Dominique Renaud has launched the Pulse60, his first watch from the new HHDR manufacture, featuring a slow-beating 1Hz balance that mimics a human heartbeat at 60 beats per minute. The hand-wound timepiece showcases a large 20mm balance wheel and deluxe industrial aesthetics using Haute Horlogerie techniques. It will be available from April 2026 in titanium or pink gold and titanium cases.
Dominique Renaud, the renowned French watchmaker born in Besançon in 1959, has established HHDR (Haute Horlogerie Dominique Renaud) in Tolochenaz near Lausanne, Switzerland. Previously known as the “Renaud” in Renaud & Papi—a complication specialist that supplied movements to brands including Audemars Piguet, Richard Mille, and A. Lange & Söhne—he began his career at Audemars Piguet in Le Brassus. In 1986, he co-founded Renaud & Papi with Giulio Papi; Audemars Piguet took majority control in 1992, renaming it Audemars Piguet Renaud & Papi. Renaud left around 2000, returned in 2023 with Renaud Tixier, and now presents the Pulse60 as HHDR's debut model. This creative departure from grand complications features the hand-wound BUA2024 calibre (Balancier Ultra Amplitude, developed from 2024), with a balance wheel amplitude exceeding 360 degrees for enhanced stability. A torque indicator at 3 o’clock draws data from the barrel, a concept refined from his Renaud & Papi days. The dial centers a visible 20mm balance wheel under a skeletonized bridge, with hours and minutes at 12 o’clock and small seconds at 9 o’clock advancing in “natural” dead half-seconds due to the 1Hz frequency. The four-day power reserve allows observation of its slow rhythm. Housed in a 40mm case (12mm thick, 44mm length) of Grade 5 titanium or pink gold and titanium, it pairs with an integrated rubber strap and pin buckle or folding clasp. Prices start at CHF 49,000 excluding taxes for titanium models (black or silver dial) and CHF 59,000 for the pink gold version, with availability from April 2026.