De Bethune – DB29 Maxichrono Tourbillon NEW
Unique in watchmaking history
Introducing De Bethune’s neo-mechanics
Twelve years ago David Zanetta, an art lover and connoisseur of traditional watchmaking, and Denis Flageollet, an innovative designer and constructor of watches, set up the De Bethune project, ranging from the development of watchmaking techniques to research applied to the horological arts.
Their research follows on from that undertaken by the great horologists of the age of enlightenment,
while assimilating the new technologies and materials to which the fundamental calculations and
principles of conventional mechanics have been applied.
The various innovations emanating from the De Bethune laboratory not only bear witness to these
intentions, they also express the conviction that there is much unexplored territory in the field of
watchmaking technology.
Work on the regulating organ that is at the heart of every watch obeys well-known physical
properties: inertia, mass, elasticity, surface friction and magnetism. Fundamental to the improved
precision and efficiency of watch movements are such technological advances as the patented
balance-spring with flat terminal curve, balance-wheels in silicon and white gold or in titanium and
platinum featuring maximum inertia for a minimum weight, as well as the development of a real
tourbillon for the wrist in silicon and titanium.
The DB29 Maxichrono Tourbillon, the result of seven years of research and development, is the only
one of its kind. This exceptional patented chronograph, packed with innovations, embodies the
essence of De Bethune’s watchmaking.
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A mono-pusher chronograph
The rose-gold case of the DB29 with its smooth curves features the brand’s trademark cone-shaped
lugs. The double case back of this time-measuring instrument is fitted with an invisible hinge so as not
to detract from its clean lines. A single push button, coaxial with the crown at 3 o'clock, operates the
chronograph.
Five central hands
The design of the DB29 Maxichrono Tourbillon’s dial with its five central hands aims to make it easier
and more attractive to read the chronograph indications by doing away with the small subdials of
the conventional chronograph. The hands that give this watch its identity are designed to follow the
different shapes and curves of the silver-toned dial. They are all in hand-polished steel that has been flame-blued by the company’s craftsmen, apart from the chronograph minutes hand, which is in
rose gold.
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Measuring long elapsed times: 23 hours, 59 minutes and 59.9 seconds
This instrument measures long elapsed times with counters for 60 seconds, 60 minutes and 24 hours.
The central chronograph hands are mounted on co-axial stacked wheels, a complex system that
requires real technical expertise to achieve.
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Thanks to the precision ensured by the De Bethune 30-second Tourbillon in silicon and titanium
oscillating at a rate of 36,000 vibrations per hour – one of the fastest and lightest on the market with
its 63 parts weighing a total of 0.18 grams – time is accurately measured and the maximum duration
of elapsed-time measurements amounts to a generous 23 hours, 59 minutes and 59.9 seconds.
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A push button at 4 o'clock opens the cover on the sapphire-crystal glass of a titanium case back to
reveal the modern construction of the calibre DB2039 movement with its polished steel bridges, the
tourbillon at 3 o'clock and the complex mechanism of an innovative time-measuring system
featuring three column-wheels.
De Bethune total clutch system: a patented chronograph invention
De Bethune’s research and development department has announced the filing of a patent
application n° CH00076/14 for the chronograph mechanism. De Bethune’s absolute clutch aims to
improve the performance of chronographs by correcting the faults identified in current mechanisms.
This mechanism makes the most of the advantages of the horizontal and vertical clutch systems
while eliminating their faults. It thus benefits from a marked reduction in the friction that affects the
movement both when the chronograph is running and when it is functioning without the
chronograph engaged.
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The absolute clutch operates in a system engaging the two traditional clutch methods to allow the
different chronograph counters to function semi-autonomously:
- The chronograph seconds are governed by the new absolute clutch system;
- The minutes counter is controlled by a shifting pinion;
- The hours counter is engaged by a horizontal clutch.
Three different types of clutch behind three semi-independent systems controlled by three
column-wheels thus govern the different chronograph elapsed-time counters.
column-wheels thus govern the different chronograph elapsed-time counters.
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In this way De Bethune marks a significant technological breakthrough in the history of
chronographs, the result of continuous research heralded by the DB21 Maxichrono in 2006. Constant
innovation relying on an extensive knowledge of age-old expertise has enabled the brand to simplify
and enhance the reliability of the absolute clutch system so that it can be implemented in a
movement manufactured by the production workshops in the Swiss village of L’Auberson.
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Technical Specifications
Ref: DB29RS1 DB29 Maxichrono Tourbillon
Calibre DB 2039
Mechanical hand-wound movement
Functions: hours – minutes – mono-pusher chronograph with 24-hour,
60-minute and 60-second Counters – De Bethune Tourbillon 30″ silicon/titanium 36,000 vph
Diameter 30 mm – 410 parts – hand-crafted finishing and decoration – hand-polished steel –
3 columns wheels
De Bethune absolute clutch *
Self-regulating twin barrel *
Silicon/white gold balance wheel – balance-spring with flat terminal curve*
De Bethune 30″silicon/titanium tourbillon, 36,000 vph*
Silicon escape wheel*
Jewelling: 49 jewels
Frequency: 36,000 vibrations per hour
Power reserve: 5 days
* Manufacture De Bethune innovations and registered patents
Fonctions
Hours and Minutes
Mono-pusher chronograph with 24-hour, 60-minute and 60-second counters
De Bethune 30″silicon/titanium tourbillon
Movement
Calibre DB2039 – Mechanical hand-wound movement
Power reserve: 5 days
Case
5N rose gold – round-shaped – diameter 46 mm – thickness 11.70 mm
Attachments: cone-shaped lugs
Glass: sapphire crystal, 1800 Vickers hardness with double anti-reflective treatment
Crown: at 3 o’clock – mono-pusher button – setting in 2 positions – push button for the double back at 4 o’clock
Back: open – sapphire crystal, 1800 Vickers hardness with double anti-reflective treatment – De Bethune tourbillon 30′′ silicon/titanium 36,000 vph – chronograph calibre with hand-polished bridges
Double back: solid with invisible hinge – 5N rose gold
Display
Dial: silver-toned – the architecture of the dial is constructed on different levels; some are curved to maximize the visibility. From the centre to the periphery : central hours counter – hours inner ring – minutes ring and minutes counter – outer ring with chronograph seconds indication
Hands: 5 curved central hands – hand-polished and flame-blued steel for hours and minutes hands and hours and seconds chronograph indicators – minutes chronograph indicator in rose gold
Strap
Extra-supple alligator leather strap with pin buckle
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Press release - Geneva 2014
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