De Bethune’s DB25 series first debuted nearly two decades ago in 2007. The collection served to offer a more classic counterpart to the Maison’s otherwise avantgarde designs. However, despite having a more traditional aesthetic, the line quickly became a platform for innovation with models like the DB25 Deadbeat Seconds Tourbillon coming in 2011 and, more recently, the DB25 Perpetual Calendar coming in 2022. Aside from the impressive complication, the QP also offered compact sizing in a new 40mm case – a major feat given the constraints of accomplishing the technical complexity within a smaller real estate.
On the other hand, the history of the DB Kind of Two is more recent, beginning with the brand's presentation of the original DB Kind of Two Tourbillon in 2021 and its 30th in-house caliber, the DB2517, developed for the GMT complication in 2022. Inspired by historical double-sided watches, the design features a reversible case with two distinct faces: one modern and one classical, each displaying a different time zone and featuring De Bethune's signature aesthetic.
Now, for this year’s Dubai Watch Week, De Bethune presents the next evolution of the pared down 40mm DB25 Perpetual Calendar with the DB25 Perpetual Sky. Alongside it, we get a new interpretation of the DB Kind of Two with a GMT.
A Lesson in Movement Architecture
With the original DB25 Perpetual Calendar in 2022, De Bethune took on the technical challenge of completely overhauling the foundation of the collection from the inside out. Beating at the heart of it all was the DB2324 automatic movement, a downsized version of the brand's core perpetual calendar calibre. The DB2324 offers five days of power reserve thanks to a self-regulated twin barrel system innovated by the De Bethune in 2004. In addition, it features a balance wheel made of a combination of titanium and white gold making it optimized for temperature differences and air penetration – a design patented by the Maison in 2016. The DB2324 also boasts two other patents: the "De Bethune" balance-spring with a flat terminal curve and the Spherical moonphase indication accurate to a degree of one lunar day every 122 years.
With the new DB25 Perpetual Sky, we get a different calibre: the DB2005. The primary difference here is that this is a manually wound movement. Otherwise, it retains many of the features of the DB2324, including each of the three patents. Here, the display is based on a multi-level architecture consisting of annular appliques delimiting subdials and a silver minute track. The date is positioned at 6 o'clock, and the day and month windows are at 9 o’clock and 3 o’clock respectively. Then, at 12 o'clock, a blued palladium/steel sphere materializes the moonphases as observed in the sky, another De Bethune patent 2004. Lastly, a gold dot, placed underneath, indicates the cycle of leap years.
Moving over to the DB Kind of Two Jumping GMT, we have previously seen two versions: the initial in 2022 and earlier this year, a collaborative edition with Swizz Beatz. Both models housed the manually wound calibre DB2517, which we see here again in the latest edition powering both dials. The contemporary front dial showcases the sophisticated mechanism and provides time reading centered on the balance wheel at 6 o'clock, with the minutes scale around the rim. Meticulous work involving layering polished and domed shapes, as well as microlight, shotpeened, and snailed finishes, reveals the great care devoted to the decoration of this calibre.
Form Follows Function
The showpiece of both models is the dial, or in the case of the DB Kind of Two Jumping GMT, the dials.
For several years now, the starry sky and its Milky Way have been an integral part of the history of the brand, and we see this taking center stage in the DB25 Perpetual Sky. This motif, defined according to a geographical location and a precise date, allows for a subtle personalization of the dial. Following the delicate polishing and bluing using a thermal oxidation process exclusive to De Bethune, the Maison’s decorators set each white gold pin in micro-perforations of various sizes to create the starry sky. After laser microstrikes, the Milky Way is gradually revealed by the artisanal application of 24-karat gold leaf.
Alternatively, the DB Kind of Two Jumping GMT offers a unique proposition with a front and back dial that can be worn on either side, depending on the wearer’s mood or chosen time zone. While the modern dial offers home-time display, the classic side offers the GMT. This traditionally inspired reverse side presents a domed anthracite dial with a guilloché center, providing an understated reading of the time. The manually polished curved 5N gold hands match the gilded hour markers, while the polished titanium indicator elegantly marks the mechanical seconds jump.
For more information on each model, including pricing, visit the De Bethune website.
