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 Latest Version of the Iconic De Bethune Titan Hawk
The DB27 Titan Hawk JPS is the newest member of
the 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.
Click, to see the large size. ▶ BIG FOTO 
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.
Click, to see the large size. ▶ BIG FOTO 
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 which 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.
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The case of the De Bethune Titan Hawk JPS is in
black zirconium, a high-tech, high-strength, hypoallergenic and
lightweight material offering superior technical advantages in
comparison to standard sports watch stainless steels. 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. Click, to see the large size. ▶ BIG FOTO 
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.
The Origin of the DB27
It was in March 2018 that De Bethune’s manufacture
introduced the latest in-house self-winding caliber; the AUTOV2, the
beating heart of a timepiece with a modern twist. Indeed, 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.
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If the inspiration of the original DB27 Titan Hawk
model is very quickly perceived, each detail is rethought and reworked
to find the elegance and readability of an object above all designed for
maximum functionality. Juxtaposing Roman numerals for the hours and
Arabic numerals for the minute track, the reading of the time is given
around rings located at the periphery of the dial.
AUTOV2
Focusing on the essentials, the DB27 Titan Hawk
JPS is equipped with the AUTOV2 caliber, hour, minute, second, which
features a single barrel providing 60 hours of power reserve. The last
titanium balance with white gold inserts remains visible on the back of
the watch.
Click, to see the large size. ▶ BIG FOTO 
Thanks to the technique still developed in-house,
the movement is equipped with an optimized oscillating weight for the
automatic winding system, made of titanium and white gold allowing it to
power with maximum efficiency, and with the visual elegance so
characteristic of De Bethune’s watchmaking – combining a deep celestial
blue with the cool gleam of white metal, a signature De Bethune design
code for many years.
A Tribute to an Iconic Color Scheme in the World of Motorsports
Constantly refining the structural nuances
hovering between dark grey and deep black, while sparingly adding golden
accents that are in fact yellow titanium – was a new opportunity to
demonstrate De Bethune's expertise in working with the oxidation of
titanium and its color palette.
Click, to see the large size. ▶ BIG FOTO 
De Bethune blue, the brand's historic and
pioneering signature, is now succeeded by a golden yellow color, for
which the creative process required new assembly techniques and new
texturing skills – all of which Denis Flageollet and his team have
developed to bring the project to fruition and thus pay tribute to this
formidable era of high-tech discoveries.
Ergonomics and Comfort
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 (microlight is a form of decoration unique to De
Bethune, which improves on traditional guilloche to produce unique
visual and optical effects).
Click, to see the large size. ▶ BIG FOTO 
Machined in a 43 mm case in black zirconium with a
microlight decoration on the middle, accompanied by a black canvas
strap, the DB27 Titan Hawk JPS is also an exception expression of the De
Bethune rule of wearer comfort.
Click, to see the large size. ▶ BIG FOTO 
The result is a construction that adapts particularly well to the size of each wrist and the way it moves.
The DB27 Titan Hawk JPS is available as a limited series sold exclusively through De Bethune.
