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Where past, present, and future blend
“Within a single watch, the past and future co-exist, almost creating a paradox.”
- Ikeda-san
Using Ressence’s most minimal design, the TYPE 9, as a canvas, Ikeda-san’s precise layering of lacquer and ultra-fine mother-of-pearl inlay creates a sci-fi-inspired composition. It is enlivened by Ressence’s rotating, convex dial.
“The result of this artistic language, when applied to a Ressence watch, gives you the feeling of viewing something from another galaxy - a code, or signal, from another civilisation, beamed back to us from the future.”
-Benoît Mintiens
“The result of this artistic language, when applied to a Ressence watch, gives you the feeling of viewing something from another galaxy - a code, or signal, from another civilisation, beamed back to us from the future.”
-Benoît Mintiens
An object that reads like a message, not a decoration.
“What was very difficult was attaching raden (mother-of-pearl) to a curved surface,” Ikeda-san explains of the process where ultra-thin shell pieces were cut and placed on the watch components with extreme precision. “Raden is basically flat, and it breaks easily, like eggshell. So we soaked it and bent it gradually on rubber sheets, little by little, so that it would follow the curvature.”
An object that reads like a message, not a decoration.
“What was very difficult was attaching raden (mother-of-pearl) to a curved surface,” Ikeda-san explains of the process where ultra-thin shell pieces were cut and placed on the watch components with extreme precision. “Raden is basically flat, and it breaks easily, like eggshell. So we soaked it and bent it gradually on rubber sheets, little by little, so that it would follow the curvature.”
With great virtuosity, Terumasa Ikeda transports lacquerware into the 21st century. He bridges the past and the present by employing the same raden technique and traditional materials used by earlier lacquer artists: urushi, hinoki wood, mother-of-pearl, and gold leaf. While respecting tradition, he incorporates digital technologies for tasks such as laser-cutting abalone shell and designing his compositions. The final design is meticulously placed by hand.
Reflecting the “Now” through ancient traditions
Ikeda san states : “It is difficult to employ the techniques and aesthetics passed down from the past to create an eternal beauty, but I believe that by reflecting the ‘now’ I am continuing the tradition.” [1]
1.”The Raden of Terumasa Ikeda,” Tokyo Ippodo Gallery, July 2021
IKEDA’S FUTURISTIC VESSELS BRIDGE THE WORLDS OF CLASSICAL AND MODERN LACQUER.
Limited to 8 pieces, the TYPE 9 IKE is not an artwork “applied” to a watch. It is a composition specifically crafted for Ressence’s moving dial.
Through the collaboration, Ikeda turned the mechanics of the brand’s patented ROCS display into a new artistic language through literal layering and lacquering, a painstakingly detailed process. Turning the watch over reveals Ikeda-san’s signature on the caseback.
“The result of this artistic language, when applied to a Ressence watch, gives you the feeling of viewing something from another galaxy - a code, or signal, from another civilisation, beamed back to us from the future.”
-Benoît Mintiens
