Results for De Bethune

Introducing the De Bethune DB28xs Starry Seas

New: De Bethune DB28XS Starry Seas

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

Christie’s Rare Watches May 2023 Auction Featured a Patek Philippe Nautilus Tiffany Blue, Gérald Genta with Royal Provenance, F.P Journe Resonance, De Bethune and Much More

There were many surprises in the Christie’s Rare Watches auction in Geneva on May 13. Some satisfying, some disappointing. At a preview held by Christie's in late March and early April during the Watches & Wonders show in Geneva, Alexey Kutkovoy was able to see and examine several lots in detail. Here are a few of the results that caught his eye.

Review: the Atelier Holgur Frømand

One of the great things about the current state of the watch world is the insane variety of watches that are available. We’re at a point (or at least approaching one) where brands of all stripes are willing to get creative in ways we haven’t seen in years. We’ve come out of a long period of time dominated by vintage inspired watches that all felt cut from the same cloth, and it feels like we’re now at the beginning of a new movement where makers large and small are aiming for narrower and narrower niches. I’m lucky to have seen some of the watches coming from brands we all admire later in the year, and I’m confident that when the dust settles we’ll be talking about a sea change toward more adventurous designs and a level of watchmaking once reserved for the super wealthy being made accessible to new customers for the first time. This is why I’m more interested than ever in the micro indies I’ve discussed in these pages previously. It feels like there’s a nearly infinite opportunity for brands to create special, unusual, innovative, and original watches for an audience that’s simultaneously incredibly broad and highly specialized. There’s no shortage of collectors interested in getting something unique – a byproduct of the aforementioned decade of lookalike black dialed divers. And yet, each individual watch forces you to ask, “Who is this for?” That’s a question that most of us wonder everytime we look at an MB&F; or De Bethune, and the answe...

An Unexpected Dive into the World of De Bethune

When you go to Watches & Wonders, you hope to have an experience like the one Zach Weiss and I did with De Bethune. The Geneva based brand was actually not exhibiting at the show, but had space in the Beau Rivage hotel, right on the lake, along with a dozen or so other independent brands, all taking good advantage of the watch world absolutely descending on the city for an entire week. I have long been an admirer of De Bethune, but always from afar. They are not the easiest indie to get your arms around, both literally and figuratively. The watches are very rare and hyper specific in their design language, and for a long time I had the sense that they might appeal to exactly the 200 or so people per year that are able to obtain a new piece, no more no less. But then the last three years happened, and every independent brand took off like a rocket ship, and since De Bethune watches kind of look like rocket ships to begin with, their rise was perhaps even steeper. The DB Eight Monopusher We were there, ostensibly, to see two watches. The brand’s latest novelties both happen to be more classically styled than the avant-garde pieces they’ve become known for. The DB Eight monopusher chronograph is about as classic as it gets. The case design, with those flared lugs, is based on the DB1, the very first De Bethune, also a chronograph. This one, though, has a brand new caliber and is fashioned from grade 5 titanium as opposed to solid gold. While the aesthetic of the watch is ...

De Bethune Introduces the DB Eight

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-...

De Bethune and Swizz Beatz Unveil the DBD ‘Season 2’

The True Story Behind the 40mm De Bethune DB25 Perpetual Calendar That Became Grail Watch 6

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 […]

Up Close with Grail Watch 6: De Bethune DB25 Perpetual Calendar “Rhapsody in Blue”

Grail Watch is proud to present Grail Watch 6, a dream collaboration of magnificent proportions! We are extremely privileged to partner with independent watchmaker De Bethune to create a deep blue-dialled version of their gorgeous DB25 Perpetual Calendar in a reduced case size of 40mm, first introduced at Geneva Watch Days 2022. Our version is […]

Grail Watch 6: De Bethune DB25 Perpetual Calendar 40mm “Rhapsody In Blue”

De Bethune Part 3: The Private Atelier of Denis Flageollet

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 […]

WatchBox Stages F.P. Journe and De Bethune Retrospective Exhibition

New: De Bethune DB27 Titan Hawk JPS

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.

Calendar and Moonphase Award 2022: De Bethune DB25 Perpetual Calendar 40mm

De Bethune DB25s QP: Near Perfect Is Now Perfect!

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.

Introducing the De Bethune: The Art of Watchmaking

De Bethune Introduces Custom Regulation with the Sensoriel

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...

De Bethune Takes Personalisation to The Next Level

Auctions: Our Favorite Independent Watches Up For Grabs At Next Week's Auctions In Geneva

F.P. Journe unique pieces, De Bethune prototypes, and so much more.

How Do You Top The Sensational De Bethune DB28 Maxichrono? By Customizing It, Of Course - Reprise

What Makes Me Tick loves watches made by small independent artisans because they fully embody the visions of their makers, who have put blood, sweat, and tears into creating them. Among the independent brands, De Bethune is most probably his favorite. In fact, no "probably" about it: De Bethune is his favorite. Here's how his customized DB28 Maxichrono came to be.

Two Decades of Complexity & Beauty - the Pivotal Collections by F.P. Journe and De Bethune

New Release: De Bethune DB25 Perpetual Calendar

This new perpetual calendar is fitted with a leather strap secured by a polished titanium buckle and accompanied by a second grey fabric strap. Vividly illustrating the technical and aesthetic expertise of the Manufacture, this new Reference DB25sQP marks its entry into the perpetual calendar collection and will be limited to a single production run of 15 units per year.

Introducing: Downsizing De Bethune's Perpetual Calendar With The DB25sQP

A smaller size for the brand's ever-gorgeous QP.

De Bethune is Seeking Perfect: A Movie on the Art of Watchmaking

How Do You Achieve Chronometric Perfection?

Wei and Jeremiah geek out over the different approaches taken by two independent watchmakers in their pursuit of chronometric perfection: Montres KF’s Karsten Frässdorf and De Bethune’s Denis Flageollet. Frässdorf’s EI8HT Evolution Meteorite is the latest iteration of the bespoke only EI8HT released in 2020 – a modern interpretation of centuries old inventions. Flageollet’s approach […]