Technical review of the Cleguer Horology Inspiration One. This inaugural timepiece from independent watchmaker Mathieu Cleguer has instantly captured the attention of serious collectors ahead of the GPHG 2026 awards. Developed over nine years of rigorous engineering research, this exceptional creation introduces a proprietary, self-starting dual-wheel system dubbed the Innate Escapement. Housed in a beautifully proportioned 38.5mm case, it represents a profound leap forward in movement architecture, marrying classical Breguet-inspired philosophy with modern independent hand-finishing.

Review: Cleguer Inspiration One

The initial “Souscription” series was housed in Grade 5 titanium (priced at CHF 56,000 and completely sold out). The GPHG candidate and subsequent production batches of 12 pieces are rendered in white gold and precious metals. Retail Price: CHF 103,200 for the precious metal editions, inclusive of VAT.

The Mathieu Cleguer Inspiration One is one of the most mechanically ambitious independent debuts at the 2026 Grand Prix d’Horlogerie de Genève (GPHG), nominated in the Complication category. Crafted by independent movement engineer Mathieu Cleguer in collaboration with designer Lee Yuen-Rapati, the watch has taken nine years to develop. It positions itself as a serious contender by tackling one of watchmaking’s holiest grails: a modern, reliable reinterpretation of Abraham-Louis Breguet’s natural escapement. 

Quick video of the watch

The case, dial and hands

The case is a simple 36mm round case with curved lugs. The lugs feature a stepped design. A very thin bezel transitions to a minute/second chapter ring at the periphery. And the entire dial side of the movement is exposed. This provides the opportunity to showcase the finishing techniques which are superbly executed by Mathieu. The design is done by watch artist Lee Yuen-Rapati, and of note is that the maker’s mark is not visible on the dial. It is seen only on the inside wall of the case.

The base plate of the movement is visible and carries a champagne hued frosting. The edges are beautifully in a high polish anglage. Visible on the front is the jewel of the mainspring barrel which on the dial side is finished in a sunray brush. The jewel sits in a chamfered opening in the plate and held in place by a beautiful gold chaton.

The long central seconds hand has its own black polished steel cock, and also sits in a gold chaton. The hour and minute hands are displayed in a sub-dial at the 2 o’clock position. The hands are blued steel and feature Cleguer’s own design which is very attractive. It shows the time over a champlevé grand feu enamel sub-dial, with a subtle reference to the Breton flag (where Mathieu is from) at the 12 o’clock marker.

The movement

The Innate Escapement: A Modern Evolution of Chronometric Physics

To understand the mechanical significance of the Cleguer Horology Inspiration One, we take a look at the limitations of Abraham-Louis Breguet’s classical échappement naturel. Breguet had originally set out to improve on the Swiss Lever escapement. The Swiss Lever escapement requires the impulse pallets to slide across each other to deliver power and to lock the escapement. With this sliding, the escapement suffers from friction, losing power and requiring lubrication. The Breguet échappement naturel avoids this by delivering the impulse tangentially to the balance. But to do this, he designed a system using dual escape wheels. As one wheel locks, the other wheel delivers the impulse. Back and forth. However, the resulting geometry meant that the torque can only be delivered in a small section of the arc as the balance swings around its equilibrium position. This arc where torque is delivered is much smaller than in the Swiss Lever it is meant to replace. Further, the design geometry also necessitates that the balance at rest when the balance spring is in equilibrium has the entire escapement in a neutral position. This means that the escapement is unable to restart after stopping, as there is no way to deliver an impulse to the balance when the balance is in this neutral equilibrium position. The torque of just the mainspring as it is being wound is insufficient. In the Swiss Lever, the rest position is to not neutral. The lever rests on one side or the other, so when torque is available from the mainspring, the escapement flicks into action due to the in-equilibrium and restarts the balance.

Mathieu set off to solve this problem for the double escape wheel. He calls his escapement the Innate Escapement. This escapement improves over the classical Breguet system by locking and delivering impulse from the same escape wheel, whereas Breguet locks on one wheel and impulses on the other. The Breguet system limits the lift stage, whereas the Cleguer system offers a much wider angle where torque is applied.

Also, the Innate Escapement is able to self start due to its geometry. The two escape wheels interlock with each other as they are driven by the same train, but engage with the escapement lever system via two escape wheels. In the neutral position with no power from the mainspring, one of the escape teeth on one of the wheels rests in contact with its corresponding pallet. The geometry guarantees that this condition is met by either of the two escape wheels, as the escape teeth are offset by one tooth. When torque is reintroduced to the gear train as the mainspring winds, the escape wheel tooth in contact with the lever will advance and impulse the pallet, knocking the balance out of equilibrium and starts the oscillation.

Movement finishing

Movement finishing is judged to be top grade. The finissage includes all the essential elements of haute horlogerie, and more. The base plate for is in maillechort and finished with Côtes de Genéve. The bridges are also in maillechort and finished with a matte frosting. The anglage is executed to near perfection, with a number of sharp inward and outward angles. The bridge holding the double escapement system is in black polish steel, and also beautifully anglaged. The jewels sit within bevelled openings in the plates held by gold chatons.

Also of note is the barrel. The finishing is superbly executed with snailing. The barrel click and the spring holding it is in steel and black polished, sitting on the bridge with three pins. The click engages with wolf’s teeth on the barrel. And a Malteze Cross arrangement prevents the barrel from moving once the main torque curve is depleted, restricting the power reserve to just 36 hours.

The finishing is also applied to the dial side, as seen above. The main plate is frosted on this side (it had Geneva waves on the movement side), and features a warm champagne tone. The bridge holding the balance wheel is a in steel, and black polished with bevelled edges.

Competitive Landscape

The landscape of well running watches with natural escapement is a rarified indeed. Here are some suggestions on potential inhabitants.

Urban Jurgensen UJ-2 and Kari Voutilainen Vingt-8 offer a different look at the double escape wheel natural escapement. The technical details are beyond the scope of this article, but the UJ-2 pricing is almost spot on the CHF 105k mark, and offers equally beautiful aesthetics, albeit a very different one. The watch is no doubt almost equally compelling. This is a hard choice with no possibility of making a mistake. Either is excellent.

Another is the Frodsham Double Impulse Chronometer. The system used is based on a design by Derek Pratt, and uses two complete trains sending impulses to a single balance wheel using a natural escapement system. Thus, quite different.

And yet another is the Lederer Central Impulse Chronometer, which is closer the Frodsham than it is the the Cleguer or the Voutilainen designs. But it too offers an interesting alternative to the landscape, aslo appearing to be at a similar pricing level.

Concluding thoughts

The Cleguer Inspiration One is a very compelling watch. The pricing is competitive, though not by any means inexpensive, I feel it delivers at every level. The concept deserves praise. For a young watchmaker to attempt to improve on the work of A.L. Breguet takes not only courage, but great talent. And to carry it off at this superlative level is impressive indeed.

Aesthetically, the mechanical aspect is very well done. The dial side draws one into the watch, and captivates the attention. The finishing on this side, as well as on the back, is superlative. This level of finishing is equal to any of the high end independents: think Greubel Forsey, David Candaux, Rexhep Rexhepi. Indeed Mathieu spent several years in Rexhep’s workshop from 2016 to 2017 spending the majority of his time contributing to the development of the complex AK-06 and AK-07. In the design of the Inspiration One, I can see the influence from the AK-07.

Cleguer Inspiration One Specifications

	Technical Specification
Brand	Cleguer Horology
Model	Inspiration One
Watchmaker	Mathieu Cleguer
Case Material	Grade 5 Titanium (Souscription) / 18k White Gold
Case Dimensions	38.5 mm Diameter × 12.0 mm Thickness
Dial	Grand Feu champlevé enamel, off-centered at 2 o’clock
Escapement Type	Proprietary self-starting “Innate Escapement” (Dual-wheel architecture)
Balance Wheel	12.9 mm oversized titanium balance wheel
Power Reserve	36 hours with dedicated caseback indicator
Production Limit	Limited to 80 total movements across all editions
Competition Context	GPHG 2026 Competing Candidate