Independent watchmaking brands know how to break the rules and create disruption in a very positive way. When it comes to De Bethune —nestled in Sainte Croix in the Swiss Jura mountains—, disruption is a must and the search for perfection is always there. The De Bethune DB28 Steel Wheels Sapphire Tourbillon is the result of never standing still and always trying to find the perfect balance between contemporary and bold aesthetics alongside exceptional mechanics. Available in a limited edition of only 10 pieces, the DB28 Steel Wheels Sapphire Tourbillon capitalizes on doing things the same way they’ve done it for the last 19 years but adding new elements in a very unconventional way to their designs.

The DB28 Steel Wheels Sapphire Tourbillon is different to any other tourbillon from De Bethune by virtue of adding a blued sapphire crystal bridge to the open-worked design of its dial and rounding it out with blued titanium beveled rings around the twin barrels. When you master finishing the way De Bethune does, the results are outstanding and the watches are pure eye candy.

Prominently taking the center stage at 6 o’clock, the 30-seconds De Bethune titanium tourbillon with blue elements rises in all its glory. With a multi-layer construction full of depth, the dial is framed by a circular grained titanium hours’ ring with cutout minute markers that appear like a saw blade and prominent spherical polished titanium hour-markers set on a blued polished titanium circle. Creating a symphony of contrasting elements, the DB28 Steel Wheels Sapphire Tourbillon is probably our favorite watch to date from De Bethune.

Cased in grade 5 titanium, the De Bethune DB28 Steel Wheels Sapphire Tourbillon is unlike any other watch released by the brand. The transparency and blue color of the signature De Bethune triangular-shaped bridge, this time in sapphire is an spectacle on its own and a beautiful way to allow the wearer to see through it and straight down the mainspring twin barrels that are fully open-worked.

Turning the watch over reveals the De Bethune manual wound calibre DB2019V5 composed of 272 parts with silicon escape-wheel and power reserve indicator over a blued ring on the periphery of the movement. Exquisitely finished and hand-decorated, this movement guarantees an autonomy of 5 days when fully wound.

Ultra comfortable thanks to its floating lugs design, the De Bethune DB28 Steel Wheels Sapphire Tourbillon is simply stunning and living proof that watchmaking needs to constantly evolve while sticking to the basic principles of horology in terms of timekeeping, precision and wearability. In our book, the DB28 Steel Wheels Sapphire Tourbillon ticks all the boxes when it comes to those principles and brings a breath of fresh air to the always pleasantly surprising independent watchmaking.

Sticker Price CHF 195,000 Swiss Francs —approximately $217,000 USD. For more info on De Bethune click here.