Ressence isn’t new to rewriting the rules of traditional watchmaking, but their latest release may be the most poetic yet. To honor the 75th anniversary of UAE-based luxury retailer Ahmed Seddiqi & Sons, the Belgian brand created a limited-edition masterpiece that fuses horology with geography – quite literally. The Ressence Type 9 S75 doesn’t just tell time. It holds time, with real grains of sand from all seven Emirates bonded to its dial.
The concept feels elemental. Sand, once used in hourglasses to track time, now lives on titanium discs in a 21st-century mechanical watch. Ressence founder Benoît Mintiens and Mohammed Abdulmagied Seddiqi personally collected the sand from the dunes of Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Sharjah, Ajman, Umm Al Quwain, Ras Al Khaimah, and Fujairah. Equal portions from each region were integrated into the rotating Hours and Minutes discs using a permanent adhesive process. The result: a dial that shimmers and shifts like desert terrain, catching light in unexpected ways.
Beneath this textured landscape beats Ressence’s patented ROCS 9 module – a rotating orbital system that reimagines traditional timekeeping with discs instead of hands. The minute disc stays anchored to the outer bezel, while the hour disc orbits beneath it, giving the entire dial a fluid, hypnotic motion. The underlying engine is a modified ETA 2892-A2 automatic movement, concealed in a 39mm pebble-shaped grade 5 titanium case. It’s Ressence’s lightest and most compact design to date – just 11mm thick and weighing only 40 grams.
Functionality remains intentionally minimalist. The S75 carries Ressence’s crownless design, requiring winding and setting via the rotating caseback – charming but not exactly daily-driver convenient. Then again, this isn’t a watch designed for everyday wear. It’s an artifact. A tribute. A collector’s piece.
Each watch comes fitted with a camel leather strap – an homage to regional heritage – secured by a titanium buckle that complements the case and desert tones of the dial. Only 20 examples of the Type 9 S75 were produced, each engraved “1 of 20” on the caseback, and sold exclusively through Ahmed Seddiqi boutiques. Priced at CHF 19,900 (around $19,500), it’s already marked as sold out – but expect to see it surface on secondary markets soon.
This marks the fourth collaboration between Ressence and Seddiqi, and easily the most ambitious. In combining natural material, emotional symbolism, and technical finesse, the Type 9 S75 becomes more than a watch. It’s a celebration of heritage, innovation, and the enduring passage of time – all suspended in sand. Also be sure to check our list of the most expensive watches in the world.
