Today, I’d like to talk to you about a brand that has a very special meaning for me. If I say a project blending the deep heritage of a Master Watchmaker with the innovative spirit of a Rising Star in watchmaking, I think you’ve guessed that I’m going to look at the brand Renaud Tixier. Before presenting their latest creation and first collaboration, let me tell you more about the paths of these two highly complementary figures.
Dominique Renaud was born in 1959 in Besançon, the cradle of French watchmaking. His parents, Marie Lise Renaud (Swiss) and Michel Renaud (French), were both watchmakers who met at Vacheron Constantin. As a child, Dominique Renaud was passionate and quickly developed a strong interest in mechanics and watchmaking, naturally following in his parents’ footsteps. A graduate of the École Nationale d’Horlogerie de Besançon in 1976, top of his class in watchmaking, he completed his military service in 1978 with the chasseurs alpins, the French army’s elite mountain unit.
His professional career began in France with various watch brands, including Lip in Saint-Étienne, where he worked in the technical department alongside the renowned watchmaker Marc Zimmermann, before joining Audemars Piguet in Le Brassus in 1979. For five years, Dominique Renaud collaborated with eminent watchmakers, including Giulio Papi. Together, they founded Renaud & Papi in La Chaux-de-Fonds in 1986, an engine-maker company (industrial capability to produce high-complication movements). The company quickly gained international renown, collaborating with prestigious brands and developing high-end complicated watches. In 1989, Dominique Renaud created a second company, RPC SA, with the celebrated watchmaker Christophe Claret. In 1992, Audemars Piguet merged with Renaud & Papi SA to form APRP.
Renaud & Papi is behind numerous groundbreaking creations that marked the history of contemporary watchmaking, contributing to the growth and fame of prestigious maisons such as IWC, A. Lange & Söhne, Jaeger-LeCoultre, Audemars Piguet, and Richard Mille. At the turn of the millennium, as the brand moved within Audemars Piguet’s orbit, Renaud & Papi served as a springboard for many talented watchmakers who have since become leading figures in creative independent watchmaking, among them Robert Greubel, Stephen Forsey, Andreas Strehler, Bart Grönefeld, and Peter Speake-Marin.
In 2000, Dominique Renaud sold his shares in APRP and moved to southern France while continuing to work for brands until his major return to Switzerland in 2011. In 2013, he co-founded Dominique Renaud SA, an independent research laboratory. During this period, Dominique Renaud developed the blade resonator, a radically disruptive innovation intended to replace the traditional balance-spring. He then created, under his eponymous brand in 2016, the manifesto watch DR01 TWELVE FIRST, a timepiece that resembled him and integrated this invention. This piece also symbolizes the meeting with Julien Tixier, then 25 years old and just opening his own workshop in the Vallée de Joux.
Julien Tixier, despite his youth, is an old-school watchmaker who does everything himself. From metal casting to the smallest screw, from counting the hairspring to technical drawings, from tempering to fine adjustments, from anglage to machining, the list is long. Among his previous achievements is a secular perpetual calendar clock. This watchmaking project turned into an epic of 3,087 hours, forcing the young watchmaker to overcome obstacles and develop meticulous time management. Then came a watch with a central balance on the dial side and double retrograde seconds. After his studies, Julien Tixier first contributed to the design, machining, and fine-tuning of an exceptional piece for Parmigiani Fleurier: the automaton “Hippologia.” In 2016, he began his career as a watchmaker at Laurent Ferrier, where he faced the trade’s rigorous demands and honed his skills. It was at this time that he discovered prototyping, a field he has embraced as his profession ever since. For three years, he managed complete watchmaking projects within the company. Julien Tixier then went freelance in the design of complex watchmaking projects. For a prestigious watchmaking house, he created, for example, a triple-axis tourbillon with minute repeater, made entirely by hand.
During the presentation of the DR01 (a horological laboratory with more than a dozen patents in a single piece) at the Geneva fair, Julien Tixier introduced himself to Dominique Renaud and asked him many questions about this watch and his work until they connected and met again at Dominique Renaud’s workshop. Dominique Renaud visualizes everything in his head, makes a few quick sketches, then builds plexiglass models to prove his points. Julien Tixier draws the construction plans, then gets to work: he cuts, machines, makes, and assembles… From that moment on, even if these two highly complementary free electrons were working on different topics, they began in-depth work to produce a first joint project in 2018.
Benoît Dubuis, president of the Fondation Inartis, dreamed of making a watch related to science, his specialty. Dominique Renaud would imagine the movement, and Julien Tixier would make the watch almost entirely. During these two years working on the “Tempus Fugit” project, they worked together to create a countdown watch that gives life expectancy with an impressive temporal microcosm designed for 9,999 years. To better understand how it works, when purchasing the watch, its owner is required to provide substantial personal information, including DNA samples, family history, and lifestyle habits. Using this data, the scientists and doctors at the Fondation Inartis can then establish a life-expectancy projection. Based on this projection, the owner’s watch is then configured in a unique, personalized way with a custom secular perpetual calendar including a countdown to the projected date of death and a personalized plaque with a message.
Then a second project saw the light of day. With the idea of optimizing rather than simplifying a complication reducing the number of components while increasing the number of functions, they developed for Only Watch, with the brand Furlan Marri, a secular perpetual calendar with only 25 additional components on the La Joux-Perret G100 movement. Compact, modular, and with perfect finishing, this latest creation testifies to the duo’s relentless quest for innovation. For the record, this collaboration makes perfect sense since Andrea Furlan contributed to the DR01 design while working for Dominique Renaud for four years. The birth of this brand in 2023 bearing their two names is therefore no surprise but rather an evidence, and it was made possible by bringing together a fine team currently numbering about a dozen people.
On Monday, March 18, 2024, they presented this brand project, which symbolizes the perfect alliance between tradition and innovation, where timeless mastery and forward-looking vision come together. Together, Dominique Renaud and Julien Tixier want to shape the watchmaking of tomorrow. On the agenda: seven fundamental principles of micromechanics to push haute horlogerie beyond the simple combination of complications. For Dominique Renaud and Julien Tixier, this is more than a goal, it is a mission. Together, they wish to demonstrate that the watchmaking art is not limited to grand complications and their variations (tourbillon, perpetual calendar, striking mechanisms, etc.), as diverse and sophisticated as they may be. Contrary to dominant practices in today’s luxury watchmaking, their approach is not to highlight mechanics by playing with every facet of sophistication. Instead, they intend to open new paths by questioning usages, theories, and everything that seems taken for granted.
First of all, the central question of energy. For their first iteration, they decided to introduce an innovation designed to improve the efficiency of the micro-rotor while preserving the elegance of a traditional three-hand dress watch. Small, elegant, and allowing a better visual appreciation of the movement’s architecture and artistic quality, this assembly is too rarely the subject of studies or developments despite its potential for both aesthetic and functional improvement; it is a mechanism that has evolved little since its industrial standardization in the 1930s and 1940s. The spirit of the brand is embodied by its “Monday” collection, the first step in a seven-stage journey into the world of micromechanics. Each stage will be linked to a distinct technical concept and a day of the week. Focused on high-efficiency energy production, Monday presented an ingenious micro-rotor mechanism capable of converting the tiniest wrist movements into running time. Now, let’s move on to the presentation of one of the variations presented this year in a limited production of seven pieces for these Geneva Watch Days 2025 in collaboration with Olivier Vaucher.
Table of Contents – Renaud Tixier Monday Organica
What are the features of the Renaud Tixier Monday Organica?
Case
The Renaud Tixier Monday Organica features an all-platinum case, water-resistant to 3 ATM. Measuring 40.8 mm in diameter with a thickness of 10.5 mm (12.6 mm with the slightly domed sapphire crystal) and a 51.3 mm lug-to-lug, this case wears very well thanks to its very short, curved and highly profiled lugs. In terms of finishing, the case presents polished surfaces on the elements seen from the front, straight-grained satin on the visible side areas, and hand-engraved case flanks as is the space behind the lugs, magnificent, I love it.
Dial
The Renaud Tixier Monday Organica is adorned with a dial combining hand engravings across multiple levels, grand feu enamel, and textured surface treatments to create a miniature landscape that shifts with the light. To make a single dial, a total of 112 hours is required breathtaking. A translucent blue enamel covers the hand-engraved motifs, evoking a kaleidoscopic interpretation of the movement’s architecture and components. The result is a subtle, cryptic reflection of the watch’s mechanical ballet. For my part, the sunray engravings made me think of a peacock unfurling its feathers, very poetic, this dial lends itself to multiple interpretations.
Movement
The Renaud Tixier Monday Organica houses the RVI2023 movement quite airy entirely designed and developed in-house. Beating at 18,000 vibrations per hour (2.5 Hz), it delivers a power reserve of more than 60 hours. It is distinguished by being built around the patented micro-rotor system, inspired by energy-recovery systems used in the automotive world. This mechanism had to follow a very simple sequence: optimize the energy released by the rotor and exploit the slightest joule to power the watch. It features an ultra-thin inertia wheel mounted at the center that captures wrist movements more efficiently than conventional rotors. It feeds the mainspring via a compact gear train while preserving the movement’s thinness.
The balance spring, placed along the rotor, acts as a mechanical amplifier and a damper: it stores and releases elastic energy to amplify the rotor’s torque, smoothing the winding during brief motions. This helix driven by an intelligent, flexible spring, literally dances at the heart of the mechanism, aptly named the “dancer.” After establishing this basic principle, Dominique Renaud refined his vision by focusing on another characteristic of his “dancer.” By adding a “leg” and a “foot,” he was able to make the dancer both a motor and a shock absorber. The system thus acts as an active safety device, capable of absorbing the most violent shocks and converting their energy, like the strings of a tennis racket, which store energy before releasing it like a catapult.
This notable micro-rotor is platinum plated with gold, with a barrel ratchet cover that is hand-chiseled and finished in violet grand feu enamel (a color which, in the work of painter Vassily Kandinsky, represents Monday), echoing the dial’s hues. The finishes are meticulous but never merely ornamental. You’ll find 187 inward angles executed by hand, black-polished titanium surfaces, polished bevels, circular perlage, Côtes de Genève, and a palladium balance.
Strap
The Renaud Tixier Monday Organica comes with a blue grained-calf strap, hand-stitched using the “wallet” technique (turned edge), underlining the watch’s artisanal know-how. The same strap in black leather is also available on request.
What is the price of the Renaud Tixier Monday Organica?
The Renaud Tixier Monday Organica is a limited edition of only 7 pieces, all pre-sold to date. Its price was around CHF 125,000, i.e. about AED 574,100, and each will bear the signatures of the two creators on the caseback, testifying to the co-creation spirit of this partnership.
Renaud Tixier Monday Organica: a crossroad piece of craftsmanship and avant-garde engineering
The Renaud Tixier Monday Organica is a very successful first model, especially with this collaboration with Ateliers Olivier Vaucher. Liking a little less the designs of the first dials, which I find too pure and sober, I appreciate this artistic and offbeat side that truly characterizes these two figures. They are non-conformists who always seek something new and refreshing. I also like their philosophy: working for their own pleasure and giving pleasure to people, because watchmaking is a passion beyond reading time. With their project, Dominique and Julien give their interpretation of time and seek to offer a vision of the watches of tomorrow.
In terms of corporate structure, Renaud Tixier heads a larger watchmaking Manufacture, the Manufacture Dominique Renaud, which brings together divisions dedicated to development and production. While the brand’s watches remain ultra-exclusive, the company adds to this an agile and scalable production line, capable of adapting to market needs and, in time, serving third-party clients. Supported by private investors familiar with the sector, the group aims to be a long-term partner for global high-watchmaking distributors, with an emphasis on talent management and honoring the founders Dominique Renaud and an academy.
This piece combines the patented micro-rotor technology with the artistic mastery of the dials from Ateliers Olivier Vaucher, offering a watch as close to a kinetic sculpture as to a high-precision instrument. I wanted to thank the Renaud Tixier teams for opening their doors to me, and especially my good friend, Hugues de Vanssay, who contributed in his own way to where I am today.
Renaud Tixier Monday Organica – Watch Specifications
- Brand: Renaud Tixier
- Model: Monday Organica
- Case Material: Platinum
- Dial: Mixed métiers d’art techniques by Ateliers Olivier Vaucher, including multi-level hand engraving and grand feu enamel
- Functions: Hours ; Minutes
- Movement: RVI2023, Self-Winding, 18’000vph frequency (2.5Hz), 274 parts
- Power Reserve: 60 Hours
- Water Resistance: 3 ATM
- Crystal: Domed Sapphire
- Caseback: Sapphire
- Case Dimension: 40.8mm × 12.6mm
- Lug to lug : 51.3mm
- Strap: Blue grained calf leather with Platinum Pin Buckle
- Availability : Limited Edition of 7 Pieces – SOLD OUT
- Retail Price: 125’000 CHF (excluding VAT)
Do you already know this watch brand? What does this piece inspire in you? Feel free to share your thoughts in the comments.
For more information about Renaud Tixier, click here.
