The new DW5 Empreinte, a one-of-a-kind creation belonging to the Maestri’art collection, stems from collaboration between Denis Flageollet, founder and master-watchmaker of De Bethune and Clara Martin, designer and winner of the first De Bethune/ECAL prize in 2019.

The challenge was to find a new way of developing the colour black which becomes matter. The black colour has been frequently used by Denis Flageollet for many De Bethune models and is an omnipresent theme in Clara Martin’s work. Empreinte thus marks the culmination of a lengthy process of research, experimentation and sharing know-how between the two designers.

The pictural research Empreinte (imprint)

As a designer Clara Martin is developing an investigation into black and the way in which light is drawn. She is expanding this research through graphic experiments, textures and shapes that she classifies by creating a taxonomy. This method of classification allows her to combine her eclectic treatments of black in order to create objects that “sum up” her research.

Her objective with these objects is to change the current perception and connotations of the colour black, which she no longer treats as such, but as a material, regarding it as “material-colour”. She strives to prove that this colour is much more powerful and sensitive than we think. It is both incredibly demanding and a source of freedom and infinite projection.

After a long period of research and constant dialogue with the De Bethune workshops, solutions were implemented to soften the material and redesign the Dream Watch 5, while retaining its identity.

The Empreinte (stamp) of technical innovation

With the DW5 Empreinte, De Bethune examines the notion of time through a poetic object that defies any prejudices regarding black and metal. To divert their potentially pejorative symbolism, an unexpected watch was created, vulnerable through its delicacy and evoking a meditative state.

Denis Flageollet, with his experience of blackened metal and his work on the bluing of titanium, took up the technical challenge imposed by the graphic choice of linking for the first time the very different processes of oxidation of titanium in order to achieve textured, mottled blue and black patterns.

The Empreinte (impression) left on the material

Engraver Michèle Rothen exercises her craft with peerless meticulous care. In this latest Dream Watch, she has surpassed herself in expressing her skills through the quality of structures serving to create an almost volume-like expression of pictural research.

This involved infinitely accurate craftsmanship, coupled with acknowledged top-flight artistic talent. Working with this material was a particularly arduous task on this model given the considerable complexity of engraving titanium (a metal even tougher than steel). The concentration of so many different tracings is a feat in itself.

Playing with these superimpositions represents an additional challenge. It is all about making titanium – a material of unequalled strength and coldness – tender and sensitive. About subtly modifying each surface state, each micro-detail, each depth effect, in such a way as to “enhance” the graphic research. As if redrawing the model one last time.

The caseback features a more restrained approach focused on drawing out and accentuating the structural lines of the watch’s volume.

The legendary Empreinte (mark) made by Pierre Soulages

Pierre Soulages is a great French master painter who has dedicated his life to obstinately working on black and on light. At over 101 years of age, the French artist continues his research in his studio in the south of France. He was the first artist in the world to modulate and play with volumes, shades and shimmering colours in order to redirect light according to a unique rhythm and movement in each of his works.

According to Pierre Soulages, “Black is the most vehement way to bring light into being”, as he proves with his “outrenoir” (beyond black) creations, a series of purely black paintings that captivate observers by the power and fragility of these works sometimes measuring several metres high.

When Clara Martin came face to face with one of these “outrenoir” masterpieces, she wondered whether it was possible to convey this impression not through a large-scale bas-relief work of art but instead through functional objects. This is where she began her work of exploring the drawing of light through black.

De Bethune presents DB25GMT Starry Varius, a slim and elegant traveller’s watch that combines traditional expertise with cutting-edge technology.

The new DB25GMT Starry Varius watch incorporates all the inherent codes of the DB25 Starry Varius collection, namely a polished grade 5 titanium case with a 42 mm diameter, a starry sky accompanied by its Milky Way, perfectly integrated open-worked lugs, and a screw-down sapphire caseback providing a glimpse of the movement.

Starting from the centre, the dial indicates the date on the first disc with the help of its jumping date hand, which can be adjusted via a corrector at 6 o’clock. The hours of the first 24-hour time zone (home or reference time) are marked by the microsphere in a mysterious manner, as it appears to be floating weightless in its corridor.

This function can be set in both directions (clockwise/counter-clockwise) via the crown. Local time, i.e. the second time zone, is indicated by the blued hands whose curvature follows the relief of the dial. The minutes hand naturally remains coordinated with the reference time, while the hours hand indicates the local time thanks to the second time zone. Local time can also be set by the crown, in both directions.

Despite its complex construction, the mechanical GMT movement is very simple to use, with concentrically arranged functions. First of all, the owner uses the crown to set his reference time, known as home time, which is indicated by the microsphere on the 24-hour dial.

Representing De Bethune’s technical signature since its development of the three dimensional moon-phase display, this microsphere indicates day and night thanks to its two halves: one blue and the other pink. It gradually turns at 6am and 6pm, thereby imitating sunrise and sunset. Secondly, the wearer sets his second time zone by means of the hours hand which is controlled via the crown pulled out to the second position.

In the centre of the curved dial, you can view a poetic vision of the sky by day and by night. A polished pink gold sun in the centre of a microlight shines over half the disc, while the celestial vault is delicately outlined on the blued polished titanium section. The vision provided is of a miniature night sky, dotted with a multitude of small white gold pins delicately and individually driven into a blued titanium dial. The Milky Way is then hand-crafted using micro laser strokes and 24-carat gold leaf.

Visible through the sapphire caseback, the reverse side of the movement reveals the latest titanium balance with white gold inlays. This organ has the ability to neutralise the effects of temperature variations thanks to its interaction with the balance spring featuring the “De Bethune” flat terminal curve. Its aerodynamics has also been worked on so as to ensure minimal air resistance. The escape-wheel is made of silicon both for the lightness of the material and to increase the power of the calibre.

The regulator is held in place by a triple pare-chute system which combines a titanium bridge integrating two jewels held in place by a leaf-spring system pressing on the jewels. The two barrels, which are partially visible, have a five-day power reserve thanks to a self-regulating energy mechanism.

This timepiece is equipped with the latest hand-wound Calibre DB2507. This is the 29th movement from De Bethune, which once again demonstrates bold technical mastery and expertise by fitting a GMT movement into a Starry Varius case and reproducing a miniature starry sky. The complication and its display have been entirely redesigned with a view to optimising legibility and operating convenience, thereby ideally meeting travellers’ expectations.

De Bethune presents a green dial version of its DB27 Titan Hawk. Available in a limited edition of 10 numbered pieces, this new edition features a 43 mm case in grade 5 titanium and a green microlight dial with sandblasted steel minute hands with hand-polished steel tips.

Revived in 2018 with the new AUTOV2 self-winding movement, the DB27 Titan Hawk draws its inspiration from the design and technology of its predecessors while adding an innovative touch.

At Basel-world 2018, the brand unveiled DB27 Titan Hawk in two dial versions: silver-toned or blue. In 2021, De Bethune welcomes a green dial version.

The new DB27 Titan Hawk with green dial is equipped with the latest AUTOV2 caliber, hour, minute, second, which features a single barrel providing 60 hours of power reserve. The last titanium balance with white gold inserts remains visible on the back of the watch. Developed in-house, the movement is equipped with an optimized oscillating weight made of titanium and tungsten alloy.

Each detail is rethought and reworked to find the elegance and readability of an object above all functional. Juxtaposing Roman numerals and Arabic numerals, the reading of the time is given around rings located at the periphery of the dial. The time display on the green dial is punctuated by sandblasted steel hands with hand-polished white tips.

The new DB27 Titan Hawk timepiece is accompanied by a khaki green canvas strap. The watch boasts all the De Bethune codes: the patented mobile lugs, the crown at 12 o’clock, a microlight decoration on the middle and the green microlight dial.

Technical details

Model: DB27 TITAN HAWK
Reference: DB27TIS4V2ww

Functions
Hours, Minutes, seconds

Movement
AUTOV2
Type: Mechanical self-winding movement
Adjustment: Winding and setting the time (2 positions)
Number of parts: 217
Jewelling: 29 jewels
Diameter: 30 mm
Power reserve: 60 hours
Titanium balance wheel with white gold inserts, De Bethune Patent (2004) improved settings qualities
“De Bethune” balance-spring with flat terminal curve, De Bethune Patent (2006)
Steel escape wheel
Optimized oscillating weight in titanium and alloy of tungsten
Frequency: 28,800 vibrations per hour
Adornment: Hand-crafted finishing and decoration

Display
Hours and minutes hands in sandblasted steel with white hand
Polished steel ends Seconds hand in hand-polished steel

Dial
Green microlight
Silver-toned chapter ring with Roman numerals
Silver-toned minutes circle with Arabic numerals placed around the rim of the dial

Case
Case material: Polished grade 5 titanium, with middle microlight
Case diameter: 43 mm
Case thickness: 9 mm
Lugs: Short floating lugs in brushed grade 5 titanium, De Bethune Patent (2006)
Crystal: In sapphire crystal (hardness of 1800 Vickers) with double antireflective coating
Case back: Open in brushed grade 5 titanium
Sapphire crystal (hardness of 1800 Vickers) with double antireflective coating
Water resistance: 3 ATM

Strap
Canvas
Buckle: Pin buckle in grade 5 titanium

Edition
Limited edition of 10 numbered pieces

De Bethune presents a new version of its iconic “DB28XP” watch. Limited to ten numbered pieces, this timepiece has a black zirconium case and a meteorite dial featuring distinctive geometric shapes.

Believed to have struck planet Earth more than one million years BCE, somewhere between Finland and Sweden on the banks of the Muniono River, Muonionalusta Meteorite is probably the world’s oldest known meteorite to date. The first fragment was discovered in Sweden, in 1906. Composed mainly of iron and nickel, it is distinguished by the perfectly geometrical lines of its 60° angle cross-hatched “Widmanstätten” pattern.

The dial of the DB28XP Meteorite is adorned with this ancestral stone. A metal alloy that endows the dial with a distinctive texture, along with geometrical patterns aligned in a precise way that makes each timepiece special and unique.

De Bethune’s mastery of the thermal oxidation of metals has once again enabled it to raise the level of complexity by creating a starry sky accompanied by its Milky Way on a previously blued meteorite dial. This azure shade results from the heat released by the chemical reactions of the heated meteorite.

Dotted across this blue dial surface is a multitude of small white gold pins, delicately driven in between the different shapes and thicknesses of the octahedral geometrical structures. Like tiny suspended marbles, these glittering flashes of light endow the celestial vault with its aura of timeless depth. In addition to bringing a unique fragment of space to the wrist, each sky is different: the customer can choose a given constellation, according to a precise sky map, at a specific date, time and place.

Alongside its classically inspired round, ultra-thin crown at 12 o’clock and its hunter-type back typical of pocket watches, the DB28XP Meteorite’s ultra-light, polished black zirconium case with patented floating lugs nevertheless asserts the watch’s modern and futuristic character.

The DB28XP Meteorite features the distinctive graphic codes of the Manufacture, with a zirconium hour circle, minutes ring bearing Arabic numerals and the discreet De Bethune signature at 12 o’clock, complemented by pink gold hands identical to those on the DB28XP Starry Sky dial. The design of the Microlight engraving and the slenderness of the case reflect De Bethune’s contemporary expression of watchmaking art.

Stemming from De Bethune’s research into materials and new processes, the use of zirconium for the case represents a natural and sustainable alternative for achieving a black colour. The hardness of the metal and its stable oxidation, which does not deteriorate at room temperatures, are key assets in guaranteeing the resistance and durability of a watch exterior.

The hand-wound movement is equipped with the De Bethune balance, visible through the 6 o’clock dial aperture. It represents the outcome of a consistent physical and mathematical approach to improving its operation undertaken by De Bethune. It is equipped with the latest technical advances, including an adjusted diameter, the use of titanium, as well as small white gold weights placed around the rim and endowing it with remarkable inertia, reliability and regulating properties.

De Bethune has equipped this model with its very own balance spring. Its centre of gravity is maintained in the very centre by means of a flat curve affixed to the outside of the balance spring. Differences in the thickness of the blade further enhance the almost perfect precision of its concentric development. The numerous advantages include reduced thickness, improved adjustment of the concentricity quality, finer adjustment of the index (regulator) and no more need for its pins, while the shape of the curve even acts as a shock absorber in case of impacts.

Technical details

Model Name: DB28XP Meteorite
Reference: DB28XPZM

Function
Hours, Minutes

Movement
DB2115v7
Type: Mechanical hand-wound movement
Adjustment: Winding and setting the time by means of the crown (2 positions)
Technical features of calibre DB2115v7
Number of parts: 175
Jewelling: 27 jewels
Diameter: 30 mm
Power reserve: 6 days, ensured by a self-regulating twin barrel, De Bethune Innovation (2004)
Titanium balance with white gold inserts, optimised for temperature differences and air penetration – De Bethune Patent (2016)
De Bethune balance-spring with flat terminal curve De Bethune Patent (2006)
Silicon escape wheel
Frequency: 28,800 vibrations/hour
Adornment: Hand-crafted finishing and decoration

Dial
Titanium dial with “microlight” decoration – De Bethune Innovation (2007)
Anthracite hours ring with transferred Arabic numerals in pink
Transferred circular satin-brushed titanium minutes ring
Starry sky with white gold stars
Dial featuring an opening revealing the balance, surrounded by a chamfered blue polished steel rim
Polished pink gold hands

Case
Case material: Mat anthracite zirconium with “microlight” case middle
Case diameter: 43 mm
Case thickness: 7.2 mm
Lugs: Mat anthracite zirconium floating lugs – De Bethune Patent (2006)
Crystal: Sapphire (1,800 Vickers hardness) with double anti-reflective coating
Caseback: Solid, in mat anthracite zirconium; Engraved ring in blued circular satin-finish titanium; Mat anthracite zirconium plate with “microlight” decoration and De Bethune logo
Water resistance: 3 ATM

Strap
Extra-supple alligator leather with alligator lining
Buckle: Mat anthracite zirconium buckle and pin

The independent Geneva watch maker De Bethune presents DB28GS “Yellow Submarine”, a new diving watch in a specially developed titanium that reflects the colors of fire.

In 2019, De Bethune developed a warm colored titanium with natural shades of amber and flame blonde. De Bethune has chosen this unique material to create bezel, caseback, lugs, dial, hands and buckle of the new DB28GS “Yellow Submarine” watch. The case middle is made from Black zirconium.

Available in a limited edition of 25 pieces, the DB28GS “Yellow Submarine” was designed and developed to be a resolutely sporty watch. Based on the observation that a sports watch must be perfectly readable in any kind of weather and every possible situation, a very special and ingenious lighting system has been developed.

Therefore, to illuminate the watch and the movement from the inside, a light source is produced by a fully mechanical means that works on the dynamo principle. A pusher located at 6 o’clock activates a small gear train driven by the twin barrel. This gear train, by means of a miniature dynamo, provides the necessary energy for lighting the watch. A few seconds of light is more than enough to read the time, even in the middle of the night or in the abyssal depths of the ocean.

In modern diving watches, the rotating bezel serves to enable accurate calculation of immersion time, as well as the transition through various decompression stops. Generally, all the numerals relating to the minutes counter are indicated on the bezel, which tends to create a more crowded visual effect. For the DB28GS “Yellow Submarine”, these indications appear on the sapphire crystal driven by the bezel. This developed in the workshops of the Manufacture in L’Auberson enables the model to remain elegantly slender and instils a pleasing casual chic aesthetic.

The watch houses the in-house DB2080 mechanical movement. Hand-wound, with central seconds and a five-day power reserve indicated on the dial, the movement is equipped with a high-tech in-house-made balance wheel. The presence of the titanium / white gold balance wheel and balance-spring with flat terminal curve ensures an ideal mass / inertia ratio for an optimal frequency of 28,800 vph suitable for wristwatches.

It is endowed with numerous properties – such as optimised efficiency, reliability, regulating quality, thermo-compensation, anti-magnetism – leading to concrete results, since De Bethune has already improved the efficiency of its sprung-balance-escapement ensemble by achieving a 20% increase in power reserve.

The calibre is also equipped with the triple pare chute system. De Bethune was not only the first to design a bridge symmetrical held on both sides and thus serving to maintain the balance wheel perfectly in position, but also added two shock absorbers on either end as well as that of the balance wheel itself.

Water-resistant to 105 metres (10 ATM), the DB28GS “Yellow Submarine” is no exception to the strict rule of wearer comfort that De Bethune applies to its models in general and particularly to the DB28 collection. This exceptional comfort stems from a combination of the light feel of the titanium case, the softness of its hand-polished finish, the 12 o’clock crown position and above all the presence of the patented system of floating lugs that adapt to wrist size and movements.

The model is delivered with two straps: a canvas version and a striated natural rubber iteration with titanium folding clasp.

Technical details

Model: DB28GS “Yellow Submarine”
Reference: DB28GSV2Y

Functions
Hours, Minutes, Seconds, Power reserve indication between 9 and 10 o’clock, unidirectional rotating bezel, manual dial lighting

Movement
DB2080 Mechanical hand-wound movement
Adjustment: Winding and setting the time by means of the crown (2 positions), push button at 6 o’clock to activate the lightening
Technical features of calibre DB2080
Number of parts: 400
Jewelling: 51 jewels
Diameter: 30 mm
Power reserve: 5 days, ensured by a self-regulating twin barrel – De Bethune Innovation (2004)
Specificities: Titanium balance wheel with white gold inserts, optimised for temperature differences and air penetration – De Bethune Patent (2016)
“De Bethune” balance-spring with flat terminal curve – De Bethune Patent (2006)
Silicon escape wheel
Triple pare-chute shock-absorbing system – De Bethune Innovation (2005)
Dial lighting produced by an entirely mechanical means working on the dynamo principle powered by a twin barrel and manually controlled via a pusher- De Bethune Innovation (2019)
Frequency: 28,800 vibrations per hour
Adornment: Mirror- polished yellow grade 5 titanium motion-work bridge
Plate and barrel bridge covers in hand-smoothed yellow grade 5 titanium and adorned with “Microlight engraving” – De Bethune Innovation (2007)
Hand-snailed barrels
Hand-polished and chamfered steel parts

Display
Yellow titanium hours and minutes hand with inserts, luminescent tip
Yellow titanium sandblasted by hand minute hand, luminescent tip
Polished steel seconds hand with luminescent tip
Power-reserve indicator between 9 and 10 o’clock

Dial
Satin-brushed and yellow grade 5 titanium minutes dial with cut-out Arabic numerals
Rotating bezel crystal with metallised minutes ring

Case
Black zirconium case middle with “Microlight” decoration, yellow brushed grade 5 titanium caseback and bezel
Diameter: 44 mm
Thickness: 12.8 mm
Floating lugs in yellow brushed grade 5 titanium with yellow polished grade 5 titanium inserts – De Bethune Patent (2006)
Crystal: In sapphire crystal (1800 Vickers hardness) with double anti-reflective coating
Case back: open in yellow brushed grade 5 titanium
Water resistance: 10 ATM

Strap
Natural rubber strap + 1 canvas / leather strap
Buckle: Folding clasp + pin buckle in yellow brushed grade 5 titanium

As a tribute to Día de Muertos (the Day of the Dead) celebration in Mexico, De Bethune has created DW5 Cempasúchil, a one-of-a-kind creation from the brand’s Maestri’art Collection.

The De Bethune DW5 Cempasúchil timepiece was co-created by Denis Flageollet (master watchmaker and founder of De Bethune) and Michèle Rothen, a talented Swiss Art engraver. This unique timepiece has drawn its artistic inspiration from the engravings of José Guadalupe Posada (1852-1913), the legendary Mexican engraver and chisel virtuoso.

Inscribed in 2008 on the UNESCO’s Representative List of Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity, EL Día de los Muertos (the Day of the Dead) is the highlight of the Latin American festivities, with rivers of orange petals from the bouquets of Cempasúchil blossoms that line alleys and bathe them in the intense scent of marigolds, guiding the spirits of the deceased on their journey home.

Cempasúchil is the name of Mexican marigold (also known as Aztec marigold) flower. Traditionally, Mexicans refer marigold as La Flor de los Muertos (the flower of the dead) and since ancient times it has been used in the Día de Muertos celebrations. According to beliefs, the petals of the Cempasúchil flower (marigold) retain the warmth of the sun and embody the divine.

The name stems from Cempohualxochitl, meaning ‘twenty flowers’ in Nahuatl, the indigenous language of the Aztecs who used it for decoration at burials. The eternal love of Xochitl, materialized by this flower, could heal diseases because it was believed they come from sadness or fear, and true love can heal all.

There have been and are many watches on the subject of skulls and the Day of the Dead, but none of them inspired by the engraving of Mexican artist José Guadalupe Posada.

Posada was an engraving genius and his work has become part of the national heritage of Mexico, especially since the centenary of his death in 2013. The engraver of calaveras (‘skulls’ in Spanish) offers images of skeletons more alive than the living. At the heart of his creations, the queens of the festival, the calaveras, are everywhere.

Smiling skulls, hilarious skeletons coquettishly prancing about in top hats and boaters, Posada’s distinctive eye and hand capture an imagery that overflows with life. With more than 15,000 catalogued engravings, his legacy remains immense. On the exterior of the DW5 Cempasúchil watch, the 19th century artwork of Posada is interpreted with the contemporary talent of Swiss Art engraver Michèle Rothen, working in close concert with Denis Flageollet.

Where Posada etched his calaveras on flat zinc plates, Denis Flageollet and Michèle Rothen miniaturize them to the extreme, only to give them more relief and volume. On the outside of the timepiece, the watchmaker recreates a phantasmagorical world inspired by the engravings by Posada. Among these engravings, standing above the time display window is La Calavera Catrina (Catrina Ljazmun a Calavera Garbancera), the famous Calavera artwork of Posada and an icon of the Mexican Día de Muertos.

Reaching beyond the challenge of a contemporary reinterpretation of the Mexican artist’s engravings, Denis Flageollet and Michèle Rothen introduce the additional technical challenges of not only working with a titanium case, but also of having it flame-blued, hand-engraved, and decorated for the first time with delicate gold inserts, as well as engraved to magnify the Cempasúchil blossoms. And to take the level of difficulty a few notches higher still, several different types of 18K gold alloy are used.

White gold, yellow gold, rose gold, green gold (an 18K gold combined with a smidgeon of silver), and a new ‘marbled’ gold (a blend of white gold, rose gold and yellow gold): Denis Flageollet’s unrivalled knowhow is given free rein at De Bethune’s own foundry in Sainte Croix, enabling him to create new shades of the precious metal to underline the piece’s floral elements. Thanks to a new technique developed in his workshop, the metals seem to naturally harmonize and join together. The multiple levels and shades of the decoration offer a magnificent and subtle visual depth accentuated by the engraved parts.

You will also notice a small two-colored sphere that indicates the moon phases. Composed of two hemispheres, joined and polished, one of blued steel and the other of palladium, the sphere guides the eye to the minimalist digital hours and minutes display, visible through a hand-cut crystal cabochon whose making requires rare mastery.

Between engraving and micro-sculpture, Michèle Rothen’s work surpasses all standards. Infinite and infinitesimal precision coupled with a Swiss artistic talent that is recognized as among the best. Engraving was particularly difficult on this piece because titanium already presents a challenge in itself. Combining it with gold was an insane challenge.

Engraving them together added yet another degree of difficulty. First, because of the challenge of getting two diametrically opposed metals to coexist: strong and stiff titanium with soft and malleable gold. Second, because the temperatures at which the two metals can be worked are very different.

To make this timepiece, Denis Flageollet used titanium that he patiently machined, preparing it for the gold inserts, until he obtained the perfect fit for the piece, working it not only before the engraving stage, but also again afterwards, then in the fire to tint it, then on the workbench to polish it by hand, revisiting the state of the metal surfaces at each stage, each microscopic detail, each relief, even sparing some parts to ‘lift’ the design as a means of perfecting the whole.

Also made of titanium and 18K gold, the back of the watch is adorned with an immense skull, ‘another true calavera’ decorated with multiple flowers, with two large eye sockets, through one of which the movement’s balance-spring can be admired.

Technical details

Model: Maestri’Art DW5 Cempasúchil
Reference: DW5

Functions
Hours, Minutes, Spherical moon-phase indication

Movement
Calibre DB2144V2
Mechanical hand-wound movement
Number of parts: 355
Jewelling: 32 jewels
Diameter: 30 mm
Power reserve: 5 days, ensured by a self-regulating twin barrel – De Bethune Innovation (2004)
Silicon annular balance encircled by a white gold – De Bethune Patent (2010)
“De Bethune” balance-spring with flat terminal curve – De Bethune Patent (2006)
Silicon escape wheel
Spherical moon-phase indication with an accuracy of one lunar day every 1112 years – De Bethune Patent (2004)
Frequency: 28’800 vibrations per hour
Adornment: Hand-crafted finishing and decoration
Adjustment: Spherical moon-phase adjustment and setting the time by means of the crown, adorned by 1 carat rubies (3 positions)

Display
Jumping-hour aperture at 3 o’clock in blued titanium
Analogue minutes indicator on a dragging rotating disc
Spherical moon-phase indication in palladium and flamed blued steel with an accuracy of one lunar day every 1112 years at 6 o’clock – De Bethune Patent (2004)

Dial
Frame of the jumping-hour aperture in blued grade 5 titanium

Case
Delta shaped case in colored titanium with gold 18K inserts hand-engraved
Diameter: Length 58 mm – width 47 mm
Case thickness: 16 mm
Crystal: Curved hard-mineral crystal cut by hand
Case back: Closed and screwed down case back in colored titanium with gold inserts with aperture on balance wheel
Hard-mineral crystal (1800 Vickers hardness) with double antireflective coating
Water resistance: 3 ATM

Strap
Karung leather bracelet, hand sewn with pin buckle
Buckle: Pin in colored titanium, hand engraved and buckle in rose gold

De Bethune celebrates the 10th Anniversary of the brand’s iconic DB28 watch by unveiling a set of three watches in 2020. All three timepieces, all true to the DNA of the DB28, are interpretations of the same theme, independent of each other yet linked by their history, the work that went into them, the brand cues they reflect.

When the first DB28 was launched in 2010, De Bethune’s idea was to present a timepiece with an identity all its own and a resolutely futuristic vision of the art of watchmaking. The design of the timepiece embodies the code of the Maison. The distinctive case shape, the crown at 12 o’clock inspired by pocket watches. It is on this timepiece that De Bethune’s unique and innovative – and patented – floating lugs, designed also to significantly improve comfort, demonstrated their self-evident purpose. Since then, the DB28 has continued to express the past, present and future of watchmaking culture through its various iterations.

De Bethune DB28XP

With this most absolute version, De Bethune explores the universe of ultra-thin watches. Throughout the quest of designing an ultra-thin watch, De Bethune was driven as much by the technical challenge as the aesthetic challenge, by the complexity of ‘finesse’.

Monochromatic by design, the DB28XP is first and foremost a reference to the very first
DB28. It’s about all the levels at which one experiences a timepiece, its layers, reliefs, the light playing with shadows and reflections. This titanium watch reveals an architectural fusion of space, time and light that lingers long after the first glance.

The dial is entirely made of Microlight, which offers a modern take on traditional guilloche technique. On this generous flat surface, the new technique takes on its full meaning and reinforces the structure. By playing with light and shadow, it adds depth and offers a more architectural and dynamic result. The watch as whole becomes more contemporary.

The delta-shaped main plate – a De Bethune hallmark – is finished to perfectly reflect ambient light. A tone-on-tone pattern surrounds the central part of the elliptical dial, subtly revealing the movement’s wheels. Finally, as a discreet De Bethune signature, the blued titanium inserts in the hands at the centre.

The hand-wound movement features De Bethune’s balance wheel, visible through the dial thanks to an opening at 6 o’clock. Its diameter is not too large, either. Made of titanium, it is equipped with small white gold weights placed on the outside to give remarkable qualities of inertia, reliability and regulating ability.

The extremely fine balance spring maintains its true centre of gravity with a flat terminal curve affixed to the outside of the balance-spring. Differences in the thickness of the blade add to the almost perfect precision of its concentric development. Among the many advantages: lower height, better adjustment of concentricity, finer adjustment of the racquet, no need for pins. The curve’s shape even acts as a shock absorber in case of impact. Finally, the material’s internal structure remains intact since it has been neither stressed nor bent. It is through these numerous tried and tested developments, which are constantly revisited and further improved, that De Bethune has succeeded in increasing the power reserve by 20 percent, bringing it to a total of 6 days.

Equally visible – and geometrically positioned in relation to the calibre’s plate – is the exclusive triple shock absorption system designed to protect the whole assembly. Not only was De Bethune the first to design a bridge held on both sides, symmetrically, to ensure the balance is kept perfectly in position. The Maison also added two shock absorbers at each end to supplement the shock absorber of the pendulum itself. Hence the name “triple pare-chute” or triple shock absorber, which effectively absorbs and dampens violent shocks with springs instead of screws mounted on perfectly polished axes.

Another challenge was to preserve the functionality and wear comfort of De Bethune’s famous floating lugs. The case band has been completely redesigned, with a more pronounced curvature, flowing with the lines of the wrist and lugs – whose bullets incidentally have also entirely redesigned. The plate’s Microlight finish is echoed along the sides of the case band, rendered all the more meticulously in the absence of simple geometric forms.

Technical details

Model: DB28XP
Reference: DB28XPTIS1

Function
Hours, Minutes

Movement
DB2115v6
Type: Mechanical hand-wound movement
Adjustment: Winding and setting the time by means of the crown (2 positions)
Number of parts: 194
Jewelling: 29 jewels
Diameter: 30 mm
Power reserve: 6 days, ensured by a self-regulating twin barrel – De Bethune Innovation (2004)
Titanium balance with white gold inserts, optimised for temperature differences and air penetration – De Bethune Patent (2016)
“De Bethune” balance-spring with flat terminal curve – De Bethune Patent (2006)
Silicon escape wheel
Triple pare-chute shock-absorbing system – De Bethune Innovation (2005)
Frequency: 28,800 vibrations/hour
Adornment: Hand-crafted finishing and decoration

Dial
Polished titanium hours ring with polished titanium spherical hour-markers
Circular satin-brushed titanium minutes ring
Polished titanium barrel bridge and triangular central bridge guards with straight-grained chamfered contours
Titanium dial base with “microlight” decoration centred on the balance – De Bethune Innovation (2007)
Polished titanium hands with polished blued titanium inserts

Case
Case material: Polished grade 5 titanium with “microlight” case middle
Case diameter: 43 mm
Case thickness: 7.2 mm
Lugs: Polished grade 5 titanium floating lugs – De Bethune Patent (2006)
Crystal: Sapphire (1,800 Vickers hardness) with double antireflective coating
Caseback: Solid, in polished grade 5 titanium
Engraved ring in blued circular satin-finish titanium
Titanium plate with “microlight” decoration and De Bethune logo
Water resistance: 3 ATM

Strap
Extra-supple alligator leather with alligator lining
Buckle: Grade 5 titanium buckle and pin

De Bethune DB28XP Starry Sky

Classic by inspiration with its round, ultra-thin shape, its crown at 12 o’clock and a hunter case back borrowed from pocket watches, the DB28 Starry Sky comes in an ultra-lightweight, mirror-polished titanium case fitted with redesigned floating lugs.

Inspired by DB28 Skybridge, which featured a curved sky, De Bethune raises the stakes of complexity even further by creating a blue Microlight firmament. The dial’s surface of peaks and valleys refracts light in yet more dimensions, offering a unique spectacle. Free and unconstrained, the mastery of blued titanium translates into a multitude of microgrooves that create a mesmerising optical effect.

Into the deep blue expanse a multitude of small white gold pins driven through one by one with great care and accuracy recreating the actual magic of the stars on an actual night. Glittering sparkles give the night-time heavens an endless depth. A magical experience, made all the more special by the fact that the firmament depicted is not random. The customer selects the date and hour and location, and De Bethune draws the sky map of on the dial.

The DB28XP Starry Sky features the hour circle in silver, the minutes in Arabic numerals, the discreet De Bethune signature at 12 o’clock, and rose gold hands designed especially for this edition.

Technical details

Model: DB28XP Starry Sky
Reference: DB28XPTIS3V2

Function
Hours, Minutes

Movement
DB2115v7
Type: Mechanical hand-wound movement
Adjustment: Winding and setting the time by means of the crown (2 positions)
Number of parts: 165
Jewelling: 27 jewels
Diameter: 30 mm
Power reserve: 6 days, ensured by a self-regulating twin barrel, De Bethune Innovation (2004)
Titanium balance with white gold inserts, optimised for temperature differences and air penetration – De Bethune Patent (2016)
“De Bethune” balance-spring with flat terminal curve – De Bethune Patent (2006)
Silicon escape wheel
Frequency: 28,800 vibrations/hour
Adornment: Hand-crafted finishing and decoration

Dial
Silver-toned hours ring with transferred Arabic numerals
Transferred circular satin-brushed titanium minutes ring
Titanium dial with “microlight” decoration – De Bethune Innovation (2007)
Starry sky with white gold stars
Dial featuring an opening revealing the balance, surrounded by a chamfered polished steel rim
Polished pink gold hands

Case
Case material: Polished grade 5 titanium with “microlight” case middle
Case diameter: 43 mm
Case thickness: 7.2 mm
Lugs: Polished grade 5 titanium floating lugs – De Bethune Patent (2006)
Crystal: Sapphire (1,800 Vickers hardness) with double antireflective coating
Caseback: Solid, in polished grade 5 titanium
Engraved ring in blued circular satin-finish titanium
Titanium plate with “microlight” decoration and De Bethune logo
Water resistance: 3 ATM

Strap
Extra-supple alligator leather with alligator lining
Buckle: Grade 5 titanium buckle and pin

De Bethune DB28XP Tourbillon

With this third interpretation of the DB28 theme, De Bethune rethinks the watchmaking architecture at its core and explores new codes. DB28XP Tourbillon is directly inspired by the famous dial of the DB28 Digitale.

Offering hour, minute and seconds indications in 30”, DB28XP Tourbillon features an elegant and minimalist white dial with silver reflections rendered in a hand-engraved “barley grain” guilloche pattern, highlighted by a blued hour circle.

The tourbillon positioned at 6 o’clock is a titanium creation that beats at a frequency of 36,000 vibrations per hour. It features an extraordinarily lightweight cage (0.18 gr., the lightest ever) that rotates on itself every thirty seconds and comprises 63 components (the lightest of which weighs less than 0.0001 g).

On the case back, as a nod to the Aiguille d’Or – the highest distinction of the Grand Prix d’Horlogerie de Genève – awarded to the first DB28: The position of the planets is that in the evening sky over Geneva when the prestigious prize was presented on November 19th, 2011.

Technical details

Model: DB28XP Tourbillon
Reference: DB28XPTTIS1

Functions
Hours, Minutes, 30’’ indicator via the ultra-light De Bethune tourbillon cage at 6 o’clock

Movement
DB2009v4
Type: Mechanical hand-wound movement
Adjustment: Winding and setting the time by means of the crown (2 positions)
Number of parts: 216
Jewelling: 33 jewels
Diameter: 30 mm
Power reserve: 5 days, ensured by a self-regulating twin barrel, De Bethune Innovation (2004)
Titanium balance with white gold inserts, optimised for temperature differences and air penetration – De Bethune Patent (2016)
“De Bethune” balance-spring with flat terminal curve – De Bethune Patent (2006)
Silicon escape wheel
Ultra-light De Bethune 30’’ tourbillon in titanium – De Bethune Innovation (2008)
Frequency: 36,000 vibrations per hour
Adornment: Hand-crafted finishing and decoration

Dial
Blued-polished titanium hours ring with polished hour markers. Circular satin-brushed titanium minutes ring
Silver-toned hand-guilloché barley-corn motif
Dial featuring an opening revealing the tourbillon, surrounded by a chamfered blued-polished titanium rim and a titanium seconds dial
Blued polished titanium hands with polished inserts

Case
Case material: Polished grade 5 titanium with “microlight” case middle
Case diameter: 43 mm
Case thickness: 8.1 mm
Lugs: Polished grade 5 titanium floating lugs – De Bethune Patent (2006)
Crystal: Sapphire (1,800 Vickers hardness) with double antireflective coating
Caseback: Solid, in polished grade 5 titanium with the position of the planets on November 19th 2011(Aiguille d’Or – GPHG)
Engraved ring in blued circular satin-finish titanium
Water resistance: 3 ATM

Strap
Extra-supple alligator leather with alligator lining
Buckle: Grade 5 titanium buckle and pin

De Bethune presents the DW5 Armilia, a unique piece from its Maestri’art collection.

To create this extraordinary timepiece, De Bethune has drawn inspiration from the graphic novel series The Obscure Cities by the Belgian designer and scenographer François Schuiten and his friend, writer Benoît Peeters.

Background of this novel series is a parallel universe in which humans are often left to their own devices – even though reality is never very far away – this imaginary world is composed of enigmas and mysteries. Through shadows and unusual reflections of our world subject to the principle of worrying strangeness, the authors of The Obscure Cities usher their readers into spectacularly extravagant settings while maintaining a distinctly human approach.

Within this retro-futuristic aesthetic free of any nostalgia, the stunning architecture, imaginary cartography, and oft heavy and imposing machines together constitute the driving elements of plots where science and engineering mingle with fantasy.

It is precisely in the context of this rich and extraordinary universe that De Bethune has taken an interest in Armilia: a submerged, almost entirely underground city. It is in this remote place in the far North of the imaginary Continent that the control of Time is handled, a concept oddly mingling chronology and climate disruptions.

De Bethune observes the exchanges permitted between the real world and the world of The Obscure Cities, recognizing that time does not have the same value in this parallel world. Raising the question of perfect and imperfect time, exploring this “white zone” of the work’s nonetheless incredibly rich universe, De Bethune has imagined a time measurement object, a watch directly inspired by the depiction of Armilia and its universe.

Breaking free of scales and proportions, Denis Flageollet, De Bethune co-founder and Master Watchmaker, and passionate about The Obscure Cities, has imagined a wrist-sized sculpture, engraved as a direct reference to a drawing of the City of Armilia.

Reflecting similar gestures, a dialogue was established between Schuiten’s pen & ink drawings and renowned Swiss engraver Michelle Roten, whose talents were enlisted for this particular project. The structure of the watch thus comes to life or rather creates a reflection of Armilia’s imaginary world, as if the watch were a ship setting out to explore this world. Bearing in mind the idea of achieving a depiction similar to the original drawings, it is no coincidence that De Bethune chose 18K pink gold. The warm colour of the precious metal recalls the equally warm colours characterising the drawings of the city at sunset.

With Armilia, De Bethune has created a fascinating work that it is placing like a landmark on the frontier between art and watchmaking. The watch testifies to a vision of unbridled creativity while remaining based on profound understanding and respect for the great master watchmakers of the past, whose work it transcends and magnifies.

Armilia is the result of extreme miniaturisation of its mechanism, entirely dedicated to design, of which time is only one element. A De Bethune interpretation appearing as a nod or a signature, a small two-coloured sphere indicates the moon phases. Composed of two assembled and polished blued steel and palladium half-spheres, it guides the eye towards the digital and minimalist display of the hours and minutes. All this is visible through a hand-cut cabochon-shaped tempered glass providing a chance to get a better view of this mechanism that counts off time.

Technical specifications

Model: Maestri’Art DW5 Armilia
Reference: DW5RMA

Functions
Hours, Minutes, Spherical moon-phase indication

Movement
DB2144V2
Type: Mechanical hand-wound movement
Adjustment: Spherical moon-phase adjustment and setting the time by means of the crown, adorned by 1 carat sapphire (3 positions)
Number of parts: 320
Jewelling: 32 jewels
Diameter: 30 mm
Power reserve: 5 days, ensured by a self-regulating twin barrel – De Bethune Innovation (2004)
Silicon annular balance encircled by a white gold ring – De Bethune Patent (2010)
“De Bethune” balance-spring with flat terminal curve – De Bethune Patent (2006)
Silicon escape wheel
Spherical moon-phase indication with accuracy of one lunar day every 1112 years – De Bethune Patent (2004)
Frequency: 28’800 vibrations per hour
Adornment: Hand-crafted finishing and decoration

Display
Display: Jumping-hour aperture at 3 o’clock
Analogue minutes indicator on a dragging rotating disc
Spherical moon-phase indication in palladium and flamed blued steel with an accuracy of one lunar day every 1112 years at 6 o’clock – De Bethune Patent (2004)

Dial
Frame of the jumping-hour aperture in blued grade 5 titanium

Case
Case material: Delta shaped in polished rose gold 18K
Case diameter: length 58 mm – width 47 mm
Case thickness: 16 mm
Crystal: curved Hard-mineral crystal cut by hand
Case back: Closed and screwed down case back in black titanium with aperture on balance wheel; Hard-mineral crystal (1800 Vickers hardness)with double anti-reflective coating
Water resistance: 3 ATM

Strap
Extra-supple alligator leather, alligator lining
Buckle: Pin in rose gold and buckle in black titanium

With complete mastery of the art of thermal oxidation of metals, De Bethune continues to explore all the colour shades resulting from the heat released by the chemical reactions of heat-treated steel and titanium.

Denis Flageollet, Master Watchmaker and founder of De Bethune, initially started working with his team on the blue tonality. Natural blue, a colour linked to the notion of infinity and harmony, is one of De Bethune’s main fields of research. It has become the company’s distinctive signature.

As with a luminous vibration, each colour exudes a different type of energy. True as ever to the natural colours of the four elements – sky, water, earth and fire – De Bethune now explores a warm colour (as opposed to the cool colour of blue). And so it is that the Maison reveals, in a new edition, natural shades of amber and flame blonde, reflecting the colours of fire, sun, warmth and luxuriance, along with the incomparable clarity that emerges from it, synonymous with energy, joy and vigour.

To create its own fiery, radical, magnetic yellow, De Bethune applies its famous technique of gently oxidising grade 5 titanium to tint its surface naturally. This ritual conjures an extraordinary, rare and uniform fire yellow.

This know-how is applied to the case components and to most of the movement’s components. Each element is thus individually examined to ensure the process is properly calibrated to suit shape and mass. This preliminary step is essential to obtain a range of uniform tones. However, the human touch and the typologies of the materials mean that tiny variations persist. These nuances are essential to De Bethune as they create a visual resonance that impacts the perception of the result. Indeed, the final fire yellow tone, brought about by the sum of all these variations, translates into a kind of all-encompassing vibrancy.

The iconic De Bethune DB28 features a polished grade 5 titanium case mounted on the two new floating lugs unveiled this year. Entirely redesigned, of intermediate size, harmonised and adapted to the essence of the watch, they come together in the hallmark rib, more prominent here, recalling the spirit of the first De Bethune collections.

The hand-wound mechanical calibre is fully visible and incorporates several fundamental technical discoveries. The patented spherical moon phase is located at 6 o’clock. Made of steel and palladium, it is accurate to within one lunar day every 122 years.

At the heart of the watch, the high-performance escapement developed by De Bethune features a titanium balance wheel with white gold weights and a flat terminal curve balance spring, ensuring an ideal mass-inertia ratio for the optimal frequency of 28,800 vph suitable for wristwatches. It comes endowed with manifold properties: aerodynamics, optimised efficiency, reliability, regulating quality, thermo-compensation, anti-magnetism… which deliver concrete results as attested by the 20-percent gain in power reserve achieved by improving the efficiency of the escapement-oscillator assembly.

The calibre also comes equipped with the triple “pare-choc” shock absorption system. De Bethune was not only the first contemporary manufacturer to design a bridge held symmetrically on both sides to perfectly maintain the balance wheel in position, but also to integrate two shock absorbers at each end, in addition to the shock absorber of the balance wheel itself.

All finishes are by hand, featuring a polished titanium motion work bridge, “Côtes De Bethune”- decorated bridges and rose-work grinding on the barrel ratchets. The hours are indicated by skeleton hands on spherical polished steel indices.

The whole finds its completion with an alligator strap presenting a brown buckle with a yellow pin buckle in polished grade 5 titanium, which also contributes to the practical and pleasant wearing of this timepiece.

Technical details

Name: DB28 Yellow Tones
Reference: DB28YT

Functions
Hours, Minutes, Spherical moon phase indication at 6 o’clock,
Power reserve situated on the back

Movement
DB2115V4
Type: Mechanical hand-wound movement
Adjustment: Winding and setting the time by means of the crown (2 positions)
Spherical moon phase adjustment via a corrector
Technical features of calibre DB2115V4
Number of parts: 275
Jewelling: 35 jewels
Diameter: 30 mm
Power reserve: 6 days, ensured by a self-regulating twin barrel De Bethune Innovation (2004)
Specificities: Titanium balance wheel with white gold inserts, optimized for temperature differences and air penetration – De Bethune Patent (2016)
“De Bethune” balance-spring with flat terminal curve – De Bethune Patent (2006)
Silicon escape wheel
Spherical moon phase indication accurate to a degree of one lunar day every 122 years – De Bethune Patent (2004)
Triple pare-chute shock-absorbing system – De Bethune Innovation (2005)
Frequency: 28,800 vibrations per hour
Adornment: Yellow polished grade 5 titanium plate cover
Handmade yellow grade 5 titanium motion works bridge
Barrels bridge adorned with “Côtes De Bethune” in yellow titanium
Open worked and hand sailed barrels
Rhodium power reserve indicator background decorated with “De Bethune” circular graining brown and engraved ring
Steel parts beveled and polished by hand

Display
Display: Hours and minutes hands in flame-browned steel
Spherical moon phase indication in palladium and flamebrowned steel with an accuracy of one lunar day every
122 years at 6 o’clock – De Bethune Patent (2004)

Dial
Circular-grained titanium hours ring
Moon phase bezel in polished browned titanium
Spherical polished titanium hour-markers set on a browned polished titanium circle

Case
Case material: Yellow polished grade 5 titanium
Case diameter: 42.6 mm
Case thickness: 9.30 mm
Lugs: Floating lugs in browned polished grade 5 titanium – De Bethune Patent (2006)
Crystal: In sapphire crystal (1800 Vickers hardness) with double anti-reflective coating
Case back: Screwed case back in grade 5 polished titanium that opens on a linear power reserve indicator in browned steel Sapphire crystal (1800 Vickers hardness) with double anti-reflective coating
Water resistance: 3 ATM

Strap’
Extra-supple alligator leather, alligator lining
Buckle: Brown with yellow pin buckle in polished grade 5 titanium

With DB25 Starry Varius timepiece, which is a poetic interpretation of the traditional DB25 watch, De Bethune once again displays its technical and aesthetic mastery. A personalised constellation, revisited lugs and an original 42mm case compose with delightfully pure classic imparting fresh creative momentum while showcasing horological history.

Over the past few years, star-studded dials have become an integral part of the history of the Maison. Personalised according to a specific geographical location and a given date, the gold pins are fitted one by one on this star-studded sky, thus making each model truly unique. The Milky Way pattern is then gilded using the traditional gold leaf technique and enhanced by laser beam micro milling.

With this new creation, De Bethune offers a whole new take on the sky, framed by a slender case in polished grade 5 titanium case measuring 8.8mm thick, 42mm in diameter and featuring perfectly integrated and open-worked lugs.

Like all the most recent De Bethune creations, the DB25 Starry Varius is designed to be not only pleasant to wear, but above all to reflect the brand’s characteristic elegance and refinement. The display features discreetly hand-polished rose gold hands sweeping over exactly matching hour-markers set on a silver-toned ring.

The sapphire crystal case-back with its double anti-reflective coating reveals the impeccable craftsmanship of the movement incorporating the latest De Bethune technologies. Powered by the in-house mechanical manual winding DB2105 calibre oscillating at a frequency of 28,800 vibrations per hour, the DB25 Starry Varius is equipped with the latest titanium balance wheel as well as the triple pare-chute shock absorbing system.

Technical details

Model: DB25 Starry Varius
Reference: DB25VTIS3

Functions
Hours, Minutes

Movement
DB2005
Type: Mechanical manual-winding calibre
Adjustment: Winding and setting the time by means of the crown (2 positions)
Number of parts: 160
Jewelling: 27 jewels
Diameter: 30 mm
Power reserve: 6 days, ensured by a self-regulating twin barrel – De Bethune Innovation (2004)
Specificities: Titanium balance wheel with white gold inserts, optimized for temperature differences and air penetration – De Bethune Patent (2016)
“De Bethune” balance-spring with flat terminal curve – De Bethune Patent (2006)
Silicon escape wheel
Triple pare-chute shock-absorbing system – De Bethune Patent (2005)
Frequency: 28,800 vibrations per hour
Silver plate and barrel bridge cover adorned with “Côtes De Bethune”
Hand-snailed barrels
Hand-polished, chamfered steel parts

Dial
De Bethune star-studded sky in blued and polished titanium with hand-fitted white gold pins depicting the stars
Milky Way patterns produced by laser beam micro milling, gilded with 24-carat gold leaf
Silver-toned hours and minutes ring with polished rose gold hour-markers
Hands in hand-polished rose gold

Case
Case material: Polished grade 5 titanium
Case diameter: 42 mm
Case thickness: 8,8 mm
Lugs: Integrated, hollowed lugs
Crystal: In sapphire crystal (1800 Vickers hardness) with double anti-reflective coating
Case back: Open case back in polished grade 5 titanium
Sapphire crystal (1800 Vickers hardness) with double antireflective coating
Water-resistance: 3 ATM

Strap
Extra-supple alligator leather, alligator lining
Buckle: Pin buckle in grade 5 titanium

Manufacture De Bethune is adding a new movement to its repertoire by introducing the latest in-house self-winding Auto V2 calibre, beating at the heart of an extremely modern looking timepiece. Presented in two versions during Baselworld – featuring a silver-toned or blue dial – the DB27 Titan Hawk V2 is inspired by the design and technology of its predecessors, while adding a resolutely novel touch.

Aesthetic and technical considerations are by definition inseparably entwined, as vividly exemplified in the new DB27 Titan Hawk V2 which is endowed with a number of appealing assets.

Slender lines, a microlight dial, as well as floating lugs and a brushed caseback framing a transparent sapphire crystal pane: this is a watch that stands out not only for its pared-down design but also for its entirely in-house-made movement.

Focusing firmly on essentials, the DB27 Titan Hawk V2 model is equipped with the unprecedented AUTO V2 calibre driving hours, minutes and seconds hands, making it an attractive contemporary chronometer for daily wear. Housing a single barrel ensuring a 60-hour power reserve – as well as the latest titanium balance wheel with white gold inserts visible through the transparent caseback – this movement based on in-house technology is equipped with a titanium and tungsten alloy oscillating weight providing a reliable supply of energy.

While the inspiration derived from the original DB27 Titan Hawk is readily perceptible, each detail has been rethought and redesigned so as to recapture the elegance and legibility of an object that is first and foremost functional.

Juxtaposing Roman and Arabic numerals, the time read-off appears on hours and minutes rings located around the dial circumference. In one interpretation, the silver-toned dial is swept over by mat steel hands with hand-polished, flame-blued ends, while the other is graced with a blue dial swept over by blued mat steel hands with polished ends.

The case in grade 5 titanium – brushed for the silver-toned dial version and polished for the blue dial interpretation – displays all the De Bethune signature features: patented floating lugs, a 12 o’clock crown and microlight decoration of the case middle.

This distinctive and distinguished timepiece conveys in equal measure both the avant-gardist approach of the Manufacture and its hand-crafted tradition.

Technical details

Name: DB27 Titan Hawk V2
Reference: DB27TIS3V2

Functions
Hours, minutes, seconds

Movement
AUTOV2
Type: Mechanical self-winding movement
Adjustment: Winding and setting the time (2 positions)
Number of parts: 217
Jewelling: 29 jewels
Diameter: 30 mm
Power reserve: 60 hours
Titanium balance wheel with white gold inserts – De Bethune Patent (2004) improved settings qualities
“De Bethune” balance-spring with flat terminal curve – De Bethune Patent (2006)
Steel escape wheel
Optimized oscillating weight in titanium and tungsten alloy
Frequency: 28,800 vibrations per hour
Adornment: Hand-crafted finishing and decoration

Display
Hours and minutes hands in mat flamed-blued steel, with hand-polished steel ends
Seconds hand in hand-polished steel

Dial
Royal blue microlight
Silver-toned chapter ring with Roman numerals
Silver-toned minutes circle with Arabic numerals placed around the rim of the dial

Case
Case material: Polished grade 5 titanium, with middle microlight
Case diameter: 43 mm
Case thickness: 9 mm
Lugs: Short floating lugs in brushed grade 5 titanium – De Bethune Patent (2006)
Crystal: In sapphire crystal (Vickers hardness of 1800) with double anti-reflective coating
Case back: Open in brushed grade 5 titanium
Sapphire crystal (Vickers hardness of 1800) with double anti-reflective coating
Water resistance: 3 ATM

Strap
Extra-supple alligator leather with alligator lining
Buckle: Pin buckle in grade 5 titanium

De Bethune worked on a fragment of outer space to create the Dream Watch Meteorite. Beyond classification, this timepiece reflects the philosophy developed by the brand, which is an approach involving fundamental exploration in the field of watchmaking, always seen in relation with mankind and the human universe. Among the collections, the Dream Watch brings together the most experimental creations.

The Dream Watch Meteorite completes the line, with the use of a rare material that comes from the cosmos and with a purity that is impossible to reproduce. By utilising a fragment that fell more than 4,000 years ago in Campo del Cielo, Argentina, De Bethune has created a magisterial time piece that is a witness, through its origins, to the unfathomable mysteries of the universe. At once a work of art, a philosophical object and a technical challenge, the Dream Watch Meteorite is a dream that mirrors space.

The highly intuitive design follows the organic arching lines that are spontaneously visible in nature, for example in the shape of a leaf. The execution of the design involved a profound rethinking of conventional watch-machining techniques. Composed essentially of iron (92 %) with traces of nickel and cobalt, the hard and compact structure of the meteorite has no similarity to the usual watchmaking materials.

Denis Flageollet and his team advanced step by step to come to grips with the unusual characteristics of this material. The method they adapted for working the original 3-kilo block resembled the techniques of a sculptor, with an initial examination of the raw material, to detect its irregularities and identify the best zone from which the case could be carved.

Each step in the manufacturing process was transformed into an enigma that challenged their skills, knowledge and intuition. Finished by hand, the case retains its original anthracite colour that was then flame-blued by hand, according to the traditional watchmaking technique. This process brought out the profound texture of the meteorite, which is studded with streaks and flashes that ultimately compose a snapshot of the universe.

Although De Bethune pursues a conquest of the unknown, it remains nevertheless faithful to the essence of fine watchmaking, which is to design and produce the most precious timepieces possible. In the Dream Watch Meteorite, the manually wound mechanical movement houses a high speed tourbillon developed by De Bethune. Ultra-light, weighing 0.20 grams, beating to one-tenth of a second, it makes one revolution in 30 seconds. These three key features determine the precision of a tourbillon and De Bethune has chosen the optimal performance for each of them. The calibre incorporates a number of silicon parts, including the patented balance wheel ringed in white gold, and the escape wheel.

The balance spring features the patented De Bethune flat terminal curve, developed in-house. The time is displayed digitally, through a trapezoidal sapphire aperture with a jumping-hours disc and a second dragging minute disc. In the centre, the spherical moon-phase, also a patented complication, turns regularly with such precision that it only needs to be adjusted by one lunar day every 1,112 years.

Winding and setting the time is done by means of a meteorite crown – the same material as the ardillon buckle – decorated with a large natural ruby cabochon protecting a diamond in its inner core.

Technical details

Name: DW5 Meteorite
Reference: DW5T
Limitation: Unique timepiece

Functions
Hours, Minutes, Spherical moon-phase indication at the center, 30’’ indicator via the ultra-light De Bethune tourbillon cage on the back

Movement
DB2149
Type: Mechanical hand-wound movement
Adjustment: Winding, Spherical moon-phase adjustment and setting the time by means of the crown (3 positions)
Number of parts: 356
Jewelling: 35 jewels
Diameter: 30 mm
Power reserve: 4 days, ensured by a self-regulating twin barrel – De Bethune Innovation (2004)
Specificities: Silicon annular balance encircled by a white gold ring – De Bethune Patent (2010)
“De Bethune” balance-spring with flat terminal curve – De Bethune Patent (2006)
Silicon escape wheel
Spherical moon-phase indication with an accuracy of one lunar day every 1112 years – De Bethune Patent (2004)
Ultra-light De Bethune 30’’ tourbillon in silicon and titanium – De Bethune Innovation (2008)
Frequency: 36,000 vibrations per hour
Adornment: Hand-crafted finishing and decoration

Display
Display: Jumping-hour aperture at 3 o’clock
Analogue minutes indicator on a dragging rotating disc
Spherical moon-phase indication in palladium and flamed-blued steel with an accuracy of one lunar day every 1112 years at 6 o’clock – De Bethune Patent (2004)

Dial
Frame of the jumping-hour aperture in blued grade 5 titanium

Case
Case material: Delta shaped case in solid hand polished and blued iron meteorite
Case diameter: length 58 mm – width 47 mm
Case thickness: 16 mm
Crystal: curved Hard-mineral crystal (1800 Vickers hardness) with double anti-reflective coating
Case back: Closed and screwed down case back in solid hand polished and blued iron meteorite with aperture on the 30’’ indicator via the ultra-light De Bethune tourbillon cage
Hard-mineral crystal (1800 Vickers hardness) with double anti-reflective coating
Water resistance: 3 ATM

Strap
Extra-supple alligator leather, alligator lining
Buckle: Pin buckle in solid hand polished and blued iron meteorite and blued titanium

In honour of the colour blue, a fundamental element of its identity, De Bethune presents a monochromatic range of its iconic models, DB28 and DB28T. Radical and magnetic, their colour is created by an artisanal and natural treatment of the metals.

De Bethune has devoted considerable research into natural blue, because the brand considers this colour to be symbolically related to the concept of infinity and harmony. Therefore, De Bethune has dedicated two new creations to this colour, both entirely blue, and united them under the name Kind of Blue.

At De Bethune, the colour blue is imbued with a broad and deep meaning. Evoking simultaneously water, the sky and space, the colour blue is above all envisaged as a luminous vibration by David Zanetta, Curator and Co-Counder, and Denis Flageollet, Master Watchmaker and Co-Founder. At De Bethune, each colour corresponds to a different type of energy derived from the colours of which it is composed.

To create its own blue, De Bethune relied exclusively on a traditional technique, and all the parts in titanium and steel used in Kind of Blue were treated in this manner. It consists of heating the material to colour its surface through oxidation and to modify its physical properties in the process. Since its invention at the beginning of the 16th century, the technique has been used by watchmakers to give a new lustre to watch parts without altering their finishings. It also provides protection against corrosion.

The synonym of watchmaking excellence, it requires a preliminary fine polishing, followed by a heating phase, normally by flame, to create a natural and long-lasting protective film, at the same time as it increases the hardness of the piece. Steel and iron were the only materials treated in this manner until De Bethune began its own experiments with titanium.

Finalised in 2006, the technique is now applied to the purest form of this material, grade 5 titanium. Entirely done by hand, this extremely demanding treatment involves the development of a whole new repertory of steps, because titanium has proven to be a very arduous material to remodel. To give it its definitive lustre, the artisans at De Bethune have to demonstrate exceptional tenacity with each piece they work on.

The thermal treatment for Kind of Blue is applied not only to the elements of the case, but also to most of the parts of the movement. Thus, each part is studied individually, as the process has to be adapted according to its form and its mass. This preliminary phase is essential to ensure a uniform range of tones in the finished product. However, the human touch and the different typologies of the materials result in very subtle variations. These nuances are essential for De Bethune, because they create a visual resonance that affects the appearance of the finished piece. Actually, the definitive colour comes from the sum of all these variations and it is expressed by a kind of overall vibration.

An iconic De Bethune model, the DB28 presents a case made of polished grade 5 titanium, mounted on two floating lugs to ensure superior wearing comfort. On the inside, the mechanical calibre with manual winding is fully visible and integrates several fundamental technical inventions. The patented spherical moon-phase is positioned at 6 o’clock.

Made of steel and palladium, it offers precision that varies by only one lunar day every 122 years. At the heart of the watch, the high-performance escapement developed by De Bethune presents a silicon annular balance, encircled by a white gold ring and a balance-spring with a flat terminal curve that is exclusive to De Bethune. It is protected by a triple pare-chute shock-absorbing system. Power is accumulated and distributed through two self-regulating barrels, also developed by De Bethune. An indicator needle positioned between 2 and 3 o’clock indicates the level of torque that has been built up.

The power reserve indicator can be read on the back of the plate, which is decorated with special concentric graining. All the finishes are done by hand with a motion work bridge in polished titanium, bridges with “Côtes De Bethune” decoration and rose-work grinding on the barrel ratchets. The hours are indicated by skeleton hands on arrow pointers made of polished steel.

The DB28T, a technical development of the DB28, adopts the same case in polished titanium held by double floating lugs for maximum comfort. Its mechanical caliber with hand winding is equipped with a high frequency, ultra fast tourbillon, signed De Bethune.

The lightest in the world with its minuscule 0.20 grammes for 63 parts, it beats at one-tenth of a second and makes a complete rotation in 30 seconds for superior chronometry. Its silicon balance wheel, just as its escape wheel, is encircled with a white gold ring. A self-regulating twin barrel developed in-house ensures constant torque in the movement. Entirely visible, the movement presents a curved delta motion work bridge in polished titanium decorated with applied microsphere stars in white gold.

Decorated by hand, the parts present various types of high watchmaking finishes, with rose-work grinding on the barrel ratchets and on the back, a plate with “De Bethune” concentric graining. The hours are marked by arrow pointers in pink gold, and as an added touch of luxury, indicated by skeleton hands also fashioned in pink gold.

Technical specifications

Name: DB28 Kind of Blue
Reference: DB28BTiBN /S
Vintage: Production limited to 10 pieces in 2018

Functions
Hours, Minutes, Spherical moon phase at 6 o’clock
Power reserve on case back, Performance indicator between 2 and 3 o’clock

Movement
DB2115V4
Type: Mechanical hand-wound movement
Adjustment: Using the crown (2 positions) for winding, and setting the time
Using a corrector for the spherical moon phase
Number of parts: 297
Jewelling: 39 jewels
Diameter: 30 mm
Power reserve: 6 days, ensured by a self-regulating twin barrel
De Bethune Innovation (2004)
Technical features: Titanium balance wheel with white gold inserts, optimized for temperature differences and air penetration – De Bethune Patent (2016)
“De Bethune” balance-spring with flat terminal curve – De Bethune Patent (2006)
Silicon escape wheel
Spherical moon phase indicator with precision of one lunar day every 122 years – De Bethune Patent (2004)
Blued triple pare-chute shock-absorbing system – De Bethune Innovation (2005)
Frequency: 28,800 vibrations per hour
Adornment: Handmade, blued grade 5 mirror-polished titanium motion works bridge
Plate cover and bridge cover on the barrel in grade 5 blued titanium, adorned with “Côtes De Bethune”
Barrels decorated with rose-work grinding
Power reserve indicator in grade 5 titanium, hand decorated with “De Bethune” concentric graining and blued by hand
Steel parts beveled, polished and flame-blued by hand

Display
Hand-polished and flame-blued steel hands
Spherical moon phase indicator in palladium and flame blued steel with precision of one lunar day every 122 years at 6 o’clock – De Bethune Patent (2004)
Performance indicator between 2 and 3 o’clock

Dial
Blued grade 5 polished titanium hours ring with rose gold hour-markers
Blued grade 5 satin-polished titanium minutes ring

Case
Case material: Blued mirror-polished grade 5 titanium
Case diameter: 43 mm
Case thickness: 9.30 mm
Lugs: Short or long floating lugs in blued grade 5 mirror-polished titanium – De Bethune Patent (2006)
Crystal: Sapphire (1800 Vickers hardness), with double antireflective coating
Case back: Screwed case back in blued grade 5 polished titanium that opens on a linear power reserve indicator in rose gold
Sapphire crystal (1800 Vickers hardness) with double antireflective coating
Water resistance: 3 ATM

Strap
Extra-supple alligator leather, alligator lining
Buckle: Buckle in blued grade 5 mirror-polished titanium and ardillon in rose gold

De Bethune presents the DB25 World Traveller, an intelligent watch featuring a second time zone and world time expressed with a mysterious display. The exceptional ease of use and convenient systems for setting and display make this timepiece a world première.

The DB25 World Traveller is designed to become a loyal companion for the long distance traveller. Although the invention of multiple time zones dates back to the 17th century, the readability and adjustment of the functions on a wristwatch have never been so simple and intuitive. The system is completely secure and each indication can be controlled independently. Once again, De Bethune stands out from the pack by inventing a timepiece that is simple in appearance but conceals a gem of technical intelligence.

Visually, the refinement of the DB25 World Traveller lies in the concentric arrangement of the functions. World times appear on a disc in the centre of the dial, encircled by a graduated channel in which a moving microsphere indicates the reference time – also known as the home time. This microsphere, a technical signature of De Bethune since their invention of the three-dimensional moon-phase, has two halves that allow it to also indicate day and night. One half is blue, the other pink, and they reverse positions when they pass 6 a.m. and 6 p.m. Local time is displayed on the hour circle, and the day on the last exterior circle.

The DB25 World Traveller is equipped with the mechanical calibre DB2547 with manual winding, the latest manufactured. The morphology, performance and high-quality execution of the calibre illustrate the degree of excellence and the philosophy of technical exploration that are so particular to De Bethune.

For the first time, the central delta bridge is embellished with a “Côtes De Bethune” decoration in the centre, produced using the Microlight micrometric engraving technique developed by De Bethune. The polished plate is hollowed out to become concave and thus intensifies the reflections of light as a result. The regulator is equipped with a new evolution, a titanium balance wheel with white gold inserts, developed particularly for optimal management of temperature variations.

The DB25 World Traveller transforms the way that a second time zone can be displayed along with a world time indicator. True to the De Bethune approach that focuses first and foremost on the reason behind any watchmaking function, David Zanetta and Denis Flageollet have aimed to make the display correspond ideally to the traveller’s needs. They focused their research on readability and comfort, both in wearing the watch and in manipulating its settings.

Starting in the centre, the dial indicates world time, which is set using an almond shaped push-piece positioned at 8 o’clock. This flexible and precise system moves the city display disc, which is decorated with concentric Microlight, by one-hour clockwise jumps.

The first time zone, or reference time zone, is displayed with 24-hour markers and indicated with a mysterious display by the position of the microsphere, which appears to float weightlessly in its channel. Using the crown, it can be set in both directions (clockwise/anti-clockwise). At 6 a.m. and 6 p.m., the crown pivots on itself to present a pink gold face for daytime, or a back side in blued steel for the night. Local time, or the second time zone, is indicated by the blued leaf-shaped hands, whose curve matches the relief of the dial.

The minutes hand remains naturally coordinated with the reference hour, while the hours hand is controlled by the crown pulled out to the second notch. The hours hand moves forward and back by direct jumps of precisely one hour. The day indication is the last circle on this display, with a design that evokes the solar system. The day is coordinated with local time only in the clockwise direction, and indicated by a jumping pointer that is adjusted by a corrector at 10 o’clock.

The generous 45 mm diameter white gold case provides plenty of room for this display. The champagne and silver tones also structure the reading by sequencing the succession of the indications. The alternation of decorations and volumes also enhances readability, for example, with the slightly domed hours ring, which is also highlighted with a powdered effect to intensify the luminosity of the surface.

The case stands above the wrist, like an instrument, with open lugs attached to the case back. This frees up the middle so that it is accessible for easy adjustment. The crown is an essential component of the DB25 World Traveller; designed to be thin but wide and slightly raised for greater ease in handling. It moves on three notches that are distinguished from one another by their markings.

The mechanical calibre DB2547 with manual winding in the DB25 World Traveller is the
25th calibre designed, manufactured and assembled in-house by De Bethune. In its own right, it is the result of more than 10 years of knowledge and inventions developed by Denis Flageollet and his team. To achieve this new streamlined display, the movement integrates 430 parts.

Visible through a sapphire case back, the reverse side of the movement reveals a new titanium balance wheel with white gold inserts in the rim. The result of in-depth research and prototypes, the balance wheel has the capacity to neutralise the effects of temperature variations through its interaction with the balance spring, with its “De Bethune” flat terminal curve that ensures concentric development. The aerodynamic shape was also designed to diminish air resistance, an important source of disruption, to the greatest extent possible.

True to form, it guarantees perfect balance through all stages from manufacture to assembly. Silicon was chosen for the escapement wheel, due to its light weight and in order to increase the power of the calibre. As for the regulator, it is completely maintained by a triple pare-chute shock absorbing system exclusive to De Bethune. The system combines a titanium bridge that integrates two jewels that act as support columns on each side. A leaf spring system supported by the jewels holds the system in place. The partially visible twin barrels accumulate five days of power reserve through a patented self-regulating power mechanism.

Other distinctive features: De Bethune finishes its movements so that they reflect as much ambient light as possible. For this reason, the finish on the majority of the components is mirror-polished. A number of them, whether they are steel or titanium, are also blued, reflecting De Bethune’s signature colour, as seen here on the bridge and the rim of the balance wheel, as well as on the leaf spring of the triple shock absorber. Rose-work grinding is reserved for the barrel ratchets. An outer ring decorated with grained Microlight and perforated by oblong apertures provides the support for the various indications.

Technical specifications

Name: DB25 World Traveller
Reference: DB25WTWs1
Limitation: Limited edition of 12 pieces

Functions
Hours, Minutes, Second time zone (GMT), World time,
Day/night indicator, Jumping date

Movement
DB2547
Type: Mechanical hand-wound movement
Adjustment: Winding, setting the local and travel time (GMT) by means of the crown (3 positions) – Secure bidirectional systems
Via a flexible and comfortable push-piece for setting the cities disc (clockwise)
Via a corrector for the date pointer (clockwise)
Number of parts: 455
Jewelling: 38 jewels
Diameter: 30 mm
Power reserve: 5 days, ensured by a self-regulating twin barrel – A De Bethune Innovation (2004)

Specificities
Titanium balance wheel with white gold inserts, optimized for temperature differences and air penetration
De Bethune Patent (2016)
“De Bethune” balance-spring with flat terminal curve – De Bethune Patent (2006)
Silicon escape wheel
Microsphere Day/night indicator in rose gold and blued steel similar decoration technic of the spherical moon phase – De Bethune Patent (2004)
Triple pare-chute shock-absorbing system – De Bethune Innovation (2005)
Frequency: 28,800 vibrations per hour

Adornment
– Curved mirror-polished steel plate cover
– Steel barrel bridge cover, mirror-polished and adorned with “Côtes De Bethune” enhanced with microlight decoration in its center – De Bethune innovation 2016
– Hand snailed barrels
– Hand-polished, chamfered steel

Display
Hand-polished flamed-blued steel curved hands
Day/night indicator in rose gold 5N and blued steel of the microsphere – similar decoration technique of the spherical moon phase – De Bethune Patent (2004)
Mirror-polished jumping date
Cities (customizable):
– London GMT
– Paris GMT+1
– Moscow GMT+3
– Dubai GMT +4
– Mumbai GMT+5.5
– Bangkok GMT+7
– Hong Kong GMT+8
– Tokyo GMT+9
– Sydney GMT+10
– Auckland GMT+12
– Honolulu GMT -10
– Los Angeles GMT -8
– Mexico GMT -6
– New York GMT -5
– Buenos Aires GMT -3

Dial and flanges
Champagne-toned curved date ring
Silver curved hour ring
Silver 24h sub-dial
Champagne-toned city disc rim with polished and blued markers
Silver city disc with concentric microlight decoration – De Bethune Invention (2007)

Case
Case material: White gold
Case diameter: 45 mm
Case thickness: 13.7 mm
Lugs: Integrated, hollowed lugs
Crystal: In sapphire crystal (1800 Vickers hardness) with double anti-reflective coating
Case back: Open back in polished white gold and sapphire crystal (1800 Vickers hardness) with double anti-reflective coating
Water-resistance: 3 ATM

Strap
Extra-supple alligator leather, alligator lining
Buckle: Pin buckle in white gold