Not all images were able to load for printing. Please close the print window and try again. The New De Bethune DB25Vxs Silver Moon
De Bethune’s renewed and unique take on the moon phase watch
Watches manufactured by independent brand De Bethune are in a class of their own. When you look at one of the brand’s new creations, it often feels like the watch has always been part of the collection. And yet, there is an ever-renewed creativity, with countless new details waiting to be discovered, with a unique mix of futurism and traditional craft, something typical of Denis Flageollet’s work. This is exactly the case with the new DB25Vxs Silver Moon, a refined version of the DB25L with a smaller case, a reconfigured dial and an optimised movement.
The new De Bethune DB25Vxs Silver Moon is a refined take on one of the brand’s most emblematic watches, presented some 15 years ago, the DB25L, a watch that marked the debut of the brand’s “classic” watch collection and that was itself the reinterpretation of a signature De Bethune innovation, the spherical moon phase (2004 with the DB15).
As such, the DB25Vxs Silver Moon couldn’t feel more De Bethune, just how we like the brand’s timepieces. In a class of its own, it brings together technical aesthetic, conceptual creativity and respect for traditional execution. Clearly inspired by classic watchmaking references, it remains utterly modern at the same time. As explained by Denis Flageollet, the founder and mastermind behind De Bethune’s creations, “my creative work is in a state of perpetual evolution, rooted in our in-house codes. Every De Bethune is a glimpse of the next. It invites and inspires the next timepiece”.
This pared-down version is housed in a smaller grade 5 titanium case that measures 40.6mm in diameter (compared to 44mm for the original DB25L) while retaining its drum shape, thin, rounded bezel and iconic hollowed, ogival-shaped lugs. The hand-guilloché barleycorn pattern on the silvered dial is paired with rose gold Breguet-style hands. These are hand-curved to glide over the three-dimensional moon. Fashioned from palladium and flame-blued steel, this compelling representation of our closest satellite emerges at 12 o’clock at the centre of a reshaped blued titanium sky with gold stars.
From a technical perspective, the DB2105V5 hand-wound movement packs several of the brand’s innovations. It is fitted with the De Bethune balance spring with a flat terminal curve, a silicon escape wheel and the De Bethune triple pare-chute shock-absorbing system. It runs at 28,800vph, and its self-regulating twin-barrel ensures 6 days of autonomy. Its moon phase indication maintains its accuracy for 122 years before requiring a single day’s correction.
The De Bethune DB25Vxs Silver Moon is worn on an extra-supple alligator strap with a grade 5 titanium pin buckle. The price is set at CHF 82,000 (excl. taxes). More details at debethune.ch.
