately recognize the shape and strap integration, and it works remarkably well with the Type 3 thanks to the curvature of the dial and the oil filled view bringing every detail directly to the surface.
The dial itself also welcomes an entirely original design based atop the Ressence Orbital Convex System (ROCS). This means that all the displays rotate as you’d expect to track the time, the oil temperature, the date, and the day of the week. A grey base is set with black and yellow accents, with the most notable visual feature being the runner/shock absorber in black and yellow quadrants. There’s a sterile quality to all of the information being presented, and because of the unique display, it’s consistently changing its appearance throughout the day.
The Type 3 is a perfect platform to welcome a collaboration with Newson, and offers an organic reflection of the pair’s shared vision of design. If you’re a fan of funky ‘90s watches, Ikepod has no doubt been on your radar, this is likely as close to a modern successor from Newson as we’ll get anytime soon (Ikepod does still exist, under different ownership). The Type 3 MN is limited to 80 pieces, and is priced at $54,500. Ressence