Just weeks before Geneva Watch Days 2026, the Fondation Dominique Renaud confirms that it does not simply wish to accompany the evolutions of contemporary watchmaking: it intends to take part in its intellectual transformation. True to its vocation of exploring the many dimensions of time, the Neuchâtel-based institution unveils a new season built around three major projects. A colloquium devoted to cosmology, a significant advance in the experimental watchmaking project Memento Vivere, and the upcoming creation of a collaborative space for independent watchmakers all reflect an ambition that reaches well beyond the mere measurement of time.
In a sector where mechanical precision often takes centre stage, the Fondation Dominique Renaud reminds us that a watch is above all the reflection of a reflection on time itself. A singular approach that is today its strength.
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Amplitude II: when cosmology meets watchmaking
After a well-received first edition in 2025 devoted to lived time and narrated time, the Foundation radically shifts perspective with Amplitude II. The colloquium, held on 3 September at the Geneva Watch Days pavilion, this time turns to cosmological time under a particularly evocative title: “Le Temps de l’Univers, le Temps que Nous Imaginons”.
The question may seem dizzying, yet it goes to the very heart of watchmaking: does time exist independently of our perception, or is it merely a construction of the observer? A philosophical inquiry that today finds an echo in the most advanced research of contemporary physics.
To feed this reflection, the Foundation will bring together four leading figures of world cosmology: Thomas Hertog, a former collaborator of Stephen Hawking; Janna Levin, a specialist in black holes and gravitational waves; Katie Mack, whose work focuses on the possible scenarios for the end of the Universe; and Didier Queloz, the 2019 Nobel laureate in physics for the discovery of the first exoplanet orbiting a Sun-like star.
Moderated by the French-British journalist Louise Ekland, these exchanges promise to offer a fresh perspective on a notion that runs through fundamental physics as much as watchmaking creation.
The initiative reflects a strong conviction held by Dominique Renaud: watchmaking cannot continue to innovate without engaging in dialogue with other scientific, philosophical and artistic disciplines.
Memento Vivere reaches a decisive milestone
Another important announcement of this new season: the Memento Vivere project now enters an active phase of development.
Born in 2024 from a partnership between the Fondation Dominique Renaud and the École nationale supérieure de création industrielle (ENSCI), this concept devised by designer Benoît Porte-Proust moves radically away from traditional displays of the hour.
Its principle is as simple as it is fascinating: to make the passage of time physically visible. Instead of indicating the hours in a conventional way, the dial slowly evolves over the years through an extremely gradual embossing process. Time is no longer merely read; it leaves a tangible imprint on the material.
After eighteen months of research, the mechanical principles of the movement have been validated, and the first functional tests confirm the relevance of the concept. The teams are now entering an essential phase devoted to material experiments and to the development of a dedicated test bench.
This approach perfectly illustrates the philosophy championed by the Foundation: to document every stage of the creative process in a spirit of open science, so that the knowledge acquired can benefit the entire watchmaking community.
Artificial intelligence in the service of independent watchmakers
The third announcement is probably the most structuring for the future of independent creation.
The Fondation Dominique Renaud is preparing to launch a collaborative digital space aimed at independent watchmakers, engineers and creators. The goal is to foster the exchange of knowledge and to prevent promising ideas from disappearing for lack of the skills needed to move them forward.
The originality of the project lies in the development of an artificial-intelligence engine specifically designed for watchmaking. Unlike generalist tools, this artificial intelligence will incorporate the technical vocabulary, the history of movements, the mechanical constraints and the know-how specific to the discipline.
Its role will not be to replace the work of designers, but to support them by identifying avenues already explored, connecting similar problems, or suggesting links with other scientific fields.
This approach could profoundly change the working methods of independent watchmakers, who have traditionally kept a certain confidentiality around their research.
Thinking about time before measuring it
Through these three initiatives, the Fondation Dominique Renaud pursues an ambition that is uniquely its own: to place reflection on time back at the centre of watchmaking innovation.
While the industry often focuses its discourse on technical performance, new materials or complications, the Foundation reminds us that watchmaking was above all born of a universal question: what is time?
By bringing together physicists, designers, engineers and watchmakers, it opens a rare dialogue between disciplines that seldom meet, yet share the same quest for understanding.
This 2026 season thus marks a new step in the building of a true laboratory of ideas, where fundamental research, watchmaking experimentation and emerging technologies converge to imagine the representations of time of tomorrow. A singular approach that confirms that the future of watchmaking is not decided solely in manufacturing workshops, but also in the ideas that inspire them.
Frequently asked questions
Amplitude II, a colloquium linking cosmology and watchmaking; a decisive new development phase for the experimental Memento Vivere watch project; and the upcoming launch of a collaborative digital space for independent watchmakers.
It is the second edition of the Foundation’s colloquium on representations of time, held on 3 September 2026 at the Geneva Watch Days pavilion under the title “Le Temps de l’Univers, le Temps que Nous Imaginons”. This edition explores cosmological time and how our perception shapes it.
Four leading cosmologists — Thomas Hertog, a former collaborator of Stephen Hawking; Janna Levin, a specialist in black holes and gravitational waves; Katie Mack, known for her work on how the Universe might end; and Didier Queloz, the 2019 Nobel laureate in physics — with the discussion moderated by journalist Louise Ekland.
An experimental watch project born in 2024 from a partnership with the ENSCI and designed by Benoît Porte-Proust. Rather than displaying the hours conventionally, its dial slowly changes over the years through a gradual embossing process, making the passage of time physically visible. After eighteen months of research its mechanical principles have been validated.
The Foundation is preparing a collaborative digital space built around a watchmaking-specific AI engine that understands the field’s technical vocabulary, movement history, mechanical constraints and know-how. Its aim is not to replace independent watchmakers but to help them share knowledge, connect similar problems and explore new avenues.
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