The De Bethune Cempasúchil II Unique Piece was just presented two weeks ago at the SIAR Mexico 2023 in Mexico City and we had the pleasure of perusing it. A new one-of-a-kind creation in its Maestri’art collection comes as a sequel to the DW5 Cempasúchil I presented in 2020 and which we brought you here —pictured below. Hovering between life and death, with a touch of naughty humor, just like the joyous and colorful Mexican ‘Dia de Muertos’ —Day of the Dead celebration.

This time, De Bethune is once again having fun in celebrating the Dia de Muertos with the Cempasúchil II with two dials and an automaton reminiscent of erotic watches. Denis Flageollet makes no secret of the fact that since the release of the Kind-of-Two in 2020, he has reveled in surprising people with the multiple possibilities afforded by such a double-sided watch and is looking forward to receiving collectors’ requests for one-of-a-kind timepieces in order to play with these countless options.

To kick off this future festival of made-to-order Kind-of-Two watches, what more fun could Denis Flageollet have than getting down to work with his long-time accomplice, the Swiss Art engraver Michèle Rothen in order to demonstrate the watch's full potential. Midway between engraving and micro-sculpture, Michèle's engraving surpasses all existing standards. Her infinitely accurate work is backed by Swiss artistic talent recognized as among the very best.

Things to Know About the Watch

Cased in polished grade 5 titanium measuring 42.8 mm in diameter, the De Bethune Cempasúchil II reflects a hint of mischief and a touch of naughtiness. The main dial where the hour and minute hands are set is hand-engraved in blued titanium with rose gold inserts for the two dancing Calaveras —skeletons— and is equipped with an hours and minutes ring in titanium with blue engraved index.

While the main dial provides the time, the other side of the watch is a dedicated decor featuring a naughty depiction of the two Calaveras 'in erotic action'. Beneath a show of laughing Calaveras worthy of La Catrina, an array of cams, levers and are set into motion and bring the two characters to life as a surprising and fun treat for amused observers. The second dial features hand-engraved white and yellow gold automaton over hand-engraved blued titanium dial.

Animated on demand by a highly complex mechanism by means of a button located at 12 o'clock on the caseband, the merry scene conveys a sense of gaiety and mischief. An even closer look reveals a little humorous touch from the two designers as it’s the ‘lady’ the one taking the lead in this traditional Kamasutra position.

The entire engraving work on both dial sides is a nod to the brilliant Mexican engraver José Guadalupe Posada, an artist who made the dead dance in the late 19th century and already inspired Denis Flageollet and Michèle Rothen in 2020 when designing the DW5 Cempasúchil. Powering this new watch is the De Bethune calibre DB2080V2 composed of 384 parts and 47 jewels. This manual wound movement provides a power reserve of 5 days when fully wound.

With this new creation, they have once again picked the aesthetic codes and details of the work down by Posada, who has gained lasting renown for his genius in turning macabre art on its head and aligning it with the singular way Mexicans joyfully celebrate their dear departed. The titanium casing has been flame-blued and engraved with subtle gold inlays to bring light and a discreetly precious touch. The watch is delivered on a matching blue karung —a non-venomous aquatic snake native to Asia— leather strap with titanium pin buckle. The hue of the strap is identical in color to the color of the watch dials.

On the Wrist & Price

On the wrist, the De Bethune Cempasúchil II wears true to its size. This one-of-a-kind creation thus perfectly demonstrates the versatile nature of the De Bethune Kind-of-Two —truly a reversible watch unlike the new Akrivia X Louis Vuitton Collaboration timepiece—, which offers clients the possibility of ordering bespoke versions with their very own automaton mechanism, giving free rein to their imagination.

Sticker Price Upon Request. For more info on De Bethune click here.