De Bethune returns to its elegant centerline with the DB25Vxs Silver Moon, a refined evolution of the DB25L. The case now rests at 40 mm, the dial is rebalanced, and the hand-wound calibre is further optimized. The result feels like a regulator clock distilled for the wrist – history trimmed, intention preserved.
The inspiration is unapologetically 18th century. Denis Flageollet looks to Berthoud, Janvier and Le Roy, then answers with the brand’s seminal spherical moon – first seen on the 2004 DB15 – placed at 12 o’clock for intuitive reading. Patented in 2004, the moon is a palladium and flame-blued steel sphere rising from a blued titanium sky punctuated with gold stars, and it needs a single-day correction only once every 112 years. A small lyric of astronomy, rendered with tools and fire.
The dial blends classic craft with clear modernity. Its slight curvature nods to tall-case regulator clocks, while barleycorn guilloché spirals catch the light with quiet drama. Rose gold hands are hand-curved to pass gracefully over the moon, their silhouette unmistakably De Bethune. Hand-guilloché, Breguet-style hands, the spherical moon and that starry firmament – all familiar references, recomposed with contemporary restraint.
The mirror-polished grade 5 titanium case keeps weight low and presence high. A slim bezel opens the view, while ogival, openworked lugs flow from the case and hug the wrist. Geometry serves comfort, and the watch reads as round in the most classical sense.
Through the sapphire back with double anti-reflective coating, the hand-wound calibre DB2105V5 shows Cotes De Bethune, mirror-polished steel and blued polished titanium. The balance beats at 28,800 vph, its titanium and white gold construction tuned for an optimal inertia-to-mass ratio. Air-penetrating geometry, a silicon escape wheel and shock protection aim at stability across position, temperature and daily interruption – the useful kind of innovation.
A self-adjusting twin barrel delivers over six days of power. A balance spring with a flat terminal curve and the Maison’s shock-absorbing approach round out a movement built for modern wear without sacrificing nuance. As Flageollet notes, each De Bethune invites the next. The DB25Vxs Silver Moon simply does so with less noise and more light.
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