The DB27 Titan Hawk JPS is the newest member of the De Bethune Titan Hawk family and continues the line’s combination of advanced technical features, practicality and wearability, and clean, distinctive styling in a timepiece that pays homage to the golden age of competitive motorsports of the 1970s. The dramatic contrast between black and gold gives the new DB27 Titan Hawk JPS a clean but subtly elegant technical feel, echoing the influence and heritage of competitive motorsports, as well as the advanced features of the caliber AUTOV2.
The DB27 Titan Hawk JPS draws its inspiration from the design and technology of its predecessors while adding an innovative touch. Slim lines, a black microlight dial, sandblasted titanium minute hands with hand-polished tips, a microlight case middle, and brushed lugs and tinted open back are all key elements of the design —making for a watch that stands out not only for its sleek design but also for its entirely in-house movement.
The 43 mm black zirconium case with a microlight decoration in the middle is accompanied by a black canvas strap. Black zirconium is a high-tech, high-strength, hypoallergenic, and lightweight material offering superior technical advantages in comparison to standard sports watches in stainless steel. The wearability of the watch is further improved by the signature De Bethune articulated ‘floating lugs’ with their ogival tips, which allow the watch to conform perfectly to the owner’s wrist whether large or small. Finally, the design of the case and dial expresses De Bethune’s long-standing commitment to both technical and aesthetic excellence, with yellow titanium accents contrasting with the black zirconium case body, in an echo of the John Player Special Formula One livery used by the F1 Lotus team.
It was in March 2018 that De Bethune introduced the latest in-house automatic calibre; the AUTOV2, the beating heart of a timepiece with a modern twist. The heart of the DB27 Titan Hawk JPS is the caliber AUTOV2. Like the engines found in the most cutting-edge racing cars, the AUTOV2 has been optimized for strength, precision, and performance and takes advantage of the most modern materials and methods to create a movement intended to be the last word in performance watchmaking.
The caliber AUTOV2 offers a sixty-hour power reserve from a single mainspring barrel, and features De Bethune’s signature titanium balance, with white gold inserts. The balance, as the element which regulates the precision of the entire watch, must possess certain technical features including optimum mass at the periphery as well as low mass elsewhere —a goal that De Bethune has explored and mastered over two decades of refining the design of this most essential element. Combined with the patented De Bethune balance spring, and a balance bridge fixed at two points on the movement plate for maximum strength and stability, the AUTOV2 is a sophisticated expression of both striking aesthetics and precision engineering.
Finally, the DB27 Titan Hawk JPS meets De Bethune's sporting, technical, and aesthetic aspirations. All the aesthetic codes of the manufacture can be found in this model: the patented floating lug system with its famous cone-shaped tips that are more prominent than ever, comprising polished yellow grade 5 titanium inserts recalling the side of the case, the 12 o'clock position of its crown, a microlight decoration on the case middle, and the black microlight dial —a form of decoration unique to De Bethune, which improves on traditional guilloche to produce unique visual and optical effects.
The DB27 Titan Hawk JPS is available as a limited series sold exclusively through De Bethune.
Sticker Price $60,000 USD. For more info on De Bethune click here.
