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WatchBox Studios
Published on Jan 17, 2019
"A smarter watch, not a smart watch." This is Ressence at SIHH 2019.
We wrap up our coverage this year with some special pieces from a unique brand. The Ressence Type 2 E-Crown is the main attraction. A fully mechanical watch that syncs with your smartphone to keep accurate time. Tune in for Tim's take on what this innovative brand has to offer.
UPDATE YOUR WRIST
The development of the e-Crown® came down to one simple but fundamental question: What if I could trust and rely on my mechanical watch as much as I do for my phone.
e-Crown® automatically sets and adjusts the Type 2 to the right time when needed.
FROM CROWN TO E-CROWN
In 1842 Adrien Philippe invented a mechanism for watches which allowed them to be wound and set by means of a crown rather than a key. A small but crucial innovation back then. It took 176 years and a forward-thinking company to challenge this status quo. Created, engineered and developed in house, we introduce the e-Crown® technology.
ELECTRO-MECHANICAL EMBEDDED SYSTEM
We took everything back to the drawing board to create revolutions in convenience and performance for fine-watchmaking enthusiasts. e-Crown® is a cutting-edge electro-mechanical embedded system that interfaces the mechanical base movement with the in-house ROCS module. It never interferes with the gear train from the barrel to the hands. e-Crown® replaces the traditional crown’s setup functions of a mechanical watch and takes fine-watchmaking to the next level.
THE NERVE CENTER
The e-Crown® cluster, composed of 87 components, is the state-of-the-art miniaturised electro-mechanical system that manages the different e-Crown® functionalities. The ingenuity lays in its system architecture and components that only need 1,8 joules of energy per day. Every component meets two very challenging requirements: extremely small and very low power consuming. Most components meet aerospace or medical standards and were custom-built for Ressence. A four-layered 0,25mm thick flexible custom-built PCB carries and connects all the components together.
TOUCH CONTROLLED
e-Crown® is activated and controlled by tapping the glass of your watch, offering a new sense of touch and user-friendliness to mechanical watches.
SELF LEARNING TECHNOLOGY
e-Crown® registers the time set manually via the case back lever. It becomes the reference time for future monitoring, automatic setting and adjusting.
SET ONCE AND GO
The Type 2 is manually set via the lever on its case back. By double tapping the crystal, the manually set time is digitally registered by e-Crown®. There is no need to think about checking and adjusting the watch anymore, e-Crown® does it automatically. Even after three months of inactivity, once the watch is fastened to the wrist and the wearer taps the crystal, e-Crown® will automatically set it to the right time.
APP ENABLED
We developed the e-Crown® app to reach an unseen level of convenience and modernity. Using Bluetooth to connect with the Type 2, the app displays a scroll down list of cities to choose from for both time zones to send directly to the smart crown.
LIGHT ENERGY
The Type 2 uses light energy to power the e-Crown®. Photovoltaic cells (some hidden behind 10 micro-shutters on the dial) will use outside light as an energy source making the watch selfsufficient; a fundamental quality in the nomadic world of today.
ULTIMATE TRAVEL WATCH
For added travel convenience, e-Crown® can register two time zones. Set the second time zone the same way as the first one and switch from one to another via the mode selector on the dial.
We believe that displaying the time is essential to a watch. The readability is therefore as simple and efficient during the day as during the night thanks to extra strong blue Superluminova.