Our Take

In De Bethune’s catalog, there are some timepieces that simply tie together everything the brand has to offer in one exceptional creation. For us, one of these examples is the DB25 Starry Varius Aérolite. With only five produced (at the time of the publication of The Art of Watchmaking), we’re pleased to present one of these ultra-rare masterpieces in modern independent watchmaking.

One of the things that De Bethune does exceptionally is that it nods to the history of watchmaking while pushing it forward into the future. Here, the DB25 Starry Varius Aérolite is clearly connected aesthetically to the history of watchmaking with its large, Roman numerals and mirror-polished Breguet hands. The timepiece’s dimensions and overall profile provide it with the cover of a “low key” watch. But upon closer inspection, the meteorite dial and concealed tourbillon movement are thoroughly modern and representative of the best in watchmaking innovation.

Winner of the 2018 GPHG Award for chronometry, the in-house caliber DB2109V4 is the star of the show. We covered it extensively and consider it to be one of the best movements in modern independent watchmaking. The caliber is simply about as technically sophisticated as exists. With a high-frequency (5Hz or 36,000vph) thirty-second tourbillon, self-regulating double barrel, blued titanium balance with white gold inserts, simplified dead-beat seconds – all patents by the brand – this movement can be viewed as the culmination of master watchmaker, Denis Flageollet, and the De Bethune team’s chronometric pursuits spread across 20+ years. Combined with Flageollet’s pursuits in metallurgy, crafting in-house alloys in his own forge, this timepiece’s meteorite dial also represents years and years of experimentation in the backdrop, leading to this creation.

While there’s so much to admire about the DB25 Starry Varius Aérolite, we have to cast a light on the contribution to watchmaking that stands above the rest – the world’s lightest tourbillon. Very frequently, De Bethune is appreciated more through the lens of its designs and aesthetics and less by the sheer innovativeness of its watchmaking. Here, this is a statement piece about De Bethune's accumulated expertise in the most technically progressive watchmaking. Weighing a mere 0.18g (about 1/10 the weight of a metal paper clip) and held together by 63 components, the tourbillon required significantly less weight in order to pulse and rotate twice as fast as traditional 60-second tourbillons. This 30-second tourbillon flies – it is simply astounding to see how quickly it moves through the caseback.

The 30-second tourbillon is not simply for the pleasure of the eye though. Traditionally, the complication was used to ensure chronometric performance in pocket watches. Today, the wristwatch experiences a series of swift motions in day-to-day life that the origins of the complication never endured. Keeping the spirit of the tourbillon alive, the De Bethune solution to everyday wrist usage was to increase the frequency and rotational speed. Both ensure that the constant motion in wear does not significantly impact chronometry.

With all of the finishing expected, the DB25 Starry Varius Aérolite is an amazing marker in the journey of the Flageollet and De Bethune. It’s the coming-together of many different experiments, some related and some unrelated, and elevates this timepiece to one of the greats so far in the 21st century.

The Details

**DB25 Starry Varius Aérolite **

Functions: Hours, Minutes, jumping seconds, 30’’ indicator via the ultra-light De Bethune tourbillon cage on case back.

Dial:

• De Bethune star-studded sky in blued and polished meteorite with hand-fitted white gold pins depicting the stars
• Milky Way patterns gilded with 24-carat gold leaf
• Silver-toned hours and minutes ring

Hands: Hands in hand-polished steel

Case: Polished grade 5 titanium

Dimensions: 30 mm

Adornments:

• Silver plate and barrel bridge cover polished
• Hand-snailed barrels
• Hand-polished, chamfered steel parts

Glass: In sapphire crystal (1800 Vickers hardness) with double anti-reflective coating

Back:

• Open back, De Bethune 30 " silicon/titanium Tourbillon, 36,000 vph – central jumping seconds
• Sapphire crystal (1800 Vickers hardness) with double anti-reflective coating

Strap: Extra-supple alligator leather, alligator lining.

Movement: Mechanical manual-winding caliber

Power reserve: 4 days, ensured by a self-regulating twin barrel

Features:

• Self-regulating twin barrel De Bethune Innovation (2004)
• Titanium balance wheel with white gold inserts
• "De Bethune" Balance-spring with flat terminal curve
• Silicon Escape wheel
• Triple pare-chute shock-absorbing system.