SJX Watches
Renaud Tixier Debuts with the Monday Micro-Rotor
Already collaborators on several projects, Dominique Renaud, one of the founders of Renaud & Papi, and Julien Tixier, a young watchmaker and constructor, have established Renaud Tixier, a brand backed by investors. The inaugural creation of Renaud Tixier is Monday, a time-only watch with an automatic movement sporting a novel micro-rotor. Conceived to realise Mr Renaud’s many concepts and inventions, Renaud Tixier also aims to blend the styles of the two watchmakers. Each of the namesake founders comes from a different generation of watchmaking – pre- and post-Quartz Crisis – but the duo enjoy a shared philosophy that have made their past projects a success, something they are hoping to replicate with Renaud Tixier. Initial thoughts On a macro level, the Renaud Tixier and its first watch are noteworthy for a few reasons. One of its main points of appeal, at least initially, is the name, specifically Dominique Renaud. Even though he departed Renaud & Papi (APRP) over 20 years ago, his name still carries weight, particularly since many alumni of APRP, Anthony de Haas of Lange and Carole Forestier of TAG Heuer for instance, speak well of him. The name will certainly help sell the watch, particularly in countries with a strong reverence for creators and history, like Japan for example. And the fact that it’s a micro-rotor is noteworthy. Though relatively common in high-end watchmaking, micro-rotors are rare amongst independent watchmakers. The most prominent indie mak...
