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December 19, 2012updated Feb 13, 2013

DE BETHUNE

By Chris Boyle

 

DE BETHUNE: A HISTORY OF EXCELLENCE

From Left:Co-founder and president David Zanetta,CEO Pierre Jacques,Co-Founder and Technical Director Denis Flageollet

Based on a resolutely avant-garde vision of traditional watchmaking, the Manufacture Horlogère De Bethune was founded in 2002 by David Zanetta, a collector with a passion for art, history and timepieces, and Denis Flageollet, a fourthgeneration watchmaker who was introduced to the art at the age of three.

Nine patent registrations, 17 world premier innovations and 15 in-house calibers in ten years of research express the spirit of excellence of the Manufacture. De Bethune is above all a research and development tool, a laboratory making use of cutting-edge technologies implemented in the spirit of the great 18th-century master watchmakers, where all parts are designed and produced one by one, while lavishing particular attention on every detail. The quest for perfection and beauty is the constant driving force behind the work of Zanetta and Flageollet, brand founders and the artisans behind these exceptional timepieces. The pure styling, taut lines and slender cases of these creations represent the unmistakable signature of De Bethune’s contemporary expression of the watchmaking art. Together with Pierre Jacques, De Bethune’s dynamic CEO, they form an effective triumvirate that is propelling De Bethune and its consistently modern creations towards an even brighter future.

 

CO-FOUNDER AND PRESIDENT DAVID ZANETTA:

 

“Not doing more but instead doing better; drawing inspiration from the past in order to constantly reinvent it; creating bridges between the various fields of the knowledges: Such are the principles guiding the elaboration of our timepieces.”

 

DB25S JEWELLERY

DB25 collection

The classic star-studded sky DB25 collection debuts a feminine touch with DB25S Jewellery model.

A diamond and sapphire spherical moon shines at twelve o’clock, providing a moon-phase display that will diverge from astronomical reality by just one day in 122 years. The timepiece can be personalized by choosing the sky view according to geographical location and date. Jewellery is adorned with 61 baguette-cut sapphires, powered by handcrafted DB2015 movement and set on an extra-supple alligator leather strap ($140,500).

DB28ST TOURBILLON – JUMPING SECONDS

Db28st Tourbillon

The noble traditions of mechanical watchmaking are celebrated and reinterpreted in a contemporary masterpiece imbued with a blend of ancestral know-how and the latest technical and scientific breakthroughs.

The silicon/titanium De Bethune tourbillon, the lightest and fastest on the market, combined with the jumping seconds mechanism, are proudly displayed at the heart of this model, endowing it with peerless technical and aesthetic splendor. DB28ST is adorned with 47 jewels and runs at 36,000 vibrations per hour ($320,000).

DB28“AIGUILLE D’OR”

Aiguille

AN ICON REVISITED

Awarded the Aiguille d’Or (“Golden Hand”) in Geneva, the DB28 is the ultimate in reinvention of a classic.

The timepiece features a mirror-polished titanium case, an exhibition back, gold wheels and a gold hand for linear power reserve. DB28 is set with 36 jewels on an extra-supple alligator leather strap and displays a three-dimensional moon-phase indication ($86,500).

 

DB25QP DE BETHUNE

DB25QP

The De Bethune interpretation of the perpetual calendar combines horological finesse with the cuttingedge mechanisms of the Manufacture by uniting moon phases, a star-studded sky and a perpetual calendar within an exceptional timepiece.

The 44mm diameter round case is inspired by a drum shape and features slender and resolutely classic lines, subtly enlivened by the hollowed lugs characteristic of the DB25 collection. At twelve o’clock, a titanium and blued steel sphere sits enthroned amid a starstudded sky also incorporating a leap-year indicator ($136,500).

DB27 TITAN HAWK

Db27 Titan Hawk

On the occasion of its tenth anniversary, the Manufacture De Bethune presents Titan Hawk, the first creation in its new DB27 collection.

The watch’s floating lugs are fitted with a patented system of springs that enables the watch to adjust to the wrist and to its wearer’s movements. The silver-toned color of the grained dial sparkles in the center thanks to the micro light accompanying the central calendar read-off, surrounded by a chapter ring and minute circle featuring a rounded shape and raised numerals ($39,900).

 

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