First Look De Bethune's Kind of Grande Complication (Live Pictures)

De Bethune has accumulated over 22 years of innovation, research and creativity within its manufacture, and has always offered an exceptional range of fine timepieces. Today, it presents a watch more complex than anything that came out of the company’s workshop in the Swiss city of Auberson, the DB Kind of Grand Complication watch, which the company described as an important step forward.

Capturing the essence and heritage of De Bethune in an extraordinary watch that showcases technical mastery, was a challenge embraced by Denis Flageollet and his team. Denis and Jacques-Pierre unveiled this masterpiece to Waqt last year, with Denis succinctly summarizing it as “the perfect two-sided watch.”

Complicated, it is a Grand Complication watch as the company calls it, as it displays eight different complications, the perpetual calendar, spherical moon phase indicator, retrograde moon age and leap years, tourbillon, deadbeat seconds, power reserve indicator in addition to the dual display of hours and minutes. All this requires 751 components and a lot of precision.

The choice of a reversible double-sided case was natural, uniting numerous complications and providing scope for free-spirited aesthetic expression through dual display. The case features a rotation system, a novel feature introduced in 2021, mounted on floating lugs. An ingenious micro-mechanism enables smooth, accurate swiveling movement, ensuring perfect alignment with the wrist's curves. The rounded design of the classically inspired case, with the crown at 12 o'clock on the contemporary side (6 o'clock on the traditional side), conceals the technical challenges of a double case.

Crafted from polished grade 5 titanium, the 43.3 mm case of this timepiece boasts durability and sophistication. The patented floating lugs offer flexibility and stability, while a turning mechanism allows clear positioning on either side. Protected by double-sided sapphire crystal, this watch ensures optimal visibility and scratch resistance. With water resistance up to 30 meters.

Dial The front part is in blued titanium, displaying a three-dimensional moon phase indicator at 3 o'clock via a monolithic sphere rotating on its axis consisting of two perfectly parallel hemispheres of flame-blued steel and mirror-polished palladium as well as the company's signature "Starry Sky" studded sky motif on the center dial. It was hand-decorated with touches of white gold depicting the stars, our Milky Way Galaxy. The leap-year indicator aligned at 3 o'clock, the subtle play of superimposed blues in the counter rings and apertures, along with the gilded juxtaposition of the day, month and date displays, blend seamlessly into the sky and the Milky Way without ever losing their legibility. 

The inner frame is made of opal silver, printed with hour markers, Roman numerals, and a minute railtrack road above it. All this, in addition to the design of the case, the graphic design of the numerals, the style of the hands and the “Starry Sky”, are all designs that pay tribute to the luxury watchmaking industry of the 18th century, the era of great masters and marine chronometers.

The second side displays some of the components of the DB2529 caliber, an indicator of the end of the power reserve between the 8 and 9 o’clock positions and the age of the moon and the Hijri date, via a retrograde indicator that facilitates precise adjustment of the lunar day and is located at the 2 o’clock position. The tourbillon is one of the fastest and lightest tourbillons on the market with a silver hand. Small indicates seconds. The tourbillon is made primarily of titanium and weighs just 0.18 grams in total, featuring a central jumping seconds mechanism consisting of two gold wheels moved by a double four-platform stretcher. There is also a railtrack road  for minutes around the dial.

The watch is equipped with caliber DB2529, a hand-wound mechanical movement consisting of 552 components. It offers a 4-day power reserve thanks to its two barrels, and is equipped with a silicone escape wheel. This movement features a lightweight titanium tourbillon and a deadbeat seconds mechanism. Operating at a rate of 36,000 vibrations per hour, it showcases its hand-polished and beveled bridges, along with the barrels finished in a snail pattern.

For more information please visit the official website of De bethune.