Simplification can sometimes be singularly complicated.
This is the first reinterpretation
of this revolutionary chronograph designed in 2006.
This is the first reinterpretation
of this revolutionary chronograph designed in 2006.
A model that was pure, absolute and radical in its approach, thanks to its principle of five hands mounted on a single central axis and controlled by a simple single pusher... De Bethune now presents the first reissue of this chronograph which has become an icon for Fine Watchmaking connoisseurs
Only ten of these timepieces will be produced.
Building the watchmaking of tomorrow by imagining what the great Master Watchmakers of the 18th century might have created today. Deconstructing so as to eliminate unfounded assumptions; pushing back the boundaries of knowledge; exploring new horizons... And returning to mechanical and aesthetic aesthetics embodying a perfect balance.
First presented in 2006, the first DB21 "Maxichrono" was born from a precise and clear vision of the chronograph in the mind of Denis Flageollet, Master Watchmaker and co-founder of the Manufacture De Bethune.
The vision? To create watchmaking’s purest and most absolute chronograph. To endow it with a resolutely contemporary expression. And to rethink its design, along with its architecture and technical construction.
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No one had yet dared to take such a radical path. The result? A timepiece that remains revolutionary in many ways, resulting from an approach that is free of any acquired knowledge or preconceived ideas. In the centre, on a single axis, are five remarkably mounted hands following a vertical sequence of carefully fitted pillars and wheels... a real technical feat.
This extremely pared-down system paradoxically requires extremely complex development involving a mechanism that operates with several interdependent column wheels, all five axes in the centre, embedded into each other and yet working independently. Each can be zero-reset on demand, and autonomously restart. And as if to push the limits of technical and aesthetic purity even further, everything is controlled by a single pusher at 6 o'clock because this is the easiest position to access the controls quickly and simply when the watch is on your wrist. It is all the more convenient in that the case is fitted with the famous patented De Bethune floating lugs.
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Thus eliminating multiple counters that create visual distraction, the result is a timepiece that resembles sports timers designed for actual timekeeping work; a real reading of chronograph counters, seconds counter, minutes counter and hour counter; along with an ability to measure long times, thereby offering a real timekeeping range of up to 24 hours in a row (whereas the usual de facto limits are 9 to 12 hours, and 30 to 45 minutes) with tenth-of-a-second accuracy.
Beating at a frequency of 36,000 vph, enabling fifth-of-a-second readings, the DB2030 movement is equipped with the De Bethune absolute clutch*, a patented system resulting from more than seven years of research and development.
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The DB21 Maxichrono is a reliable and precise time-measurement instrument that is both aesthetically pure and highly readable. Endowed with a remarkable five-day power reserve (one of the longest on the market), it proclaims a classic heritage that is smoothly combined with modernity in a highly distinctive aesthetic balance.
Today, 13 years after presenting the first prototype, De Bethune is for the first time introducing a re-edition of its famous DB21 Maxichrono, crafted on this occasion in grade 5 titanium. De Bethune remains to date the only Swiss manufacturer to have presented such a pure and accomplished chronograph.
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*De Bethune absolute clutch system : a patented chronograph invention
In 2014, De Bethune’s research and development department 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.
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.
In this way De Bethune marks a significant technological breakthrough in the history of chronographs. A constant quest for 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 Jura village of L’Auberson.
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Founded in 2002, Manufacture De Bethune is an independent watchmaker that develops and produces all its own timepieces.
While its production remains extremely modest in terms of volume, De Bethune displays peerless inventiveness and is distinguished by the highest level of quality and innovation within the extremely exclusive sphere of Swiss Haute Horlogerie.
Since its founding, De Bethune has developed no less than 26 calibres, presented 30 or so world firsts, filed a number of patents and launched around 150 one-of-a-kind models. Its timepieces have won awards in major international competitions.
Through its creations, De Bethune is perpetuating the work of the great 18th century master watchmakers in their quest for perfect time measurement backed by a sense of supreme aesthetic beauty. Leveraging cutting-edge scientific and technological discoveries, its efforts are devoted to inventing unique, innovative and high-performance solutions.
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Not doing more, but doing better; drawing inspiration from the past so as to perpetually reinvent it and create bridges with other fields of knowledge: such are the principles guiding De Bethune in developing horological mechanisms and expressing artistic creativity.
Testifying to this quest for perfection and this tireless pursuit of beauty, the pure style, taut lines and slenderness of the cases embody a contemporary interpretation of the watchmaking art according to De Bethune.
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Shaping 21st century watchmaking while safeguarding the finest traditions, firmly rooted in history and resolutely looking to the future, De Bethune pursues an outstanding approach effectively combining art and science.
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TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS
Collection: DB21
Name: DB21 Maxichrono Réédition
Reference: DB21RE
Limitation: Limited annual production of 10
Functions: Hours, Minutes, Mono-pusher chronograph with 24-hour,
60-minute and 60-second counters
Movement: DB2030
Type: Mechanical hand-wound movement
Adjustment: By the crown at 6 o’clock (2 positions) for winding and setting the time
Via a push-piece integrated in the crown for the chronograph function
Movement
Technical features of Calibre DB2030
Number of parts: 426
Jewelling: 51 jewels
Diameter: 30 mm
Power reserve: 5 days, ensured by a self-regulating twin barrel
De Bethune Innovation (2004)
Specificities: Titanium balance wheel with white gold inserts, optimised
for temperature differences and air penetration
De Bethune Patent (2016)
"De Bethune" balance-spring with flat terminal curve
De Bethune Patent (2006)
Silicon escape wheel
"De Bethune Absolute Clutch "
De Bethune Patent (2014)
Frequency: 36,000 vibrations per hour
Adornment: Bridges mirror-polished, sandblasted and snailed by hand
Steel parts polished and chamfered by hand
Display
Display: 5 curved central hands – hand-polished steel for hours
and minutes hands and flame-blued steel chronograph
hours and seconds indicators Chronograph minutes indicator in red
Dial: Three-dimensional dial constructed on different levels to
maximise readability. From the centre to the periphery:
silver-toned central hours counter – hours ring in titanium
with blued markers – silver-toned minutes ring and minutes
counter transfer-printed red numerals – silver-toned 1/10 th
of second graduated outer ring for seconds counter
Case and strap
Case material: Grade 5 titanium
Case diameter: 44.4 mm
Case thickness: 12 mm
Lugs: Short or long floating lugs in blued grade 5 titanium - DeBethune Patent (2006)
Crystal: In sapphire crystal (1800 Vickers hardness) with double anti-reflective coating
Case back: Revealing the mechanism with hand-polished steel bridges
Sapphire crystal (1800 Vickers hardness) with double anti-reflective coating
Water resistance: 3 ATM
Strap
Extra-supple alligator leather, alligator lining
Buckle: Buckle in blued grade 5 titanium and pin in grade 5 titanium
Year: 2019
Limited Edition to only 10 pieces
* Manufacture De Bethune innovations and registered patents
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Press release -- Geneva 2019
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De Bethune Geneva Office
25 Grand-Rue 1204 Geneva
Switzerland
Tel: +41 22 310 22 71
Fax: +41 22 310 33 40
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