Dominique Renaud is Back With The Pulse60

Few names in modern watchmaking carry as much weight as Dominique Renaud. Best known as the co-founder of Renaud & Papi, the movement specialist behind some of the most significant technical developments in contemporary haute horlogerie, Renaud returns with a new independent brand and a debut watch that once again challenges convention. Instead of introducing a traditional three-hand watch, the Pulse60 is built around an entirely new regulating concept, centered around a massive 20mm high-inertia balance wheel oscillating at just 1Hz, or 60 beats per minute. This unusually low frequency gives the watch its name, delivering remarkable rate stability while transforming the balance into the visual centerpiece of the dial. Visible through a large opening, its slow and hypnotic motion becomes a mechanical display in itself.

The regulating organ has been completely re-engineered, allowing the balance to reach an unprecedented 700-degree amplitude, nearly twice that of a conventional mechanical watch. To achieve this, Dominique Renaud developed an entirely new escapement architecture, including a newly designed escape wheel and anchor, both visible through the sapphire crystal caseback. Built from the ground up around this new approach to regulation, the Pulse60 features one of the most technically unconventional movement architectures introduced in recent years.

The dial of the Pulse60 has been designed around the mechanics, placing the movement at the center of the experience. A compact subdial at 12 o'clock displays the hours and minutes, while the balance wheel dominates the composition. At 9 o'clock, the seconds counter takes advantage of the movement's low frequency to create a natural dead half-second display, without the need for an additional complication. Opposite, at 3 o'clock, a torque indicator reads the remaining energy directly from the barrel, offering a clear indication of the movement's available power.

The Pulse60 is housed in a contemporary 40×44mm case defined by clean, architectural lines. With no bezel and no traditional lugs, the domed sapphire crystal flows seamlessly into the case, creating a modern and refined profile. Despite its technical complexity and bold dimensions, the watch has been designed for comfort, sitting naturally on the wrist. Completing the design is an integrated rubber strap equipped with a newly developed quick-release system by Dominique Renaud, allowing it to be changed in seconds.

The Pulse60 represents more than the launch of a new watch brand; it marks Dominique Renaud's return to the very foundations of mechanical watchmaking. By focusing on one of the discipline's most essential elements, the regulating organ, Renaud has chosen to revisit the heart of the mechanical movement itself rather than simply add another complication or follow established conventions.

By slowing the rhythm of the balance, redesigning the escapement, and developing an entirely new movement architecture, Renaud has taken a different path from the industry's ongoing pursuit of higher frequencies and increasing complexity. In a field where genuine mechanical innovation is becoming increasingly rare, the Pulse60 serves as a reminder that even the most traditional elements of watchmaking can still be reconsidered and reinvented.