First debuted at
Baselworld 2014, the
Type 1 followed on from the
Type 3, as a reinvention of the original
Type 1001, with a new crown-less winding system and thinner case. In comparison to the
Type 1001 with its large crown and thick case size, and the
Type 3 with its innovative oil-filled dial, the
Type 1 expresses perhaps the most
minimalist vision of the brand.
The ’S’ in ‘
Type 1S’ refers to the
brushed silver dial, which gives the watch a luxurious feel. The orbital display shows hours and minutes on convex discs, as well as the day of the week (with weekends shown). The embedded indicators are
blackened for contrast.
With two highly-domed, sapphire crystals covering both sides of the watch, the
Type 1 has an almost pebble-like appearance, clearly influenced by
current industrial design trends. The polished, grade 5 titanium case measures 42 mm, yet wears smaller than expected, due to the absence of the external case seen in traditional watchmaking. The watch also goes without a crown, with the wearer instead interacting with the domed, sapphire case-back to wind the movement and set the time.
The watch is split into
two modules; a lower-half comprised of a customised self-winding
ETA 2824/2 ébauche, and a display module, or
ROCS (
Ressence Orbital Convex System). Composed of 107 parts, 27 gears and 40 jewels, the gears in the
ROCS calculates the hours, seconds and day, taking only the minute as a reference from the movement. In the
Type 1, there's a mechanical link between the movement and the
ROCS display.
This
Type 1S remains in excellent condition and comes with it's original box, papers, product literature and a grey
Ressence strap.
Viewings can be arranged in Central London by appointment only.
