America’s largest luxury watch show, WatchTime New York, returns to Manhattan’s Gotham Hall on October 26-27 (click here for event details and to purchase tickets). As we count down to the big event, we continue to spotlight many of the new timepieces that guests will discover there. Today we turn our attention to the headlining timepiece for horological indie darling De Bethune in 2018.
The GPHG-nominated DB25 Starry Varius taps directly into the ethos of what has made De Bethune an independent success story since its initial launch in 2002, but updates it with a new take on how to approach customization in the watch industry.
With the Starry Varius, the astronomical motifs that De Bethune has become known for over the past decade-plus are suddenly customizable with the option of choosing how the night sky looks from any date and geographic location ever. Say you want to memorialize the night you proposed to your significant other in Paris? No problem. Or the way the stars looked that summer night you waited in line to see The Empire Strikes Back in 1980? All you have to do is tell the De Bethune team when and where and the rest is up to them.
Each star is notched by fitted gold pins that are placed one at a time. The Milky Way pattern is made possible through a traditional gold leaf technique and enhanced by laser-beam micro-milling. The thin case (8.8 mm) is made from polished grade-5 titanium and comes in at 42 mm in diameter. The watch also features the openworked lugs that have become one of De Bethune’s signature design elements over the years.
Inside the Starry Varius is the manual-winding DB2005 caliber that is visible through a sapphire crystal caseback with a double anti-reflective coating. The movement has a six-day power reserve and features a titanium balance wheel with white gold inserts that are optimized for temperature changes and air penetration as well as a triple pare-chute shock absorbing system, both of which are early De Bethune patents.
The De Bethune Starry Varius (which, if you guessed it was named after Stradivarius, the world-famous violin-making family, you’d be correct) starts at CHF 60,000 with the cost of personalization varying.
Interested in viewing the De Bethune DB25 Starry Varius in person? Then don’t miss out on attending WatchTime New York this October! Tickets are going fast; order yours here.
Like all other DB’s beautiful dial and the fact that no two will be alike is really something else. DB does it again