|
and you may click on the image to enlarge it. De Bethune A very, very interesting brand. In fact one of the better surprises of the fair. It’s impressive to see such a small company which produces approximately 300 watches a year be so avant garde in terms of movement development. Among this year’s developments was a triple parchute mechanism as well as a new spiral. Do note that De Bethune is also currently testing a whole new silicon based escapement which may be produced in the near future. This year De Bethune was presenting 3 new models each as impressive as the previous ones. The designs are bold and sometimes quirky and will certainly throw many off but you have to agree that the ideas behind these timepieces are rather bright and intelligently implemented. First they showed a new suspension system for their balance wheel bridges which helps in protecting these against shocks. The bridge is mounted on rubies, held in place by springs. This system now appears basically throughout their product lines.
The GMT with an inline power reserve will first be created in 50 pieces, each piece being different in terms of small design elements.
A moonphase power reserve watch with new balance wheel, with a double-screws adjustment system.
The Digitale, my personnal favourite even though I don’t like the case design and think it would have looked better in the classical case with bullet lugs. The Digitale is reminiscent of pocket watches of the 30s made by Vacheron and Audemars which had all indications (including calendar) given via discs. A very beautiful watch which once flipped over is a sight for sore eyes: De Bethunes trademark spherical moonphase floating in a celestial sky! I would buy the watch just for this….pure poetry.
The monopusher Maxichrono features a whole new inhouse chronograph caliber. Its originality comes from the fact that all indications are given via central hands (5) and the dial is layered to correspond to each indication, which include a GMT. It is not a legible watch but still very clever!
De Bethune's new silicium balance wheel with platinum weights and bimetallic compensation. This is a world première and they showed it to us ticking away in a watch movement!
Shellman I was not at Shelman's either but here are pictures of their first mechanical watch with enamel dial.
Part 2 - Daniel Roth & Gérald Genta |
Part 4 - Glashütte Original
|
