Watches & Wonders 2023: De Bethune’s DB Eight
On paper, I wasn’t sure about this watch. Seeing it in person changed my mind.
De Bethune DB Eight, image courtesy of De Bethune
When I saw the press release for the new De Bethune DB Eight, I was underwhelmed. I didn’t think it was a bad watch, but I firmly believed that Denis Flageollet, the master watchmaker behind De Bethune, had more in him than a monopusher chronograph. He’d played that card three times before, and I know there is more in Denis’ mind than another chronograph. Ever since I made the film Seeking Perfect about Denis, I have always expected that he would deliver more, simply because I know what he is capable of as a watchmaker and creator.
The DB Eight simply didn’t match my expectations of Denis’ creativity and his abilities as a watchmaker.
But all of those thoughts simply vanished when I held the watch in my hands at Watches & Wonders 2023. Sitting down with De Bethune CEO Pierre Jacques, I realized what Denis had accomplished with the DB Eight. Within seconds of being presented the watch and picking it up, I realized how wrong I had been in my assumptions about this watch.
Image courtesy of De Bethune
All of the De Bethune hallmarks were present, including a polished titanium case that, while it looks like precious metal, weighs nothing close to it. The nod to the historical torpedo lugs from early De Bethune pieces are a class nod, and there is an elegance that meets the De Bethune standard of elegant watches, not toys for boys. The lightweight nautre of the titanium case helped it to simply disappear on my wrist, and at just a touch over 9 millimeters thick, the watch just misses out on qualifying as an ultra-thin complication.
I knew Denis had made something truly special with this watch.
On the movement side, Denis developed De Bethune’s 31st in-house movement, the DB3000. Aside from patenting a number of inventions, creating 31 calibers is an incredible achievement from the brand. The open working on the bridges gives a glimpse into the technical complexity of the watch, developed from 281 components, including De Bethune’s patented titanium balance wheel with white gold inserts, the silicon escape wheel, and the De Bethune balance spring with a flat terminal curve. The chronograph features column-wheel construction and is controlled by the pusher in the crown.
Image courtesy of De Bethune
The dial is striking with guilloché textures and incredibly legible blue numerals against a white backdrop. The sector dial facilitates time telling, while the guilloché pattern makes light dance off of the dial. The hour register for the chronograph is legible and made reading elapsed time easy, even on a small register. The blue Arabic numerals mate beautifully with the blued hands and the entire package, from polished titanium, to white dial and blue hands, works beautifully together. It sets up the elegance of this machine.
Building on his prior achievements, this is the fourth monopusher chronograph from Denis Flageollet, and, in my opinion, his most elegant. I love his Maxichrono with the 24-hour chronograph, but there is a refined elegance in the DB Eight that replaces the rugged all-out sportiness of the Maxichrono. Pressing the monopusher to start, stop, or reset the DB Eight is a delight. It requires only the faintest of touch, and it feels exactly like a chronograph at this price point should: like silk. Or better. I couldn’t help myself from starting, stopping, and resetting the chronograph. The simple experience was so enjoyable that if I owned this watch it would make the perfect fidget tool. It’s that good.
It’s an elegant chronograph. Perhaps refined or sophisticated might be better words. It is decidedly not a Daytona, not a Royal Oak Chronograph, or any other sports chronograph. It is an elegant chronograph for one who wants to mark the passing of time without need to pay significant attention to its passing.
Personally, I love the simple elegance of the DB Eight’s 60-minute chronograph.
Image courtesy of De Bethune
