De Bethune DB 25 Watch

De Bethune has, and will always be thought of as an avant garde luxury watch maker in my mind. So it is odd for me to see them release a decidedly sober looking watch. The DB 25 has all the hallmarks of a De Bethune timepiece – such as the rotating ball moonphase indicator and skeletonized lugs – but in a more gentle and subdued package. However, look closely at the details and you’ll be impressed. Plus, what is inside the watch is barely done justice by the simple looking exterior. The watch isn’t perfect, but is a great addition to the line.

Two versions of the watch case are available, in either 18k rose or white gold. It is 44.6mm wide and just 11.1mm thick – not to shabby. Of course the crystal is sapphire, and there is a open display back as well where you can see the manually wound DB2105si movement with power reserve indicator, in its decorated glory. The movement has some interesting features. This includes a full 6 days of power reserve in two mainspring barrels, as well as a special system for the moon phase that makes it accurate for 122 years without having to be adjusted. This is similar to those in some of the new Daniel Roth watches. De Bethune watches are all characterized by their spherical moon phase indicator balls. One side is done in blued steel, while the other is highly polished platinum. The manner of its execution allows you a better view of how the moon actually looks in the sky.

The watch dial itself is done in guilloche machine engraved silvered gold. The blued hands and hour indicators are lovely, by the hands are too short. You’ll notice that the inner dial is recessed a bit, while the outer edge of the dial has some interesting guilloche engraving applied. While elements of the watch are so classic, the timepiece is still very distinctive, with a lot of De Bethune character, and original style. The modern elements mix well with rest, yielding in a new type of classic for the brand, and watch lovers in general. Price is no doubt going to be highly expensive.

By Ariel Adams

Tags: DB 25, DB25, De Bethune, moon phase, watch

This entry was posted on Thursday, November 5th, 2009 at 2:15 pm and is filed under Watches. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.