Revolution
De Bethune New Novelties For 2024: DB Kind Of Grand Complication
Wei sit down with Pierre Jacques, CEO of De Bethune, as we discover their 2024 novelties, the highlight is definitely the DB Kind Of Grand Complication.
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Revolution
Wei sit down with Pierre Jacques, CEO of De Bethune, as we discover their 2024 novelties, the highlight is definitely the DB Kind Of Grand Complication.
Monochrome
Denis Flageollet, the founder of De Bethune, is renowned as a master watchmaker who has steered his reverence for ancestral horological craftsmanship into radically contemporary settings. Perhaps his credentials should also include ‘master alchemist’ because when Flageollet starts playing with fire in his workshop (which includes a blacksmith), the results are out-of-this-world spectacular. The latest […]
Fratello
Only a few weeks have passed since Czapek introduced the Antarctique Mount Erebus Deep Blue models. Both of them presented a familiar aesthetic in precious metals. I love the Antarctique, and a yellow gold version made me fall in love with the watch all over again. For this year’s Watches and Wonders, the brand releases […] Visit Introducing: The Czapek Antarctique Passage De Drake Afterglow And Antarctique Green Meteor to read the full article.
Monochrome
Blurring the lines between classical watchmaking, traditional craftsmanship and contemporary design, De Bethune offers collectors the best of all worlds. Spearheaded by master watchmaker Denis Flageollet, De Bethune’s latest masterpiece is a compendium of the core technical and aesthetic markers accumulated by the brand over the past 22 years. The eight complications of this impressive […]
Quill & Pad
The primary goal of the De Bethune DB28XS was to address collectors’ requests for a smaller version of the watch. Mission accomplished. The DB28 Starry Seas is seriously slim by De Bethune standards. And then there's that sensational dial!
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Quill & Pad
At Dubai Watch Week 2023, the DBD Evergreen arrived as De Bethune’s final flourish of the year. Unarguably more mainstream than the black-and-pink Season 2, the Evergreen channels the dial color of our moment in tandem with a rugged and wieldy grade 5 titanium case.
Quill & Pad
When the De Bethune DB28 Tourbillon Deadbeat Seconds launched in 2012 it represented the upper echelon of the catalog and could be considered something approaching a brand flagship. And in Tim Mosso’s opinion, it certainly has the presence of a flagship.
Fratello
Artisans de Genève is not the only company creating personal interpretations of grail watches from Rolex and Patek. Still, I feel that ADG deeply respects the clients’ base models while meticulously improving details. Adding interest and bespoke detailing to an already accomplished design is a delicate subject, but to me, Artisans de Genève is on […] Visit Introducing The Cyano - Artisans De Genève’s First Personalized Audemars Piguet Watch to read the full article.
Time+Tide
Recovered from a near-fatal experience, Czapek's CEO chats with Andrew and tells the story in his own words.The post Czapek CEO Xavier de Roquemaurel on pandemic pains and suffering from success appeared first on Time+Tide Watches.
Worn & Wound
De Bethune is returning to their Kind of Blue concept within a new frame that combines the best of the DB28XP and the DB28 Kind of Blue to create the, you guessed it, DB28XP Kind of Blue. The new watch is trimmer than ever, and bluer than ever (insert Tobias joke here), and leans into the absolute best of DeBethune’s design language. It’s a smaller, thinner watch, but there’s still plenty of visual impact thanks to the wide frame that the lugs define. And as complex is it may look at a glance, at its core, there’s a very straightforward watch here. The case and dial are made of thermally blued titanium with “microlight” pattern finish, and the result is stunning under any amount of light. It shifts between blue hues that pick up notes of purple at certain angles, and the finish creases a near liquid-metal appearance. All of this applied to the shapes and structures that De Bethune uses with the DB28 create an incredibly dramatic presence that will have you staring at the watch without a moment’s thought of the time. There are a set of hands reading off the hour and the minutes, but they feel secondary to the rest of the experience of this watch. De Bethune is using the thin, hand wound DB2115v12 movement with their own balance wheel, which is visible at the bottom of the dial, under the arch-like structure. The XP in the name denotes that this is an extra thin (plat) watch, and indeed it stands at just 8.5mm in thickness, but this isn’t a watch about the ...
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Quill & Pad
De Bethune celebrated the tenth anniversary of its groundbreaking DB28 in 2020 and, as Ian Skellern's relationship with the model goes back the full decade, it seemed an appropriate time for him to share the story of how he came to launch the DB28, own a DB28, and what he thinks of the DB28 after wearing one regularly for 10 years.
Worn & Wound
The De Bethune DB28 is an absolutely insane watch. As I found out for myself in Geneva earlier this year, the watch’s large proportions play tricks on you: it’s enormous to the eye, but incredibly light on the wrist thanks to the titanium case construction and airy design with those patented hollowed out, articulating lugs. Even though this watch is the ultimate example of “It actually wears a lot smaller…” I think it’s understandable that collectors would call for a version that’s actually smaller, and that’s what De Bethune has delivered with the new DB28xs Starry Seas. This is essentially a scaled down version of the DB28 that incorporates a fantastic and first of its kind dial that applies guilloche in an entirely new way. The centerpiece here is certainly the dial, which is made from heat blued titanium, taking on the dramatic bright blue shade that has become a De Bethune hallmark of sorts. The decoration is what De Bethune refers to as “random guilloche,” and they say this is the first time this technique has been used in a watch dial design. The cumulative effect is a dial that looks like ocean waves in motion, and it’s been accented with small white gold “stars” to create the impression of the night sky being reflected off the surface of a body of water. It’s a natural extension of other “Starry” De Bethune references, which typically depict a night sky view. The case will be familiar to those who know the DB28 (the lucky few). It...
Quill & Pad
De Bethune has a thing for stars, but the way that they present them in the DB28xs Starry Seas is something that we haven't seen before. As the name already hints, are the stars reflected in an ocean full of waves. To create this effect, De Bethune invented a random guilloché pattern, a world's first, representing the waves.
SJX Watches
The latest version of De Bethune’s signature watch shrinks the case and ups the level of dial decoration. The DB28xs Starry Seas has a compact case of just 38.7 mm and an eye-catching dial finished a wave pattern and inlaid white gold stars in typical De Bethune style. Initial thoughts Originally a large watch with a case of 43 mm, the DB28 nonetheless became the brand’s trademark watch thanks to its distinctive styling and hinged lugs. So a more wearable version of the DB28 will certainly have is audience. In fact, the case of 38.7 mm is more than manageable, it is almost small by the standards of highly contemporary independent watchmaking. With the reduced case, however, the DB28xs might have lost some of the presence that made the original DB28 interesting, although that will have to be judged in the metal. Besides the case, the other novel feature of the watch is the wave pattern on the dial that’s complemented by inlaid gold stars, which is meant to evoke the night sky reflected on water. The wave pattern is new for De Bethune, adding some originality to this variant of the DB28. While the dial is beautiful – De Bethune’s blued titanium dials usually are – and the case remains appealing even on a smaller scale, I would have hoped that the brand did something more inventive, rather than create variants of existing designs and movements. Apart from the dial and case, the DB28xs is largely identical to its larger siblings, including utilising the same...
Deployant
De Bethune releases their smallest case that they ever made in a new DB28XS Starry Seas. Press Release information with commentary in italics. New: De Bethune DB28XS Starry Seas The new De Bethune DB28XS Starry Seas will have a retail price of CHF 77,000 / USD 90,000 excluding VAT. Commentary De Bethune has always beenRead More
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Quill & Pad
The Rotonde de Cartier Masse Mystérieuse appears magical thanks to the apparent lack of any connection to the case while putting most of the mechanics on full display. It may be a time-only watch with no complications or tourbillons, but it is a most impressive accomplishment. Joshua Munchow explains the magic trick.
SJX Watches
While De Bethune is best known for its avant-garde designs and signature spring-loaded floating lugs, the brand’s early years were characterised by more traditional styling. Fresh off the press, the DB Eight calls to mind the brand’s early products, most notably the DB1 mono-pusher chronograph from 2002, but adds many of the technical refinements that De Bethune has become known for. Dressed in a polished titanium case and guilloché dial, the DB Eight fills a hole in the brand’s current line-up by offering collectors a simple, manually wound mono-pusher chronograph, albeit one that lacks the technical and decorative refinement collectors expect at this price point. Thanks to its wide but slim case and narrow bezel, the DB Eight will likely wear larger than its 42.4 mm diameter would suggest Initial thoughts I’m probably in the minority when it comes to my preference for De Bethune’s more classically styled models like the original DB1. Given this preference, I naturally I gravitated towards the new DB Eight more than I have to some of the brand’s other recent offerings like the DB28XP. But while I like the design of the DB Eight, the substance does not meet my expectations for the brand. Let’s start with the good news. De Bethune has addressed the cross-eyed look of the DB1 with a new movement that offers an instantaneous 60-minute counter for the elapsed time at six o’clock. This creates a balanced look that at first glance might even pass for a time-...
Revolution
In 2022, when De Bethune relaunched their incredible DB25 Perpetual Calendar in an all-new case size of 40mm, collectors sat up and took notice as it made an already thoughtfully-designed grand complication watch even more well-proportioned for the wrist. Wei and Jeremiah discuss the genesis of this sea change in the DB25 Perpetual Calendar’s case […]
Revolution
Wei visits De Bethune Co-founder and Master Watchmaker Denis Flageollet’s private atelier, a place where he finds solitude to seek inspiration and conduct research for the brand’s next concept watch. Denis is probably the only independent watchmaker to have his own metal forge where he can experiment on different materials and craft his own watch […]
Deployant
De Bethune expands their DB 27 Titan Hawk lineup with a new watch influenced by motorsports, and the Lotus F1 team's John Player Special colourway.
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Quill & Pad
In the newly introduced Breguet Reine de Naples References 9835 and 9838, the minute hand has become a sporty, elegant declaration of love. These intriguing hands feature a unique mechanism that traces the minute track around the edge of the oval dial in a singular way, at times looking like a heart.
Quill & Pad
When De Bethune released the new DB25s Perpetual Calendar at Geneva Watch Days 2022, the main talking point was just how much the model had shrunk from its previous iterations to become a more perfect proportion. And like any good diet consultation, it was the result of careful and deliberate attention paid to the watch as a whole and how components worked with each other.
SJX Watches
De Bethune’s latest invention aims to customise the regulation of a mechanical watch to suit the individual owner. Dubbed the Sensoriel Chronometry Project, it takes the form of a electronic wrist instrument that measures the wearer’s activities and environmental conditions over a two week period – gathering two million data points per hour according to the brand. With this voluminous quantity of data, De Bethune will then regulate a DB28GS Grand Bleu sports watch specifically for the particular owner, optimising timekeeping based on the wearer’s activities. [Updated to include response from Denis Flageollet.] Initial thoughts On paper the Sensoriel is interesting and impressive, but on reflection it raises several questions. For one, the two million data points recorded per hour – for a two-week period – results in an extraordinary amount of information on the wearer’s activities. Can any mechanical watch be regulated to a fine enough resolution that makes even a fraction of that data useful? My knowledge of watchmaking is certainly inexpert but I am sceptical. Mr Flageollet points out De Bethune utilises an algorithm to process the data and sieve out the “elements specific to the wearer, in a way to bring out a specific chronometric DNA for each wearer”, allowing the watch to be regulated according to a smaller number of data points. The second salient point is more philosophical. Historically the pursuit of chronometry meant good timekeeping regardless...
Time+Tide
The Omega De Ville Prestige line has been a bit of a hidden gem in the watchmaker’s offering, hiding in an already underappreciated collection. Closing in on 20 years since their first introduction, Omega is introducing a slew of new De Ville Prestige models for its third generation update. All mechanical models have been upgraded … ContinuedThe post INTRODUCING: The Omega De Ville Prestige range gets upgraded with a slew of new releases appeared first on Time+Tide Watches.
Deployant
The Reine de Naples 8918 is one of the Maison’s iconic pieces.This novelty introduces two new white gold cased models - with enamel dial and MOP dial.
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