De Bethune - The Geneva Watch Auction: XVI Geneva Saturday, November 5, 2022 | Phillips

Create your first list.

Select an existing list or create a new list to share and manage lots you follow.

  • Manufacturer: De Bethune
    Year: 2008
    Reference No: DW1PS8
    Case No: 000
    Model Name: Dream Watch 1 Prototype
    Material: Platinum
    Calibre: Manual, inhouse
    Bracelet/Strap: Leather
    Clasp/Buckle: Stainless steel pin buckle
    Dimensions: 44.5mm Diameter
    Signed: Case and movement signed
    Accessories: Accompanied by Certificate of Authenticity and provenance signed by DeBethune Co-founder David Zanetta
    Provenance: Private collection of David Zanetta

  • Provenance

    Private collection of David Zanetta

  • Catalogue Essay

    De Bethune has always merged forward thinking designs with cutting edge mechanisms always pushing the boundaries of both. However, in 2008 with the launch of the Dream Watch collection the brand opened the creative dams with the sake of creating mechanical artworks with no holding back whatsoever.

    The Dream Watch 1 represents an extreme work on the verge of folly and genius in terms of shapes, materials and colors. But even more, the Dream Watch collection is a laboratory for De Bethune’s future creations.

    The present Dream Watch 1 with its black zirconium “sail” shaped top plate, silicon balance that conceals the balance spring and acts as a mirror and three dimensional moonphase display at 6 o’clock was the original canvas that resulted in the brand’s most celebrated model: the DB28. It was a cauldron of groundbreaking ideas, from the case to the movement. The balance wheel for example was at the time the lightest balance wheel ever made. It featured high inertia and low weight thanks to the central silicium disc and an outer platinum bracing. Poetically, Mr. Zanetta decided to put the spiral behind the balance wheel so that even when it is ticking it appears to be still, mirroring how time always flows without us being always fully aware of it.

    Another absolute novelty is the presence of two pushers in the back which allow for micrometrical regulation of the ratchet, a level of finesse found only on high-end timepieces and never before self-adjustable without the help of a watchmaker. Each push equates to about 1 sec/day increase or decrease in the rate of the movement.

    This prototype features not only innovations on the inside, but on the outside as well. In fact this case is the very first case in watchmaking to feature floating lugs kept in tension via a spring. This system ensures the lugs better adjust themselves to the wrist under any kinetic condition. This intuition will be further elaborated with its commercial incarnation the DB28, featuring a double spring system as opposed to the single one present in this prototype.

    Such an amount of innovation and experimentation made more than a splash in the “horological pond”, so much so that the DB28 went on to win Robb Report Magazine’s “Best of the Best” prize in 2009 .

    However, beyond all the innovation, the present Dream Watch 1 in platinum is more than a technical marvel. It rather is a true piece of independent horological history as it bears number 000: the first and only prototype made of this model and the personal timepiece of David Zanetta, the co-founder of the brand, who is now offering it to the market for the very first time.

    About this watch, he has the following statement: “The DW1 is without a doubt the project that challenged me most during its development, but also the one the most gratified me once finished. From the futuristic design to the various technical implementations, the piece is a tour-de-force of innovation and can be considered a practical treaty about the core ethos of De Bethune. I consider it the spirit of classic beauty in the future”.

Ο137

Ref. DW1PS8
A unique, cutting edge platinum prototype wristwatch with 3 dimensional moonphase display, power reserve and certificate of authenticity

2008
44.5mm Diameter
Case and movement signed

Estimate
CHF80,000 - 160,000 
€82,400-165,000
$80,100-160,000

Sold for CHF201,600

Contact Specialist

Alexandre Ghotbi
Head of Watches, Continental Europe and the Middle East
+41 22 317 81 81
AGhotbi@phillips.com
 

Tiffany To
Head of Sale, Geneva
+41 22 317 96 63
TiffanyTo@phillips.com

The Geneva Watch Auction: XVI

Geneva Auction 5 - 6 November 2022