Horage Revolution 3 MicroReg Will Revolutionise Watchmaking

Without beating around the bush, regulation is one of the nerdiest subjects in horology. The art of making a watch’s movement as precise a timekeeping device as possible by adjusting the effective length of a balance spring to make it run faster or slower in order to reduce deviation as much as possible. However, unfortunately mechanical regulation hasn’t seen a major innovation in a long time as brands focus on electric alternatives such as Spring Drives. Which is where the new Horage Revolution 3 MicroReg comes in, bringing revolution back to regulation and potentially changing the entire landscape of how watches are regulated.

The Importance of Regulation

Before we talk about the new watch, it’s important to understand that mechanical regulation is by its very nature something of an imprecise science. A watch’s accuracy can be affected by a huge number of factors ranging from weather to temperature to magnetic fields and beyond – which is why accuracy is often given as a range of values such as -4/+6 seconds per day to account for this variability. Meaning that depending on where you live, how often you wear a watch and what you use it for, the regulation of your watch might need to be different to keep it running as true as possible.

In an ideal world, it would make sense for you to be able to adapt the regulation for your watch to match the conditions of your surroundings. However, traditionally only watchmakers are able to regulate watches because it involves disassembling parts of the case and using specialist equipment, making it incredibly inconvenient. Often we’ll leave it to the experts at COSC or one of the other centres to tell us that a movement is regulated well and leave it at that. And this is something Horage aim to drastically change.

Horage MicroReg Regulator Device

That brings us to the new Horage MicroReg device, which they’ve integrated into the Revolution 3 MicroReg wristwatch. In short, the MicroReg is a purely mechanical device (developed alongside Horage’s technology partner Miniswys SA) that means anyone is capable of regulating the watch. You don’t have to open the case, you don’t have to send it to a specialist – all you need is yourself, your watch and the special tool provided.

The special tool interfaces with the case of the watch via two ports at 4 and 10 o’clock, allowing you to regulate the movement by plus or minus 0.1 second with the press of a button. So, if the watch is running fast, you can slow it down and vice versa. Horage do advise that some horological knowledge may be required in order to understand the degrees to which it should be regulated in order to achieve accuracy, but the act of using the adjustment tool is itself simple.

Importantly, the MicroReg device itself, which consists of a miniature actuator made from ceramic with a metallic carrier, is only engaged with the movement while the adjustment tool is in use. This means that there is zero energy draw from the device during the daily functioning of the watch, so it has no impact on the running of the watch.

It also means that it could theoretically be retroactively fitted to almost any movement, as evidenced by the fact that Horage have fitted it to their in-house K2 micro-rotor calibre. If widely adopted, it would totally change how collectors interact with their collection – changing the arcane science of regulation into part and parcel of owning a watch and putting the power to correct a watch’s accuracy into the hands of regular people.

Horage Revolution 3 MicroReg Watch

In order to showcase the MicroReg technology to its fullest, Horage have created the Revolution 3 MicroReg. The name comes from it being, by their own description, the third major revolution in wristwatch accuracy and regulation. Following on from other innovations like the development of silicon escapements. The watch itself is one of Horage’s most technical and Avante Garde designs.

Off the bat, the entire movement has been flipped inside the 42mm steel case in order to reveal the inner working of the movement from the dial side of the watch. You can see the micro-rotor at 9 o’clock, above which is the MicroReg device. The entire movement is also presented in a peacock blue colour with the signature K2 grid pattern and Côtes de Genève finishing. At 6 o’clock there’s an aperture revealing a rotating disk that displays the time, with hours marked alongside five-minute intervals – the first time Horage have used a display like this.

Interestingly, because the movement is flipped, the exhibition caseback reveals a timekeeping display with hours, minutes and seconds. It has an industrial style in keeping with the technical appearance of the front. Around the edge are several inscriptions including the phrase “Quest to Zero”, which is Horage’s slogan in reference to seeking a deviation of 0 seconds per day through the MicroReg.

When is it Available?

At time of writing, the Horage Revolution 3 MicroReg is a long way off from hitting the market. The project is expected to take 24 months to complete, meaning delivery is expected in late summer 2026. However, because of this they are producing a Founder’s edition at a price of CHF 3,900 excluding taxes (approx. £3,400). Plus you can become a Founder Supporter for CHF 150 to receive a CHF 300 voucher at launch for use across the Horage webstore – so you can support the project without having to buy the Revolution 3 MicroReg. Will the watch revolutionise our experience of horology? Check back in 2026.

More details at Horage.