Press Release: Ressence and Sotheby’s Reveal the Winner of The #WatchesAgainstCovid19 Design Competition.
A month ago, independent watchmaker Ressence and Sotheby’s launched a competition to design a unique watch, offering watch-lovers the opportunity to create their own interpretation of one of Ressence’s
latest models, the Type 1 Slim. In the past few weeks, 466 people, from children and professional designers to watchmakers such as Alain Silberstein, enthusiastically entered the competition and submitted their #WatchAgainstCovid19 designs.
A winner has now been chosen by the Instagram watch community among four finalists selected by Ressence founder Benoît Mintiens. The winning design – a pastel blue watch signed by English father-of-two Raymond
Ramsden – is now being produced by Ressence’s manufacture in Switzerland, before it goes to auction in Sotheby’s Hong Kong Important Watches sale on 11 July. Proceeds from the sale will support the Covid-19
Research Programme being run by KU Leuven University in Belgium.
“Letting our community have the final say and be part of our project felt like the right thing to do. During the selection process, we discussed the feasibility of the designs with our Swiss manufacturers. We also wanted to create a genuine one-off, so we opted for entries that were far from our own artistic direction. And most importantly, we chose optimistic approaches which would bring a message of hope in the current difficult times.”
Ressence Founder and CEO Benoît Mintiens
The winner and his design
58-year old Raymond Ramsden lives in Yorkshire, England and submitted his design on the 29th of April.
- The main blue colour represents the medical staff, key workers and all the people who, by their work and dedication, supported society through the coronavirus pandemic.
- The red hand symbolises human interaction and the importance of washing hands to limit its spread.
- The blue subdial is the planet we share.
- The yellow subdial is the sun giving warmth, light and life.
- The white subdial is the moon: aspirations, romance, and dreams.
- The red 19 marker is a discreet reference to the coronavirus.
- The winner had been asked to provide an inscription for the engraving on the back of the case. Raymond chose “Ayrton & Fin” – the names of his sons as, in his own words, “the children of the world are the future”.
Minor changes have been made to Raymond’s design, following Ressence’s
discussion with its suppliers. The original drawing and renderings made by
Martin Miškolci, the artist commissioned by Ressence, is found here.
The winning design is now being turned into a unique watch to be auctioned for charity by Sotheby’s in 11 July.
Proceeds will Benefit KU Leuven University’s Covid-19 Research Programme.
