David Candaux DC6 Wildfire Captures The First Light Of The Risoux

A limited-edition tourbillon transforms a fleeting sunrise over the Vallée de Joux into a study of carbon, titanium and light.

The David Candaux DC6 Wildfire captures a very specific moment in the landscape surrounding the watchmaker’s workshop in Le Solliat. At first light, the sun reaches the Risoux ridge from the east, illuminating the tops of the spruces while the valley floor remains cold and in shadow. For only a few minutes, the entire ridge takes on an intense orange glow before the light moves down towards the pastures and the forest returns to its natural colours. The Wildfire translates that brief event into a highly technical and intensely personal timepiece.

The DC6 Wildfire follows the Night Forest introduced in March 2026, sharing its fundamental architecture, UD carbon construction, 30° inclined flying tourbillon and remarkably low 45-gram weight. What distinguishes the new edition is its interpretation of first light: a bright orange anodized titanium dial extending from the centre to the perimeter, produced as a strictly limited edition of just eight pieces.

From Forged Carbon To UD Carbon

Carbon is central to the DC6, but David Candaux chose unidirectional carbon rather than forged carbon. Forged carbon is produced from fragments of carbon fibre embedded in epoxy resin, creating a characteristic irregular surface but also introducing structural limitations. UD carbon follows a different principle, using continuous fibres running through the entire thickness of the material, with the resin playing a secondary role. This allows forces to travel along the fibres rather than concentrating around resin-flake interfaces, resulting in a more homogeneous and mechanically coherent material.

The visual character of UD carbon is equally important. The material is constructed from ultra-thin 30-micron plies stacked precisely, with each layer rotated 45 degrees relative to the previous one. When light moves across the case, these successive layers appear as regular veins and undulations, giving the carbon a directional quality reminiscent of the grain of aged wood. Combined with titanium, the material selection is intended to provide both durability and lightness, while preserving the appearance of the case over time.

Titanium Dressed In Carbon

The case architecture is designed around the physical properties of carbon. Because the material is porous, the movement is first enclosed within a titanium chamber that provides the necessary water resistance. The case band and bezel are then constructed from UD carbon and secured by titanium stretchers running the full length of the case and naturally extending into the lugs. The entire structure is assembled mechanically, without adhesives.

The result is a 45mm case that measures 11.29mm thick and offers 50 metres of water resistance, while weighing only 45 grams. The case combines the technical character of UD carbon with curved titanium side lugs that are microblasted, satin-finished and hand-polished. The natural titanium plates featuring the hand-finished Pointes du Risoux guilloché remain framed by a black PVD-coated titanium ring, while the distinctive Magic Crown is also topped with carbon.

The Colour Of First Light

The orange dial is one of the defining elements of the Wildfire. Its domed shape follows the architecture of the movement, while a hand-applied sunburst finish creates striations that radiate from the centre towards the perimeter. As the wrist moves, the light interacts differently with the surface, giving the dial a constantly changing appearance.

The colour itself is produced through titanium anodization rather than a conventional coating. During the process, the titanium is placed in an electrolytic bath and subjected to a precisely controlled electrical current, creating a transparent titanium dioxide layer within the metal’s surface. Because the colour depends on the thickness of this layer and therefore on the applied voltage, the process leaves very little room for variation. The Wildfire dial uses a particularly narrow range to achieve its intense orange tone, while the same principle produces the blue of the tourbillon cage at a different voltage.

A translucent lacquer is then applied over the dial, amplifying the reflections created by the hand-finished sunburst pattern without changing the underlying colour. Against this intense orange surface, the black applied numerals and hour markers provide the necessary contrast, while the graduated minute track anchors the composition around the perimeter.

Four Textures, One Dialogue

The sensory character of the DC6 Wildfire extends beyond its visual appearance. The Pointes du Risoux guilloché, executed by hand on titanium, creates a surface that can be appreciated through touch as much as through sight, while the sapphire domes draw the eye towards the movement below. The architecture therefore combines several materials and textures without allowing one to overwhelm the others.

The side lugs retain the cool and precise feel of bare titanium, while the UD carbon introduces a warmer, smoother and more tactile surface. The Magic Crown continues this contrast by combining titanium with a carbon cap, making the transition between the two materials perceptible beneath the fingertip. It is a deliberate dialogue between materials that serves both the technical construction and the character of the watch.

The H74 Calibre

The H74 calibre is developed entirely in-house at David Candaux’s workshop in Le Solliat. Its bridges and mainplate are made from Grade 5 titanium, chosen for its corrosion resistance, anti-magnetic properties, thermal stability and low weight. The wheels are made from beryllium copper, while the axles, pinions, pins and screws use stainless steel, with every component crafted and finished by hand.

At the heart of the movement is a 30° inclined flying tourbillon that completes one revolution every 60 seconds. The inclination is intended to provide a genuine mechanical advantage on the wrist by allowing the regulating organ to address a greater number of positions over time. The small seconds display is integrated directly into the tourbillon cage, while the movement’s cascading bridges are inclined by 3° relative to the case to create a changing sense of depth through the sapphire caseback.

The movement contains 287 components and 47 jewels, with a 35mm diameter and 6.20mm thickness. Two fast-rotating coaxial barrels coupled in series provide a 55-hour power reserve, indicated by a hand at 12 o’clock. The variable-inertia balance wheel uses gold adjustment screws and operates at 21,600 vibrations per hour, or 3 Hz, while the Phillips terminal curve hairspring completes the regulating system.

The movement finishing is equally elaborate, with hand-polished bevels, 18 mirror-polished inward angles, straight graining, pearling beneath the bridges and the special hand-finished “Côtes du Solliat” treatment. The tourbillon cage itself weighs only 0.35 grams and is made from blue anodized titanium, creating a direct visual connection with the orange anodized dial.

The Magic Crown

The Magic Crown is one of the defining architectural features of David Candaux watches. The conventional crown at 3 o’clock has been removed to create the Maison’s characteristic balance between horizontal symmetry and vertical asymmetry. Instead, the crown is positioned at 6 o’clock and retracts completely into the case when it is not being used.

Its mechanism draws inspiration from the retractable ballpoint pen and its bistable cam. A press deploys the crown and another press retracts it, with the complete system comprising 31 components. The mechanism has been tested through 28,000 activation cycles, corresponding to four presses per day over twenty years without measurable wear. It offers three positions — neutral, time setting and winding — while remaining water-resistant to 50 metres in every position.

A Forest At The Other End Of The Night

The Wildfire continues the story established by the Night Forest, but approaches the Risoux from the opposite end of the night. While the earlier model represented the forest at nightfall, with green disappearing into black beneath the spruces, the Wildfire captures the same landscape at daybreak, when the first sunlight reaches the ridge and turns it orange while the valley remains in shadow.

This connection to the landscape is deeply personal to David Candaux, who grew up beneath the Risoux and now works at its foot. The forest gives its name to the Pointes du Risoux guilloché and provides the collection with its sense of time. The relationship between the forest and the watch is also reflected in the carbon itself, whose veined structure evokes the lines and patterns of wood.

The contrast between the materials reinforces the concept. Carbon and titanium are highly technical materials associated with performance and lightweight engineering, while the orange and blue surfaces introduce the colours of a natural landscape. The Wildfire therefore sits between the mechanical and the organic, translating a brief moment in the forest into an object designed to last far beyond it.

Eight Pieces

The David Candaux DC6 Wildfire is limited to just eight pieces. Each example is paired with a handmade black rubber strap featuring orange topstitching and a Velcro clasp engraved with the David Candaux logo. The watch was unveiled on September 2, 2026, carries a 10-year warranty and is priced at CHF 248,000.

The DC6 Wildfire turns an event lasting only a few minutes into a highly considered mechanical composition. Its orange dial represents the first light reaching the Risoux, while its blue tourbillon, UD carbon case and hand-finished titanium elements bring together the technical and natural worlds that define David Candaux’s approach to contemporary independent watchmaking.

Technical Specifications

For more information, please visit the official David Candaux website.

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