Type 1 HOD3 Limited Edition for Hodinkee

The Ressence Type 1 Slim HOD3 is the third collaboration between HODINKEE and the Belgian independent watchmaker founded by Benoît Mintiens. Established in 2010, Ressence emerged from what began as a simple request for Mintiens — an accomplished industrial designer — to create a wristwatch for a friend. The project evolved into one of contemporary watchmaking's most original success stories, redefining the conventional relationship between design, engineering, and the display of time.

Made from a single block of grade 5 titanium, meticulously finished, and coated entirely in black DLC, the Type 1 Slim HOD3 is distinguished by its seamless and crownless architecture. Rather than relying on a traditional winding crown, Ressence's patented setting system uses a magnetically coupled sapphire crystal, allowing the wearer to adjust the time by rotating the bezel while preserving the integrity and water resistance of the case. At just 11mm thick — slimmer than the standard Type 1 — the HOD3 possesses an exceptionally refined profile, its uninterrupted black silhouette lending the impression of a sculptural disc as much as a wristwatch.

The openworked dial reveals a skeletonized lattice beneath the display, creating remarkable depth as light and shadow interact across its surface. At its center is Ressence's signature ROCS (Ressence Orbital Convex System), in which the hours, minutes, running seconds, and day of the week are displayed on continuously orbiting subdials that remain perpetually upright, regardless of their position on the dial. Powered by the automatic ROCS 1.3 Caliber, the HOD3 is almost entirely monochromatic, interrupted only by pale green Super-LumiNova on the numerals, indices, and hands, which emerge vividly in low light.

Produced in a limited edition of just 40 pieces, the Type 1 Slim HOD3 exemplifies Ressence's philosophy of thoughtful evolution over radical reinvention. Seamlessly blending industrial design with mechanical innovation, it transcends the traditional notion of a wristwatch, standing as one of the most distinctive expressions of twenty-first-century independent watchmaking.