Dominique Renaud / Pulse60
Key Highlights
- Independent haute horlogerie creation from Dominique Renaud at HHDR in Tolochenaz.
- Pulse60 debut with the BUA2024 movement and a 1 Hz balance beating once per second.
- 20 mm high-inertia balance with ultra-amplitude architecture exceeding 360° without knocking.
- Lug-free, borderless case with open dial and caseback revealing the balance and escapement.
A New Signature in Contemporary Haute Horlogerie
The Dominique Renaud brand is the second watchmaking language to emerge from Haute Horlogerie Dominique Renaud (HHDR), with Dominique Renaud as inventor and designer. Function dictates the aesthetic, placing the movement at the centre and giving the balance visual priority on the wrist.
Renaud’s career includes high complications for leading maisons and the co-founding of Renaud Papi, later acquired by Audemars Piguet. HHDR provides an independent structure to turn disruptive concepts into serialised pieces, with the Pulse60 as the first watch to fully express this philosophy under the Dominique Renaud name.
The Pulse60: Low Frequency as a New Horizon
At the heart of the Pulse60 lies the BUA2024 calibre—Balancier Ultra Amplitude—built around a 1 Hz balance that beats once per second. This 60 beats-per-minute rhythm echoes the resting human heartbeat and underlines the link between mechanical time and living time.
Derived from earlier work on a 12 Hz low-amplitude balance, the BUA2024 instead pursues low frequency as a route to rate quality. By reducing impulses and shocks, the 1 Hz architecture limits disturbances to the balance and makes the second the core unit of time around which the movement is organised.
High-Inertia Balance and Ultra-Amplitude
The Pulse60 uses a 20 mm balance with high inertia, reminiscent of balances in marine chronometers. Once in motion, this wheel resists torque variations and shocks, its moment of inertia acting as a buffer that makes small disturbances less significant for timekeeping.
A reworked regulating organ allows amplitudes beyond 360 degrees without knocking, with a theoretical maximum approaching 700 degrees. Long free spans before and after each impulse let the balance follow its own dynamics with limited escapement contact, so the movement operates in a broad safety zone.
Case, Display and Design Language
The domed sapphire crystal, absence of bezel and lack of lugs create a smooth integration with the strap and a wide opening over the balance. A three-part construction with a central container underscores the technical intent, while a circular satin-brushed top contrasts with polished flanks that define the case profile.
- Grade 5 titanium executions feature grey or black opaline dials, while a bi-material pink gold and Grade 5 titanium version comes with a guilloché dial.
- Hours and minutes appear on a 12 o’clock sub-dial, with a seconds counter at 9 o’clock showing a natural dead half-second from the 1 Hz frequency.
- A torque indicator at 3 o’clock takes its information from the barrel, while a patented regulating system sits outside the balance to keep the slow-beating wheel fully visible.
- The flat sapphire caseback with anti-reflective treatment reveals circles, half-circles and straight lines, with the crown wheel and ratchet above and an openworked escapement line with an offset double-roller system below.
- An interchangeable rubber strap with an invisible push-button system is delivered with both a pin buckle and a triple-folding clasp.
Why It Matters
For collectors in the GCC, the Pulse60 links a 1 Hz, high-inertia balance with the natural rhythm of the wearer, and places movement architecture and balance visibility at centre stage. Created within an independent structure in Tolochenaz, it speaks to connoisseurs who value technical clarity, low-frequency research and the continuity of the Renaud Papi legacy.
To explore independent haute horlogerie creations and potential access to such concepts in the region, speak with your preferred boutique partner in the GCC or subscribe to our newsletter for curated updates.
