In honour of The Hour Glass’s 40th anniversary, De Bethune has found a unique way to pay tribute to the longstanding special relationship with the Tay family, built on trust and mutual respect. The Swiss “Maison Horlogère” focused its creative spirit and technical skills on rethinking the legendary DB28 Steel Wheels: the DB28 Steel Wheels Blue, entirely blue for the occasion.
Awarded the “Aiguille d’Or” of the Geneva Grand Prix d’Horlogerie as Best Watch of the Year in 2011, the bestselling DB28 has since its inception set a reference for the elegant, distinguished watch. Openness and light come together in a compelling theme, with a large dial affording stunning views of the movement’s mesmerising architecture.
DB 28 Steel Wheels Blue: The Hour Glass Commemorative Edition
Eschewing a colour code or Pantone reference, to create its own blue De Bethune uses its famous technique of gently oxidizing steel or titanium grade 5 to naturally colour its surface. This ritual-like process conjures a rare, uniform, extraordinary blue, that is now immediately recognisable as purely De Bethune.
And so the famous central deltoid bridge of the DB28 Steel Wheels Blue, which is decorated with “Côtes De Bethune” using the Microlight micrometric scale engraving technique, but also the plates and gears were entirely blued in the workshops of the De Bethune factory in Auberson. The result is ground-breaking, revealing cutting-edge technology as it serves art, and perpetuating the Maison’s heritage: bold aesthetics and exceptional mechanics.
Also deserving of mention, the double self-regulating barrel providing a 6-day power reserve, the balance spring with a flat terminal curve – a De Bethune exclusive – and the silicon escape wheel, the proprietary “triple pare-chute” shock absorption system, and an even more powerful new titanium balance wheel with inserts to complete this beautiful meeting of art and science.
The Manufacture’s signature spherical moon made of palladium and blued steel, rounds off this compelling demonstration of watchmaking artisanship. Set against a night-sky backdrop at 6 o’clock, it spins on its axis with such precision that it will take 122 years to accumulate a one-day discrepancy.
