Ressence Type 9 Ike

Drawing on ancient Japanese craft techniques, yet delivering an unmistakably futuristic design, Ressence launches the otherworldly limited-edition TYPE 9 IKE, with Japanese artist Terumasa Ikeda.

Using Ressence’s most minimal design, the TYPE 9, as a canvas, Ikeda-san’s precise layering of lacquer and ultra-fine mother-of-pearl inlay creates a sci-fi-inspired composition. It is enlivened by Ressence’s rotating, convex dial.

When I discovered Ikeda’s artwork, I was immediately attracted to its extremely futuristic style, which is simultaneously an ancient craft,” says Benoît Mintiens, Ressence’s founder and creative leader. "The result of this artistic language, when applied to a Ressence watch, gives you the feeling of viewing something from another galaxy - a code, or signal, from another civilisation, beamed back to us from the future.”

Limited to 8 pieces, the TYPE 9 IKE is not an artwork “applied” to a watch - it is a composition specifically crafted for Ressence’s moving dial.

Through the collaboration, Ikeda turned the mechanics of the brand’s patented ROCS display into a new artistic language through literal layering and lacquering, a painstakingly detailed process.

Within a single watch, the past and future co-exist, almost creating a paradox,” explains Ikeda-san.

His practice is based in Kanazawa, where he has honed his sci-fi style take on traditional Japanese urushi lacquer and raden (mother-of-pearl) techniques.

When I first saw the TYPE 9’s orbital display, it reminded me of a planetary system — something astronomical,” he says. “This inspired me to work around the idea of heliocentrism, when astronomers pursued truth through data even as authority resisted them. I really empathise with that attitude.”

The result is both precise and atmospheric - an object that reads like a message, not a decoration.

What was very difficult was attaching raden to a curved surface” Ikeda-san explains of the process where ultra-thin shell pieces were cut and placed on the watch components with extreme precision. “Raden is basically flat, and it breaks easily, like eggshell. So we soaked it and bent it gradually on rubber sheets, little by little, so that it would follow the curvature.”

As a watch, the TYPE 9 is Ressence at its most essential: a pure time-reading experience. For the Ikeda-san edition, that restraint becomes a deliberate contrast - a fully black, DLC-coated titanium architecture spanning the case, bezel, dial components, and caseback, framing a display enriched with luminescent colour that shifts dramatically as it moves under light.

Turning the watch over reveals Ikeda-san’s signature on the caseback.

With this watch, you get that feeling of wonder,” says Mintiens. “You don’t fully understand what you’re looking at, but you feel it, because it triggers something immediate."

Availability and price

The TYPE 9 IKE is limited to 8 pieces and will be available from February 26th, 2026 via some of Ressence's select retailers worldwide. Price: CHF 32,000 (excluding taxes).

Technical specifications

Ressence Type 9 Ike

Reference: Type 9 Ike

Limited edition of 8 pieces

Case

• Material: Polished Grade 5 titanium – DLC coated
• Domed sapphire crystal with anti-reflective coating inside
• Diameter: 39 mm
• Thickness: 11 mm
• Manual winding over 12°
• Set-up via case-back
• 1 ATM splash-resistance

Dial and hands

• Grade 5 Titanium with DLC coating.
• Manually applied Raden (mother-of-pearl) and Japanese Urushi (black lacquer)

Movement

• Patented ROCS 9 - Ressence Orbital Convex System - module driven by the minute axle of a customised automatic base calibre
• Self-winding movement
• Frequency: 4 Hz, 28'800 vph
• Number of jewels: 31
• Power reserve of 36 hours
• 20 gears
• 4 ball bearings

Functions/Indications

• Hours and minutes

Strap and buckle

• Black shiny horse leather strap (20/18mm)
• Inside lining in moisture repellent leather
• Titanium ardillon buckle

MSRP: CHF 32'000 (excl. taxes)

For more information, please visit ressencewatches.com