Dominique Renaud Pulse60 Titanium Black Dial

It’s not everyday we see the launch of a new independent brand from a heavy hitter in modern independent watchmaking. Today is one of those days. Dominique Renaud, a master of movement construction, is launching his eponymous brand with a first timepiece, the Pulse60. To appear next month at Time to Watches Fair in Geneva, April 14-19, this is a big splash from one of the legends of contemporary haute horlogerie. 

For collectors familiar with Renaud’s legacy, the name carries considerable weight. As co-founder of the legendary complications specialist Renaud & Papi, later acquired by Audemars Piguet, Renaud played a central role in shaping modern high-end watchmaking, developing complex mechanisms for some of the most prestigious maisons in the industry. The new Dominique Renaud brand represents the most complete expression of the watchmaker’s ideas as both an inventor and designer.

The Pulse60 is built around an unconventional technical premise: extreme low frequency. Most modern mechanical watches operate between 2.5 and 5 Hz. The Pulse60 instead runs at a mere 1 Hz. This unusual choice is not symbolic or artistic. Reducing the frequency drastically lowers the number of impulses and shocks within the escapement. In turn, this minimizes disturbances that affect the natural oscillation of the balance. The result is a movement organized around a slower, more deliberate rhythm, where each second corresponds to a single full oscillation of the balance wheel.

To make such a low frequency viable, the watch relies on an extremely oversized regulating organ – the “star” of the black dial. The Pulse60 features a massive 20mm balance wheel with high inertia, bringing this watch in line with the spirit of balances used in historical marine chronometers. Once in motion, this large balance resists small variations in torque and external shocks, helping stabilize the rate over time.

Renaud has also reworked the geometry of the regulating system to allow amplitude exceeding 360 degrees without the risk of “knocking,” a phenomenon that normally occurs when the balance swings too far and strikes the pallet fork. In the Pulse60, theoretical amplitude can reach as much as 700 degrees, creating a much wider and safer operating range for the large oscillator.

The design of the Pulse60 was conceived to make the low frequency mechanical innovation visually explicit, resulting in a fluid case architecture defined by continuity and the absence of edges. A domed crystal, the elimination of a traditional bezel, and the absence of lugs allow the titanium case to blend seamlessly into the rubber integrated strap, delivered with both pin buckle and triple-folding clasp. It’s a highly modern case measuring in at 40mm and 12mm in thickness. The display is organized around a central hour-minute dial at 12 o’clock, a seconds counter at 9 o’clock with a natural dead half-second enabled by the 1Hz frequency, and a torque indicator at 3 o’clock that reads remaining energy directly from the barrel.

The Pulse60 is a new chapter of exploratory watchmaking for one of the best movement constructors of the 21st century, Dominique Renaud.