De Bethune has pushed the boundaries of watchmaking with its latest creation, the DB Kind of Two GMT ‘Season 3’. This watch epitomizes the brand's commitment to artistic innovation and technical excellence. Collaboratively designed by Denis Flageollet and music industry icon Swizz Beatz, it challenges traditional watchmaking conventions.
In 2020, Swizz Beatz initiated a groundbreaking collaboration with De Bethune, challenging the renowned watchmaker to explore new dimensions of transparency and light. This partnership has since produced a series of innovative timepieces that push the boundaries of traditional watchmaking.
Season 1: The DW5 - A Transparent Marvel
The first collaboration resulted in the DW5, a revolutionary watch that defied conventional design. Its remarkable construction featured seven distinct sapphire crystal elements ingeniously set within a blued titanium exoskeleton. This approach allowed a full view of the intricate movement, perfectly balancing minimalist aesthetics and technical complexity. The watch embodied De Bethune's forward-thinking approach to horological design.
Season 2: The DBD - Refined Elegance
The second iteration featured the DBD model, demonstrating a more refined aesthetic. Its dial was a masterful composition of Côtes de Genève finishing and Art Deco-inspired digital displays, concealing a sophisticated mechanical complexity. The color palette of burgundy and anthracite complemented a case that beautifully merged classical elements—such as the 12 o'clock crown and ogival lugs—with the cutting-edge lightness of polished zirconium.
Season 3: The DB Kind of Two GMT - Functional Innovation
Swizz Beatz selected the DB Kind of Two GMT for the third season, a timepiece that epitomizes functional creativity. This remarkable watch features a reversible design with two distinct dials, offering a dual-time display. With a single, precision-engineered flipping mechanism, wearers can seamlessly switch between a contemporary and a classic dial, embodying the watch's core theme of versatility. This ingenious design represents a harmonious blend of traditional craftsmanship and modern aesthetic sensibilities.
Creating a watch with two entirely independent dials presented an extraordinary technical challenge. De Bethune's master watchmakers undertook this ambitious project, developing a groundbreaking movement wholly designed and manufactured within their manufacture in l'Auberson, Switzerland.
The movement represents a pinnacle of horological engineering, embodying De Bethune's commitment to innovative design. Beneath its understated exterior lies an intricate mechanical system engineered to provide an intuitive GMT function. A meticulously designed network of gears and pinions ensures absolute precision, guaranteeing that the watch's hands always move in the correct direction, regardless of which dial is selected.
The DB Kind of Two GMT's case is a testament to De Bethune's commitment to aesthetic refinement and technical excellence. The 43.3 mm case—11.4 mm thick— is crafted from zirconium and satin-finished Grade 5 titanium and combines lightweight durability with a sophisticated visual profile. Innovative floating lugs are the cornerstone of the case's ergonomic brilliance. Carefully engineered to mimic the natural curvature of the human wrist, these lugs ensure unprecedented comfort and adaptability. The watch embraces the wearer's arm, connecting timepiece and body seamlessly.
At the heart of the case's design lies an extraordinary mechanical system—a marvel of micro-engineering. The manual wound De Bethune calibre DB2517, composed of 394 parts and 58 jewels, provides a power reserve of four full days and features Dead Beat Seconds.
The contemporary dial represents a masterful fusion of form and function, strategically designed to highlight the watch's intricate mechanical heart. The balance wheel at 6 o'clock becomes a focal point at its core, transforming a critical mechanical component into a visual centerpiece. Surrounding this central element, minute markers trace the dial's periphery, creating a clean, streamlined aesthetic that allows the movement's sophisticated engineering to take center stage. This design philosophy goes beyond mere visual appeal. By positioning the balance wheel prominently and using minimalist markers, the dial offers an unobstructed view of the watch's inner workings, inviting the wearer to appreciate the intricate choreography of mechanical precision that drives each movement.
Complementing this remarkable timepiece is an equally significant milestone for the brand: the opening of the De Bethune Lounge at The 1916 Company in New York. This marks the brand's first dedicated space in the United States and its third global location, following establishments in Geneva and Hong Kong.
The lounge will provide collectors and enthusiasts with an immersive environment to explore the intricate world of independent watchmaking, offering an intimate glimpse into exceptional creations like the DB Kind of Two GMT Season 3.
The De Bethune DB Kind of Two GMT 'Season 3' is available in a highly exclusive limited edition of only 10 pieces.
Sticker Price USD 235,000. For more info on De Bethune click here.
