The first of four limited-edition Ressence watches produced to mark the brand’s 10th anniversary. Together, they will comprise Collection X.

If you aren’t immersed in the world of watches morning, noon and night – well, first, what are you doing? – then you would be forgiven for assuming that the basic set-up of a watch, you know, hour hand, minute hand, second hand, was something we had all pretty much agreed on centuries ago.

Eager young watch brands with a bold new take on telling the time spring up with surprising regularity. Some, such as HYT, approach the task with such devilish ingenuity that you embrace the unfamiliarity of it all. (Telling the time with liquid passing through a tube? It’s so crazy, it works.) But others, well, let’s just say they’re an acquired taste: reading the time from little caterpillar-track style belts or a series of rotating cones or – we kid you not, this is entirely real – steel balls suspended in glass tubes, moved up and down by magnets, all driven by a mechanical movement.

I have to confess that, when I first heard of Ressence, some seven years ago, I thought it fell into the same category of horological gimmickry. A watch with hours, minutes and seconds all displayed on discs, rather than hands, that not only rotate individually, as you would expect, but all rotate around each other so that every time you look at the dial, everything’s in a different place? I thought it was weird and I thought it would annoy me, like someone rearranging my desk every time I go for a coffee.

I was wrong, and this is the genius of Ressence watches. There is no shortage of inventive types ready to rip up the rule book, but no one else can throw accepted wisdom out the window and make things simpler, easier and more intuitive at the same time, not to mention more ergonomic. The Type 1 works because founder Mr Benoît Mintiens prioritised clarity and legibility. The “hands” could not be easier to read. It doesn’t matter that they’re not joined together at a central axis because what you look for is the angle between them. I don’t have space here to go into all the clever, clever things Ressence has done, but the Type 3 and Type 5 are even more astounding in their execution and the latest invention, the Type 2 (naming conventions are also for other people), is perhaps the most horologically satisfying fusion of modern and traditional technology on the market.

Now, taking stock of the Type 1 as Ressence enters its second decade, something else stands out. It looks as fresh and modern as the first prototypes did 10 years ago. For the X Collection, a new colour has been introduced: an olive green, applied to the dial in two finishes, which serve as a subtle day/night indicator – one half matt, the other brushed in a circular pattern. The 10 has been replaced with an X, or hourglass symbol, and complementary yellow accents here and there provide focal points. Ressence’s typography and iconography are unmistakably 21st century – arguably it has more in common with the world of technology than traditional horology – but in 10 short years, its watches have achieved a permanence and a level of respect from watch collectors that speaks for itself. Another clever trick.

Ressence Type 1 Slim X

Materials: Grade 5 titanium case with calfskin leather strap

Diameter: 42mm

Height: 11mm

Water resistance: 10m

Power reserve: 36 hours

Price: £17,650