It might be difficult to look to the future in an industry that values tradition and heritage so highly at times. It's possible to get the impression that the heyday of fine watchmaking, represented by brands like Abraham-Louis Breguet or even more modern ones like George Daniels, is well in the past. However, there are still outstanding watchmakers in the business today; these are people who are driven to develop without resorting to ostentatious gimmicks and who appreciate the traditional craft at its foundation. Today, two of those watchmakers joined forces to create a new brand and introduce their debut timepiece.
Should the name Renaud Tixier sound somewhat familiar, it's because the renowned Dominique Renaud of Renaud & Papi SA makes up one half of the formidable team leading the business. In the 1980s, the manufacturer made Renaud famous by securing a significant contract with IWC to assist in the development of the Grande Complication Ref. 3770, the most complex modern timepiece at the time.
However, Renaud was born into the watchmaking industry, thus his long history there began much earlier. His parents were watchmakers as well. It was while working at Vacheron Constantin that the two happened to meet. It should come as no surprise that they contributed to Dominique Renaud's early curiosity with and admiration for these mechanical items.
Renaud's quest to become a watchmaker finally brought him to Audemars Piguet in 1979, where he met Giulio Papi, another watchmaker, with whom he would go on to found Renaud & Papi SA. After establishing a second business with renowned watchmaker Christophe Claret, Renaud worked with some of the leading names in the business, including Breguet, Ulysse Nardin, Jaeger-LeCoultre, A. Lange & Söhne, Girard Perregaux, Parmigiani, Cartier, Franck Muller, and Harry Winston via the two manufacturers.
Renaud left the companies at the turn of the century in order to return to the basics of watchmaking; this approach would eventually bring him to Julien Tixier and serve as the cornerstone of the company they would cofound. By 2018, Renaud had created the completely revolutionary blade resonator, which replaced the conventional sprung balance in the DR01 TWELVE FIRST watch.
