At EsperLuxe, our passion is for independent watchmaking. We’ve been fortunate over the years to create relationships with collectors, watchmakers, and brands as well as handle our fair share of exquisite timepieces. Our story is constantly evolving as we’ve taken on new brands and watchmakers as official partners and continue to collaborate on special projects.
Today we are excited to announce our official retail partnership with the all-new Manufacture Dominique Renaud. Few figures embody the spirit of modern watchmaking more convincingly than Dominique Renaud. As the co-founder of the legendary complications specialist Renaud & Papi, Renaud helped shape the current era of high-end mechanical watchmaking, developing some of the most sophisticated movements of the past several decades. With the launch of Manufacture Dominique Renaud, he presents the Pulse60 as well as a whole platform dedicated to explore challenges in watchmaking.
The Pulse60 and a radical approach to timekeeping
The first watch from Manufacture Dominique Renaud, the Pulse60, embodies the philosophy of rethinking the foundations of the tradition. Its new movement is built around an unconventional concept: extremely low frequency. While most modern mechanical watches run between 2.5 Hz and 5 Hz, the Pulse60 operates at just 1 Hz. This is equivalent to 60 beats per minute, roughly matching the resting rhythm of the human heart.
Rather than pursuing precision through speed, this approach seeks stability through rhythm. The slower frequency reduces the number of impulses and shocks in the escapement, allowing the balance to oscillate more naturally with fewer disturbances.
To support this idea, the movement features a large 20 mm balance wheel with very high inertia. Like the massive balances used in historical marine chronometers, it resists variations in torque and minor shocks, acting as a mechanical buffer that smooths irregularities and stabilizes the rate.
Renaud also redesigned the regulating organ to allow amplitudes greater than 360 degrees without “knocking,” a limitation that typically constrains conventional movements. The theoretical maximum amplitude approaches 700 degrees, greatly expanding the range in which the balance can move freely and reducing the influence of escapement impulses.
The watch’s design makes this mechanical architecture visible. An opening on the dial reveals the oversized balance wheel, while the fluid case construction, with domed crystal and integrated strap, keeps the visual focus on the movement itself. This first timepiece from Renaud comes in three models – titanium case with grey dial, titanium case with black dial, or a titanium and pink gold case with guilloché dial.
A new laboratory for independent watchmaking
Beyond the watch itself, Manufacture Dominique Renaud is supported by Haute Horlogerie Dominique Renaud (HHDR), a creative ecosystem designed as a collaborative laboratory. Bringing together watchmakers, engineers, designers, and specialists from diverse backgrounds, it exists to explore new directions in contemporary horology.
This structure reflects Renaud’s own approach to watchmaking. Despite his reputation as one of the great technical minds in the industry, he has always emphasized collaboration, experimentation, and curiosity. HHDR formalizes that philosophy, creating a space where ideas can evolve before being translated into mechanical form.
For us, this is what makes Manufacture Dominique Renaud so compelling. The brand represents something rare: a genuinely fresh approach to mechanical watchmaking, built on decades of experience yet unafraid to challenge convention.
The Pulse60 is only the beginning. But if the first chapter is any indication, Manufacture Dominique Renaud promises to be one of the most intellectually exciting independent watchmakers to emerge in recent years, and exactly the kind of story we are proud to be part of.