Welcome to our series highlighting the exceptional watches that are available through PERPETUAL, Phillips’ boutique service offering immediate access to the world’s rarest and most desirable timepieces. You can view all currently available watches by visiting our London headquarters at 30 Berkeley Square, or by visiting Phillips PERPETUAL online.
– By Chris Youé
Between two worlds, life hovers like a star, twixt night and morn, upon the horizon's verge.
— Lord Byron
De Bethune can seem like a difficult brand to understand, named after a 17th century French Nobleman and scientist, it is known for its designs that appear to have landed from the 23rd Century and the use of materials that predate humanity itself. In 22 years, they have developed at least 31 new in-house calibres (Patek have around half that many base movements in their current production), invented more than 10 different types of balance wheel and produce fewer than 150 watches per year. There are classical looking watches with curved obus lugs, and there are watches with cases carved out of ancient meteorite. In other words, no easy way of finding a way in or spot a unifying theme.
Established in 2002 by David Zanetta and Denis Flageollet, their fiercely independent spirit was evident from day one. Mere iconoclasm, however, was not their goal, every small decision has been taken with the goal of improving the craft and building a better watch. That goal, the relentless exploration of how to make something better, either technically or aesthetically, is the thread that connects every watch that leaves the workshops of L’Auberson.
With this understanding the brand pops into sharp focus; the extraordinarily shaped lugs account for the most comfortable fit with appropriate visual balance, the consistent use of titanium - lightness and resistance to oxidation, and the signature delta-shield movement structure follows the triple pare-chute shock protection. It all serves to improve the craft.
One of the most arresting of the brand’s explorations is in the heat treatment of Titanium. Carefully controlled heating of this space-age metal has allowed De Bethune’s craftspeople to create components and cases in chartreuse yellow, silky purple and a very particular, vibrant metallic blue that has almost become the brand’s signature.
This near total mastery of element 22 is at its most striking in the creation of the Starry Varius dials. This family of watches illustrate the Milky Way, with gold studs driven across a perfectly blued, and incredibly deep background of heat-treated titanium.
The DB25 Starry Varius GMT, wildly departs from the rest of its family by splitting the sky in two. Horizon-like, the sun hangs in the top half, a rose gold disc at the centre of a sunburst above the blue night hemisphere.
Around this bisected sky, orbits another De Bethune signature, a bi-colour sphere. First used as a 3D moon phase, here it is deployed to represent the earth’s nocturnal and diurnal sides and show us not only our 24-hour home time, but also whether it is night or day there. Completing one lap around the dial every 24 hours, the unique indicator rotates crisply on its axis at 06:00 and again at 18:00 to show a bright, gold, daytime sun, or deep titanium blue moon, not only mimicking the sunrise and sunset, but serving as a swift reference if you call home, whether you will be waking up loved ones!
Built as a ‘flyer GMT’, the local time hands are swiftly set in one-hour increments, with the central date indicator (and its domed white gold tip) helpfully following local, rather than home, time. Again, these hands are executed in truly exceptional style, curving first up and out of the concave sky, over the travelling GMT orb, and finally down to the hour and minute tracks, slinkily removing any parallax error.
Launched in 2021, this was the 29th in-house calibre to be announced by the brand that is still yet to reach its first quarter century! Serving as a home to many of Flageollet’s horological innovations and flourishes, the 368-part movement is easily as impressive as the dial. Executed in highly polished stainless steel (much harder to work than traditional watchmaker’s brass) the broad, delta shield shaped plate features the unique “Cotes dd De Bethune” decoration on the centre and perfectly tops the blued Titanium yoke shape of the patented Triple Pare-chute shock absorbing system.
Another flash of blue is the futuristic titanium balance wheel, optimised for aerodynamic efficiency with 18ct white gold weights integrated into the rim to ensure the physics of inertia can operate as freely from the deleterious effects of aero-drag and magnetic fields as possible. Twin barrels and the super-efficient escapement provide 5-days of power reserve when fully wound.
There is no other brand that has made (or probably ever will make) a GMT that looks, or functions quite like this. Strikingly unique, incredibly comfortable and technically more interesting than nearly anything else in the business, this DB25 Starry Varius GMT is presented with the original box, certificate, stylus and extra strap. The watch is available from Phillips PERPETUAL for £85,000, excluding local tax.
About Phillips PERPETUAL
Phillips PERPETUAL offers a boutique experience to clients for both the sale and purchase of fine and rare watches, in London’s Berkeley Square and the Gstaad Palace, in Switzerland.
Visit Phillips PERPETUAL /
30 Berkeley Square, London, United Kingdom, W1J 6EX (map)
Monday through Friday, 10:00 AM – 17:30 PM
Contact & Consignment Enquiries /
00 44 207 901 7916
perpetual@phillips.com
@phillipsperpetual