Ressence TYPE 9 Jules Wittock Turns Time Into A Labyrinth

A hand-drawn maze transforms the TYPE 9 into an interactive work of art, revealing a hidden message when its rotating displays align.

Ressence has teamed up with Belgian artist Jules Wittock for its latest art watch, transforming the TYPE 9 into a miniature labyrinth that combines drawing, mechanics and the passage of time. The new T9 JWE Emerald Green and T9 JWB Black are limited to 60 pieces, with 30 examples of each colourway, and place Wittock’s distinctive hand-drawn mazes directly onto the rotating dial.

Wittock has been drawing labyrinths since childhood, creating each one freehand with a single entrance, a single exit and a path that spells a hidden word. On the TYPE 9, that concept is reduced to watchmaking scale. The maze is engraved directly into a Grade 5 titanium dial, with lines measuring just 0.2 millimetres in width before being filled by hand with white lacquer. The result preserves the character of Wittock’s drawings while giving the artwork physical depth.

A Message Hidden In Time

The most intriguing element of the collaboration is that the maze does not reveal its secret immediately. Only when the rotating displays align at midnight and midday does the path resolve sufficiently for its hidden word to be read. The message itself remains known only to the artist and the individual owner, turning each watch into a private piece of art rather than simply a decorated timepiece.

The concept also connects directly with Wittock’s childhood ritual of making a wish at repeating times such as 11:11 or 22:22. Time becomes more than a measurement here: it determines when the artwork can be fully understood. As the Ressence displays continuously orbit, the maze changes with every glance, making the dial a constantly moving canvas.

Two Colourways, One Labyrinth

The T9 JWE uses an Emerald Green ALD-coated titanium dial whose colour can shift towards purple depending on the angle of light. Against it, the white-filled maze creates a strong graphic contrast. The T9 JWB takes a darker approach, pairing a black titanium dial with the same white maze and a black-coated case. Both versions are fitted with leather straps.

Despite the visual complexity of the artwork, the TYPE 9 itself remains one of Ressence’s most restrained designs. The brand describes it as its smallest and lightest watch to date, following its “Less is More” philosophy and reducing the display to its essential functions: hours and minutes. Instead of conventional hands, the information is presented through the patented Ressence Orbital Convex System, or ROCS, which allows the displays to rotate continuously.

Where Art And Mechanics Meet

The collaboration works because Wittock’s labyrinths are not simply printed onto the watch. Their paths are physically engraved into the titanium and hand-filled, allowing the artwork to exist within the structure of the dial itself. This approach reflects Ressence founder Benoît Mintiens’ emphasis on selecting artists whose visual language can genuinely translate into watchmaking.

It also continues Ressence’s wider art watch series, which has previously included collaborations with Shantell Martin, Stefan Sagmeister, Alain Silberstein, Daniel Engelberg and Terumasa Ikeda. Across these projects, the brand has explored the idea of “art in motion”, using its unconventional mechanical architecture to make the artwork evolve as time passes.

The TYPE 9 Jules Wittock

Underneath the artwork sits Ressence’s patented ROCS 9 module, driven by the minute axle of a customised automatic base calibre. The self-winding movement provides 36 hours of power reserve and operates at 28,800 vibrations per hour, with 31 jewels, 20 gears and four ball bearings. The watch contains 182 components in total.

The Grade 5 titanium case measures 39mm in diameter and 11mm in thickness, topped by a domed sapphire crystal with anti-reflective treatment. Both versions offer 1 ATM splash resistance and weigh 42 grams including the strap. A titanium ardillon buckle completes the construction, with the Black version using a 20/18mm leather strap and the Emerald Green version a soft calf leather strap in the same dimensions.

The Ressence TYPE 9 Jules Wittock editions are available from 17 September 2026 through Ressence’s online store and selected retailers worldwide. Limited to 30 pieces each, both the T9 JWB and T9 JWE are priced at CHF 20,000 excluding taxes.

More than a collaboration between a watchmaker and an artist, the TYPE 9 Jules Wittock turns time itself into part of the artwork. The maze is always there, but its meaning is not immediately accessible. It has to be followed, waited for and finally revealed — making the act of reading the time part of the experience.

Technical Specifications

For more information, please visit the official Ressence website.

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