One of the most influential watchmakers of the post-quartz era has re-emerged with a groundbreaking slow-beat oscillator that cleverly avoids the amplitude constraints typical of such constructions. The Pulse60 is the latest project from Dominique Renaud’s eponymous workshop Haute Horlogerie Dominique Renaud (HHDR), and the first watch to bear his full name in a decade.

The Pulse60 runs at just 7,200 times per hour — a frequency of just 1 Hz – a quarter the rate of a conventional movement. Ordinarily, such a slow beat would leave the movement susceptible to external forces, but here it has been combined with a proprietary escapement that overcomes the challenge. While the technical ingenuity is expected given Mr Renaud’s pedigree, the relatively accessible price of under CHF50,000 is unexpected, especially given the state of the market today.

Initial thoughts

It’s been a decade since Dominique Renaud came out of retirement, but his most public contributions since then have come under the Renaud Tixier banner. Latecomers to independent watchmaking may be less familiar with Mr Renaud’s work, but he played an important role in establishing the contemporary high-end watchmaking landscape.

The Pulse60 is the first watch to carry the Dominique Renaud name since the exotic and expensive DR01 Twelve First, which was not made in significant numbers. But unlike its short-lived predecessor, which featured a low-amplitude, high-frequency escapement of Mr Renaud’s own design, the Pulse60 flips the script with a slow-beating oscillator that seeks stability through unprecedented amplitude.

Also unlike the DR01, the Pulse60 looks like a normal wristwatch, similar to Greubel Forsey’s Convexe series, and is sized and constructed to be worn easily. This should make it more commercially viable than its predecessor, which never really got off the ground. And while the DR01 carried a seven-figure price tag a decade ago, the Pulse60 is more accessible, starting at CHF49,000 in titanium.

An established name

Having founded Renaud & Papi in 1986 alongside Giulio Papi, Mr Renaud helped create a hotbed of innovation in Le Locle that jumpstarted the careers of now-legendary watchmakers like Robert Greubel, Stephen Forsey, Anthony de Haas, Andreas Strehler, and Carole Forestier-Kasapi, to name just a few.

In 1992, Audemars Piguet (AP) acqui-hired the duo, who had begun their careers at the firm, creating what we now today as Manufacture de Haute Horlogerie Audemars Piguet in Le Locle. Previously known as APRP, the division was been responsible for, among other things, some of the most important early innovations from A. Lange & Söhne and Richard Mille. All that is to say that when Dominique Renaud does something, it’s worth paying attention.

Extreme amplitude

The Pulse60 takes its name from its enormous slow-beat oscillator, which beats just 7,200 times per hour — a frequency of just 1 Hz. In other words, it locks and unlocks once per second, moving the seconds hand in half-second steps. By way of comparison, most modern movements oscillate four times as fast in order to maintain rate stability in the face of shocks, and Breguet has managed to commercialise two different 10 Hz platforms.

By going the other direction, Mr Renaud has created a movement that operates at a human scale. The massive 20 mm variable-inertia balance, appropriately displayed on the dial side of the movement, is paced like a human heartbeat. The concept is similar to the ill-fated Antoine Martin Slow Runner released in 2013, but the outward expression of the watch is entirely different thanks to the prominent position of the balance wheel.

The slow-beat oscillator is hypnotic in action, but in theory it’s more susceptible to disturbance on the wrist. Mr Renaud has accounted for this potential threat with an escapement of his own design that allows for increased amplitude, improving stability.

In an ordinary Swiss lever escapement, the rotation of the balance wheel is constrained to a maximum amplitude of about 310 degrees, just short of a full rotation, to avoid having the impulse jewel collide with the outside faces of the horns of the pallet fork. While fundamentally a lever escapement, Mr Renaud’s design hugs the balance staff and engages with a geared roller on the opposite side, eliminating the typical constraint. It’s a clever way to compactly achieve amplitude in excess of 360 degrees. In fact, Mr Renaud claims the setup can, in theory, accommodate amplitude up to 700 degrees.

The novel escapement is the star attraction of the view through the case back, secured by a black-polished steel bridge not unlike the remontoir bridge in the cal. L043.6 that powers Lange’s second-generation Zeitwerk. This gives the slow-turning openworked escape wheel prominence and ample space to shine.

Like mobile stud holder in the cal. 7121 found in the Audemars Piguet Royal Oak, the curb-pin regulator is mounted on its own bridge, exposed within the running seconds sub-dial at the traditional nine o’clock position. This keeps the massive balance bridge free of extraneous details that might otherwise distract from its melodic cadence.

The movement also features a torque indicator, a mechanism that dates back to Mr Renaud’s days at Renaud Papi, seen on many Richard Mille movements of that era. The elegant indicator has its own sub-dial opposite the running seconds, and is mounted to a graceful coil spring revealed through the dial.

Wrist-friendly innovation

Innovative products are often debuted with extreme designs to demonstrate novelty. In this context, the Pulse60 is surprisingly straightforward in its design and comes in a wrist-friendly 40 mm size, complete with interchangeable rubber straps.

While it’s reasonable to be wary of proprietary strap systems, especially when they come from a low-volume independent, the minimalist design is appealing and flows gracefully into the case. It’s an effect that would be impossible to recreate with an off-the-shelf strap, so it’s understandable.

The compact and wearable Pulse60 is making its debut in three variants — titanium with silver or black dials, or a two-tone livery in titanium and 18k pink gold that features gold chapter rings and an engraved dial plate.

Key facts and price

Dominique Renaud Pulse60

Diameter: 40 mm
Height: 12 mm
Material: Titanium or titanium and 18k pink gold
Crystal: Sapphire
Water resistance: 30 m

Movement: Pulse60
Functions: Hours, minutes, seconds, and torque indicator
Winding: Manual wind
Frequency: 7,200 beats per hour (1 Hz)
Power reserve: 96 hours

Strap: Interchangeable rubber strap

Limited edition: Unknown
Availability: Available for pre-order through Dominique Renaud retailers
Price: CHF49,000 (titanium) or CHF59,000 (titanium and 18k rose gold) excluding taxes

For more, visit dominiquerenaud.com.