Ressence Celebrates Its 15th Anniversary With An Optimistic And Human-Centric View Of The Future
In 2010, industrial designer Benoît Mintiens started a company called Ressence. His mission was to create a mechanical watch that could tell people the time in the most user-friendly way possible. Now, 15 years later, the brand’s watches are still in a league of their own, both in terms of design and the mechanics behind their domed titanium dials. To celebrate the company’s 15th anniversary and the team’s optimistic and human-centric way of thinking, Ressence presents a book called Ahead of Time. It contains interviews with 20 like-minded people who all give their views on the future, including names like Sam Altman (OpenAI), Luca de Meo (Kering), and Phil Shiller (Apple).
Indeed, Ahead of Time isn’t a typical anniversary book going over the brand’s collections and all the references they contain. Ressence already had its Catalogue Raissoné Volume 1, which contains all the brand’s watches that came out between 2010 and 2023. I’m sure there will be a second volume someday, but Ressence wanted to do something different to celebrate its 15th anniversary. The result is Ahead of Time, which presents an optimistic and human-centric view of the future.
Ahead of Time
If you know Benoît a little bit, you know he’s a good talker with a clear vision in his head. However, he’s also someone who’s not that comfortable with being the center of attention. In that respect, it makes complete sense for him to let others do the talking in this new book. He describes these people as humble, optimistic, and curious entrepreneurs. But above all, they dare to take risks. They see the uncertain times ahead of them as exciting and an opportunity to improve the world around them. Luckily, they’re also very willing to share their views of the future with us in Ahead of Time.
The interviewees are leading minds in fields like architecture, artificial intelligence, art, design, and (personal) technology. I’m sure names like Sam Altman, Luca de Meo, Tony Fadell, and Phil Shiller ring a bell. But there are certainly also less famous names in the book that play key roles at organizations like Ikea, Bang & Olufsen, and Stanford University. Many of these people also have a personal connection to Benoît, as they are owners of Ressence watches.
A coffee-table book full of thoughts
Most watch books contain beautiful pictures of timepieces, workshops, and their mountainous surroundings. Well, not this one. Right from the mainly white, silver, and highlighter-yellow cover, it’s clear that Ahead of Time isn’t your typical coffee-table book on watches. Instead, this book is full of thought-provoking conversations with people who are leading prominent organizations into the unknown future.
I haven’t had the chance to read the whole thing from cover to cover yet. However, I don’t think that’s the aim of Ahead of Time. The integrated bookmark suggests that this is a book you grab once in a while to get inspired by other people’s views of the future. Some passages have already been highlighted to give you a quick impression of what the biggest takeaways are. Bright yellow quotes also help to quickly focus on the important stuff. But, of course, you’re also free to sit back, relax, and read the full interviews.
Available now
I’d like to congratulate Ressence on its 15th anniversary, of course, but also on the book to celebrate it. Especially in times of geopolitical uncertainty, it’s nice to read about the optimistic views on the future provided by some of the world’s brightest and most experienced minds. Ahead of Time is available now in selected book stores and from the Ressence website.
