After almost 15 years of retirement, Dominique Renaud returns with a revolutionary concept watch that holds the distilled essence of his inspirations, creative energy and technical explorations over the last decade and a half. This is the first time that Dominique Renaud will develop a timepiece entirely under his own name under the auspices of his eponymous brand, a timepiece that revisits some fundamental principles of mechanical watchmaking, in order to meet the expectations of a new era of collectors searching for the spectacle of a new mechanical heart ... 

The DOMINIQUE RENAUD DR01 TWELVE FIRST is simultaneously a compendium of disruptive innovations and a faithful adherent to the traditional finishing codes of haute horlogerie mechanical watchmaking. 

This first project will be available in 12 prototypes timepieces. Dominique Renaud’s vision is to involve watch enthusiasts in a pioneering spirit that allows its customers to experience exciting and active participation in writing a new chapter in the history of watchmaking. Twelve unique and revolutionary watches, each one customized for the participating collector who can well be considered a DOMINIQUE RENAUD ambassador at that point, and each one a true masterpiece of art and breakthrough innovation crafted in the form of an exceptional mechanical watch with unmatched performance and incomparable design.

Every aspect of this extraordinary timepiece has been reimagined and redesigned: the regulator, the escapement, the amplitude, the frequency, the case and even the dial. 

The movement consists of an assembly of cylindrical elements that appears suspended in the centre of a 360-degree sapphire-crystal capsule. The movement truly invites the wearer to contemplate mechanics, design, and life itself. This fully transparent module can be rotated to display the movement within from six preset positions.

Securing the capsule to the wrist is an arch-shaped frame, its form evocative of a futuristic monolith from another world. Angularity is emphasised in the design of the DR01 TWELVE FIRST, as sharply finished angles in watchmaking are invariably associated with the highest echelons of horology. Sharp angles, a signature element of the brand, are inspired by the founder’s initials, DR. The arch is carved from a single block of material, the choice of which is left to the exploration of each timepiece’s final owner.

The customisation process extends to the colour and material of the dial, which is sca olded by a monobloc dial-plate incorporating the company’s signature and shard-like hour indices in counterpoint to centrally mounted dagger hands. In accordance with this razor-sharp aesthetic, even the curves of Dominique Renaud’s initials are transformed into precise, hard-edged geometric forms. The hour and minute hands are complemented by a «real» second wheel (one step by second exactly). A true natural complication !

At the heart of the movement is the DR01 TWELVE FIRST’s new blade resonator, which compels us to revisit everything we know of mechanical watch regulators. With this new system, the DR01 TWELVE FIRST premieres a high-frequency, low-friction oscillator, whose high quality factor allows for an experimental-type “lost beat” détente escapement associated with a specific adjustment device.

This high frequency resonator/escapement combination, used as a true R&D lab, will provide the watch with unprecedented energy e iciency while ensuring optimal accuracy, a result which some have called the Holy Grail of mechanical watchmaking.