“Dude, on the wrist this watch is simply incredible. It fits perfectly. The diameter is amazing. At first, when I heard we were reducing the diameter from 44mm to 40mm, I thought that the height at 11.3mm might be a bit thick. But on the wrist, it is perfectly balanced. The indications are all still perfectly visible! It’s a masterpiece. Damn, now I have to save up my money to hopefully have one, one day.”
When a brandʼs head of sales is so smitten by a watch he’s just released that he now wants to join the dauntingly long wait-list to one day own this piece, that says a hell of a lot about its irrefutable beauty. But that was exactly the reaction of my friend Jörg Hysek Jr. as we examined the palette of ravishing nuances and signature De Bethune codes that made up the new De Bethune DB25 Perpetual Calendar 40mm. And I had to agree with him too. Witnessing this extraordinary achievement by one of horology’s greatest living geniuses, Denis Flageollet, I was similarly consumed with desire to own it. But not just any DB25 Perpetual Calendar 40mm — of which independent watchmaking’s hottest brand will make just 15 pieces a year, causing the close to 100 times more people who want one to wait patiently for their allocation — but a very
