Home » Baselworld - World Watch and Jewellery Show » Ressence Type 5 BB – Oil, Magnets and other Innovations of the All-Black Diving Watch
Ressence Type 5 BB is an all-black diving watch which had its premiere at the Baselworld 2016 show. It is distinguished with an innovative type of dial which is filled with oil in order to prevent reflections on the dial, regardless of the angle from which it is observed. Furthermore, the watch is different from most other timekeepers because it also uses magnets to drive its indications. The novelty is placed inside a black DLC coated titanium case and it is available at the price of $35,900.
Like the previous models from the watchmaker, the novelty is made with a peculiar dial that really stands out with its uncommon concept. Under the bubble shaped crystal of the piece lays a dial which is completely filled with oil. This is in order to guarantee optimal visibility and to prevent the mirror-effect on the watch’s face, despite of the angle in which its wearer looks at his or her timepiece. Such concept is especially appropriate for diving pieces such as new Type 5 BB.
A Novel Approach
It uses a novel approach to deal with extreme pressures that are present when the watch is submerged under water. Instead of more traditional approach which involves large and thick cases and glasses, it is based on the principles of hydraulics which state that liquids cannot be compressed. This is why the manufacturer opted to use oil as the protection for high pressures. This allows the manufacturer to use light titanium housing which weighs just less than 90 grams. Apart from this, the approach reaps the additional benefits, such as the fact that the components are continually lubricated since they are submerged in oil, as well as the reduced amount of energy that is necessary to keep them moving, which ultimately means better precision.
Ressence Type 5 BB is still supplied with a mechanical movement. Its caliber has ETA 2824/2 base which is naturally heavily customized due to the presence of its ROCS 5 (Ressence Orbital Convex System) complication which is on its own made of titanium grade 5 and consisted of 142 components. It includes a sealed chamber filled with oil, compensating bellow system and magnetic transmission. The last one of these refers to the fact that the displays on the convex dial made of titanium are driven by magnets and not in a traditional way by the means of gears and pinions. It should also be said that the movement of the watch includes 41 jewels, that it beats at the frequency of 28,800 vph, as well as that it provides a power reserve which lasts for 36 hours.
Apart from having a sealed chamber with 37.5 ml of oil in it, the housing of the Type 5 BB watch is peculiar in several other components. For example, it does not include a crown. Instead, its functions are set on the back of the case which is just like the front covered with a sapphire crystal with double glare-proofed treatment. By the way, the all black-housing with a discrete uni-directional rotating bezel is 46 mm wide and 15.5 mm thick. Its diving nature is likewise reflected in the fact that the watch is water resistant to 100 meters. All of the mentioned features make it a true diving watch whose properties are in accordance with ISO 6452 norm which clearly states all the necessary traits of these types of watches.
The original convex dial filled with oil includes only the most necessary indications. It features a central minute hand which moves around a clearly designated minute scale on the periphery. There are three more sub-dials on the watch’s face with indications that are coated in Superluminova. The biggest of them is reserved for hours, while there is also a small-seconds indication (also a necessity for diving watches in order to show that the piece is still running when underwater), as well as a temperature indication which is needed since the system with oil does not allow its submerging into extremely cold surroundings.
The watch features an all-black theme, so its available attachments are also made in pitch black shade. There are two available options: a Barenia leather strap and a nylon fabric wristlet. Both of them fasten with ardillon buckles.
