De Bethune DB25 Perpetual Calendar 40

De Bethune presented a new type of their beloved classic – the DB25 Perpetual Calendar 40mm at the Beau Rivage salon this year.

The DB25 collection of De Bethune features beautiful timepieces, like the DB25 GMT Starry Varius which was certainly one of my favourite launches of 2021.

Now here is the DB25QP in 40mm as a new interpretation of De Bethune’s perpetual calendar watch.

The original DB25QP was presented in 2011 and it saw a rose-gold toned dial version and a limited edition with a green dial dedicated to the Dubai Watch Week last year.

The new DB25QP’s 40mm diameter and 11.3mm thick case is made of grade 5 titanium; it is light and comfortable on the wrist (even more so with the decreased size). Its integrated and hollowed lugs are already synonymous with the DB25 collection.

The dial’s 12 hand-guilloché sectors are in silver while the Roman numerals ring radiates in blue this time. Perhaps the dark blue ring also changes the visual sense of the watch’s size slightly.

De Bethune DB25 Perpetual Calendar 40

The mirror-polished flame-blued steel evokes the depth of the skies with yellow gold stars and a palladium / flame-blued steel spherical moonphase indicator in the sub-dial at 12 o’clock. All the hands – hour, minute and date hand in the subdial – are steel and are mirror-polished by hand.

The tiny golden pastille is the leap year indicator of the QP. The date is just below in a subdial framed by a rounded ring while the day of the week is at 9 o’clock and the month at 3 o’clock in a small aperture. Inside is the 4Hz (28 800 vibrations per hour) automatic DB2324V2 calibre with a self-regulating double barrel system providing energy for 5 days. This new movement has to be adapted to the new case size – the diameter is scaled down from 35 to 30mm. (The calibre arrangement slightly increased the thickness of the case – it is 11.3mm compared to the previous 11.1mm)

The timepiece will be limited in production, De Bethune plans to create 15 pieces annually.

As a comparison - De Bethune DB25 Perpetual Calendar 44mm on wrist

De Bethune: The Art of Watchmaking De Bethune celebrate its 20 years’ milestone with an extraordinary book written by Arthur Touchot and published by Assouline, capturing the spirit of the company.

Two Decades of F.P. Journe & De Bethune – A Retrospective Exhibition

Two Decades of F.P. Journe & De Bethune – A Retrospective… More than 100 important watches from F.P. Journe & De Bethune - two successful, niche, contemporary fine watch brands - are on a world tour in Asia and the Middle East in early 2023.

De Bethune DB28xs Starry Seas De Bethune just presented a fabulous new DB28 model - the DB28xs Starry Seas, in 39mm case. It is the smallest case ever produced at the manufacture but no less astonishing than other DB28 pieces.