Our Take

Every year, Geneva Watch Days is a huge event for independent watchmaking. It’s where many of our favorite brands come together, enjoy each other’s company, and share their latest creations for the year. For the 2024 edition of the event, De Bethune has not disappointed with its latest timepieces. Another spectacular contribution to the brand’s catalog, this is the all-new DB28xs Aérolite.

One of De Bethune’s specialties is blending technical sophistication with creative expression, especially with the brand’s use of exceptional materials. In the DB28xs Aérolite, Denis Flageollet returns to the experiment with meteorite. The timepiece’s dial showcases a poetic juxtaposition – the straight lines of the Muonionalusta meteorite overlaid by an unusual, chaotic guilloché pattern. Inspired by the Japanese concept of Wabi-Sabi, De Bethune created a novel random guilloché pattern that evokes the rippled surface of a starry sea.

With thermally-blued meteorite dial and inlaid gray gold flakes, it’s an understatement to say that this dial catches the eye. There’s something specific to the meteorite, even when you don’t know what it is, it’s immediately recognizable as something exceptional from its geometric lines to its texture. This is far outside the normal sandbox of dial-making in the watch industry. Paired with the matte black zirconium case, the DB28xs Aérolite’s dial pops. There’s nothing to hold onto other than the vibrant color and texture of the guillochéd, meteorite dial.

With its smaller case size, 39mm, the miniaturization of the DB2005 movement is no small feat. Often a thinner, smaller movement means a sacrifice to shock-absorption and power reserve, but not here. The manual-wind, six-day power reserve and De Bethune’s patented triple pare-chute shock-absorbing system keep the caliber running and protected through everyday wear and tear.

This watch embodies the essence of De Bethune: an unrelenting pursuit of perfection, a capacity to transcend the boundaries of traditional watchmaking, and a desire to create exceptional objects that resonate with the deepest human emotions. The DB28xs Aérolite is available with limited annual production.

The Details

DB28xs Aérolite

Reference: DB28xsZM

Function: Hours, Minutes

Movement: DB2005

Type: Mechanical hand-wound movement

Adjustment: Winding and setting the time by means of the crown (2 positions)

Technical features of calibre DB2005

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 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

Display

Display: Polished pink gold hands

Dial: Anthracite hours and minutes ring with transferred Arabic numerals in pink

Blue meteorite dial with a random guilloche dial and a starry sky with white gold stars

Case and strap

Case material: Mat anthracite zirconium

Case diameter: 38.7 mm

Case thickness: 7.4 mm

Lugs: Mat anthracite zirconium floating lugs – De Bethune Patent (2006)

Crystal: Sapphire (1,800 Vickers hardness) with double anti- reflective coating

Caseback: Open, in mat anthracite zirconium and sapphire (1,800 Vickers hardness) with double anti-reflective coating

Flat polished steel barrel bridge guard

Plate guard in titanium with microlight decoration

Water resistance: 3 ATM

Straps: Extra-supple alligator leather with alligator lining and black textile

Buckle: Mat anthracite zirconium buckle and pin