The renowned watchmakers at Ressence have a brand new watch concept being shown at this year’s SIHH 2018 event and it looks to integrate subtle smart features into a fully mechanical watch in a completely new way. However, this is one wearable that won’t be playing back music, sending messages or alerts, or even providing notifications for its wearer. That may seem a bit quirky since the watch – dubbed the Ressence Type 2 e-Crown Concept – was created in part with the help of Nest co-founder Tony Fadell. In fact, many would probably argue that this is not truly a smartwatch since it doesn’t have those features normally associated with Android Wear, Tizen, or even other semi-smartwatches.
With that said, this smartwatch-like wearable does connect to a smartphone and it does solve at least one painfully annoying issue found in traditional mechanical or digital watches – and it does that while being a fully mechanical timepiece. While there isn’t a lot of information available for how the Type 2 Concept works, what it will do is to easily switch between two designated time zones, automatically factor in daylight savings, reset itself to the correct time in the event that it loses power, and even automatically recharge itself. The first task is accomplished via a smartphone application after the initial setup using a mechanical method found on the back of the watch. After that, the application can be used to set two separate time zones. Controlling the time zone setting on the watch itself is done by tapping on the icon located at the center of the watch face – which will also resync the watch if the timing of its seconds or minutes begins to get out of sync. Meanwhile, charging is accomplished through kinetic energy capture and is stored via an array of 10 photocells embedded behind the watch face. If the battery does fall below half-charged, due to wearer inactivity or the watch not being worn, minuscule shutter open to absorb energy from any light sources that happen to be available. That can also be accomplished with the application.
Unfortunately, although this is an official showing from a well-established luxury watch brand, it is still only a concept. Bearing that in mind, there have not been any details provided about how much something like the Ressence Type 2 e-Crown would cost. However, the company has said that it plans to release a consumer-ready product based on this Type 2 by the year’s end. Of course, there’s no guarantee that version of the device will turn out to be as immaculate as its proof of concept or that it will bring exactly the same functionality as planned. It could also end up bringing more functionality, though that seems unlikely given that the concept was designed to show a modern take on a traditional watch. In the meantime, anybody looking to purchase a new mechanical watch will probably want to hold off – at very least until more information becomes available.
