Not all images were able to load for printing. Please close the print window and try again. Pequignet Releases a New Royale Paris Chronograph with a BPM Tempo Tracker
A tribute to French Touch electronic music, the Royale Paris Chrono features a beats-per-minute scale and a funky gradient dial.
Pequignet was founded in 1973 in Morteau, the historic heart of French watchmaking in the Jura mountains. In the early 2000s, the brand made a bold decision to become an integrated French manufacture and launched its first in-house Calibre Royal in 2011. The brand’s fortunes stabilised in 2021 when it joined Enowe Excellence, a family-owned French investment firm determined to revitalise French artisanal houses. Earlier this year, Pequignet released its first chronograph, and although its name – Royale Paris Chronograph – suggests the presence of the calibre Royal, it is powered by the brand’s slimmer automatic Calibre Initial. Proud of its French roots, the latest chronograph celebrates French Touch electronic music and features a beats-per-minute timer to track music tempos.
Originating in France during the 1990s, French Touch is a vibrant style of electronic dance music pioneered by groups like Daft Punk. The new chronograph pays tribute to this genre with its BPM scale designed to capture a wide range of tempos, from slow 60 BPM reggae grooves to 110-140 BPM French Touch house music, and beyond 140 BPM to track high-energy trance music. Operating like a traditional medical pulsometer, instead of counting heartbeats, it counts musical tempo. By activating the chronograph and counting 30 drum bass kicks, you can calculate the beat of the track. Displayed on the dial’s periphery against a black background with turquoise markings, the 35 to 180 BPM timer features graphic sound bars that look like an audio equaliser display between noon and 2 o’clock.
The funky horizontal gradient on the dial shifts from an electric blue area in the top half to black in the lower half. Like the earlier chronograph, the dial features a smooth circular trench between the peripheral BPM scale and the dial’s centre, straddled by faceted hour markers. The snailed black sub-dials also suggest the texture of vinyl records and display running seconds at 3 o’clock and the 30-minute chronograph totaliser at 9 o’clock. The sharp hour and minute hands are treated with luminescence, and the dial is protected by a domed, glassbox-style sapphire crystal.
The 39.5mm stainless steel case is 12.7mm thick and can handle depths of 50 metres. Adding a touch of sportiness, the case flanks are recessed, and the chronograph pushers are classic piston-style. Satin-brushed surfaces with crisply delineated, polished bevels highlight the case’s architecture, and the lugs are individually produced and then attached.
Although the watch belongs to the Royale collection, it is powered by the brand’s fifth movement, the Calibre Initial: a slimmer (4.2mm) automatic base topped with a cam-actuated module developed by Dubois-Depraz. Running at 28,800vph, it provides a robust 65-hour power reserve.
The Royale Paris Chrono BPM is paired with a black Cordura strap and a steel ardillon buckle. It joins the permanent collection and retails for EUR 6,950 or USD 7,950. More information at pequignet.com.
