The new De Bethune 2009 collection contains a very beautiful piece with contemporary appeal, the DB26. While the uncluttered appearance of the case and the dial reveals the mastery of the various crafts carried out within the De Bethune workshops, it also serves the better to conceal within its heart a new calibre, the DB2005, a perpetual calendar movement wholly developed and produced in the manufacture.
At first glance, it is the sapphire hands surrounded by hand-blued steel which attract the eye. The duo David Zanetta and Denis Flageollet have conceived and designed hands of perfect transparency which enable the person wearing this timepiece to read all the indications displayed in the windows of this perpetual calendar with the greatest of ease. Whatever the position of the hands, the date, the day and the month can be clearly read. Then one admires the De Bethune spherical moon rotating on its own axis, accurately indicating the phases of the celestial body. Consisting of two parts, one steel and the other platinum, this tiny sphere is flame-blued by hand. Next to it, a round window indicates the years of the leap-year cycle. As a further subtle touch, two blued steel indexes point to the month and the day in the windows for better visibility.
The pink or grey palladium gold plated case is 44.4 mm in diameter and has various special features. The moving cradles to which the strap is attached enable the timepiece to adapt itself perfectly to the size of its owner’s wrist. The winding crown is at 6 o’clock so as to form a perfect osmosis with the watch.
This perpetual calendar incorporates the new DB2005 calibre derived from the 2004 calibre. It was developed during 2008 and presented in 2009. Incorporating all the latest De Bethune technologies, this hand-wound mechanical calibre consists of 339 components and has a self-adjusting double spring barrel. The spring barrels are specially designed to eliminate friction and to transmit the maximum amount of energy efficiently. At the heart of the regulating organ is the titanium / platinum balance with flat terminal curve protected by the triple parachute anti-shock system which reduces variations to a minimum and protects the pivots. With its lightness, this balance enables mechanical friction to be reduced and it has an ideal inertia / mass ratio. The shape of the weights on the balance reduces the effect of viscous air friction. The principle of the flat terminal curve, in the same plane as the balance spring, compensates for decentring and facilitates its fixing. In this way the delicate process of adjusting its rate is avoided. With 25 jewels, the movement makes 28,800 vibrations per hour and has a power reserve of 5 days readable on the back of the watch.
Source: TheWatchAvenue |
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