What do you get when you cross avant-garde watchmaking with irreverent design? Hopefully, a fun, innovative timepiece. In the case of the new Ressence x Alain Silberstein ‘Carpe Diem’, this stands true. The first timepiece crafted by Ressence founder Benoît Mintiens and legendary French watch designer Alain Silberstein, the 41.5mm grade 5 titanium watch features vivid colours and symbolises the fleeting nature of time. Also called Grail Watch 1, the timepiece is the debut edition of the new venture Grail Watch by Revolution magazine's founder Wei Koh, through which he aims to capture the market of limited edition watches by creating collaborations between independent watchmakers and designers. 

To build this new Grail Watch, the watchmakers have used Ressence’s Type 1 model as its base. The original timepiece is recognised for its slim dimensions and minimalist display that comes with revolving subdials powered by the brand’s patented Ressence Orbital Convex System (ROCS), which allows for a novel display of presenting and reading time via a revolving dial and subdials . Although Silberstein retained this unique feature of the watch, he has completely redesigned its dial. To craft the display, he has taken inspiration from the French painter Philippe de Champaigne’s artwork—Vanitas Still Life with Tulip, Skull and Hour Glass—which is a perfect example of ‘memento mori’, a reminder of the inevitability of death. 

Incorporating the elements of the painting into the dial, Silberstein has used the tulip as the hour indicator, the skull for the running seconds hand, and instead of the hour glass, a yellow-coloured triangle to indicate the day of the week. According to him, these design cues serve as a reminder to Carpe Diem or seize the day and live to the fullest. The new Grail Watch might convey a sombre message but it comes in vibrant hues. The display is offered in matte blue with an eye-catchy red hour track in addition to the minute indicator in light blue and white colour.

Also Read | In conversation with Benoît Mintiens from Ressence

Inside the new Grail Watch is the ROCS module system that has been paired with a heavily modified self-winding ETA 2892-A2 movement, just like other Type 1 watches. Beating at a frequency of 28,800vph, the calibre can store a power reserve of up to 36 hours and is hidden behind a solid caseback. Fashioned with an elegant calf leather strap, the Ressence x Alain Silberstein ‘Carpe Diem’ is limited to just 36 units.