That meeting in 2016 was the first of many, leading to a friendship between Dominique Renaud and Julien Tixier where their talents perfectly complement one another. Together, they combine the creative force of an R&D laboratory with the precision of a production workshop.
This collaborative effort led to the creation of an extraordinary secular calendar: the Tempus Fugit, conceived by Dominique and crafted by Julien in his Vallée de Joux workshop. Two and a half years would go into developing the world's smallest secular perpetual calendar. Featuring a unique complication that never fails to astonish, this piece - nominated for the Grand Prix d'Horlogerie de Genève in 2022 - incorporates the Gregorian calendar for 9,999 years.
This first project manifests the quintessence of watchmaking: a constant quest for handcrafted excellence, to ever more accurately track the passage of time.
Then, in 2023, Dominique and Julien outdid themselves again. For the biennial Only Watch charity, they set themselves one of the most complex watchmaking challenges: simplifying the mechanisms of a grande complication. It became an unprecedented deep dive into world of the secular perpetual calendar. The underlying mechanics were completely rethought, giving this watch a heart that is both compact and modular - with a level of detail and finish that is extraordinary.
The international watchmaking community's reception of these two unique pieces was resounding. For Dominique and Julien, making their partnership official came as the natural next step. Thus was born Renaud Tixier, the fusion of two names as a powerful symbol in the world of haute horlogerie.
Renaud Tixier benefits from a robust manufacturing and distribution infrastructure, enabling a focus on small-scale production runs. This approach ensures the creation of watches with exceptional finishes to the highest standards of quality - true to the pioneering and visionary ethos of its creators.
The intent is to forge new paths by questioning established theories and conventional practices in watch mechanics. Piling on meaningless sophistications is not on the agenda.
7 original innovations will be developed and created by Dominique and Julien. They want this adventure to be participative, with the ambition to become a source of inspiration for horological creativity:
“Today, collectors want to be directly and personally involved in the ongoing project.”
-Julien
An opportunity that only independent watchmakers can provide.
Each of these 7 innovations will be integrated into a watch named after a day of the week.
Kicking off this illustrious series, the Monday takes the stage as Renaud Tixier's very first creation. Its innovation lies in a micro-rotor paired with an energy propulsion device dubbed “the dancer”: a piece of micromechanics engineering that offers a new take on the fundamental principle of watchmaking - energy.
Balancing simplicity with emotion, the “Monday” encapsulates years of development in a single day.
