Our Take

From the DB28 Kind of Gold to the DB25 Starry Varius to the most recent (and spectacular) Dream Watch 5, De Bethune offers a distinct and cohesive aesthetic in modern watchmaking. A major part of the aesthetic identity of the brand revolves around intensely blued dials, hands, movements, and cases. There’s no better example of the brand’s prowess in bluing than this DB28 Kind of Blue.

Limited to 10 pieces, De Bethune’s DB28 Kind of Blue is an absolute stunner. Blued through and through, this DB28 has everything you would expect as one of the icons of modern independent watchmaking. This includes the brand’s ultra-comfortable articulated lugs, providing its owner with a snug fit regardless of wrist size, as well as a superbly finished, in-house movement. The calibre DB2115, a 6-day, double-barrel manual wind movement, also features the brand’s patented pare chute shock-absorbing system.

On the dial side, the owner of this timepiece will bear witness to Denis Flageollet’s innovative spirit with the balance wheel. At the forefront of balance wheel innovation, this timepiece shows off yet another patent: the titanium balance with white gold inserts, optimized to handle temperature differences without sacrificing performance. Overall, this is a timepiece that accomplishes a rare feat in watchmaking - it blows your mind visually with its aesthetic and technically with its horological innovation.

The Details

DB28 Kind of Blue

Functions: Hours, Minutes, Spherical moon phase at 6 o'clock, power reserve on case back, performance indicator between 2 and 3 o'clock

Dial: BLUED RADE 5 POLISHED TITANIUM WITH A MILKY WAY PATTERNS – HOURS RING WITH ROSE GOLD HOUR-MARKERS – BLUED GRADE 5 SATIN-POLISHED TITANIUM MINUTES RING – ULTRA-LIGHT DE BETHUNE 30’’ TOURBILLON IN SILICON AND TITANIUM AT 6 O’CLOCK

Case: BLUED GRADE 5 MIRROR-POLISHED TITANIUM

Dimensions: Diameter 43mm - Thickness 9.30mm

Adornment:

• Handmade, blued grade 5 mirror-polished titanium motion works bridge
• Plate cover and bridge cover on the barrel in grade 5 bluedt itanium, adorned with “Côtes De Bethune”
• Barrels decorated with rose-work grinding
• Power reserve indicator in rose gold 5N, hand decorated with “De Bethune” concentric graining and blued by hand
• Steel parts beveled, polished and flame-blued by hand

Glass: Sapphire crystal, 1800 Vickers hardness with double anti-reflective treatment.

Back: Screwed case back in blued grade 5 polished titanium that opens on a linear power reserve indicator in rose gold Sapphire crystal (1800 Vickers hardness) with double antireflective coating.

Strap: Extra-supple alligator leather, alligator lining.

Movement: Mechanical Hand Wound

Power reserve: 6 days, ensured by a self-regulating twin barrel De Bethune Innovation (2004)

Features:

• Titanium balance wheel 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
• Spherical moon phase indicator with precision of one lunar day every 122 years – De Bethune Patent (2004)
• Blued triple pare-chute shock-absorbing system De Bethune Innovation (2005)