De Bethune 2026—3 New Timepieces From the Geneva Manufacture

De Bethune 2026 arrives with three new references that say more about where independent watchmaking is headed than most of what the bigger houses will announce all year. The DB25Vxs Silver Moon refines the brand’s iconic spherical moon phase into a 40-millimeter titanium case inspired by 18th-century regulator clocks. The DB28xs Dark Sand wraps an open-architecture movement in matt anthracite zirconium with polished purple titanium accents. And the DB25 Monopusher Chronograph introduces the Manufacture’s first chronograph calibre inside a salmon-dialed dress watch that looks like it was made for the man who considers complications a conversation, not a contest. If you follow independent horology with any seriousness, De Bethune 2026 demands your attention.

DB25Vxs Silver Moon: The Classic in the De Bethune 2026 Lineup

I have always thought the spherical moon phase was the single most beautiful complication in modern watchmaking, and the DB25Vxs Silver Moon gives it the stage it deserves. The moon itself is a sphere in palladium and flame-blued steel, crafted using a traditional spirit-lamp method, emerging from a blued titanium sky studded with gold stars. The mechanism behind it requires only one lunar-day correction every 122 years. That is not a marketing number. That is a level of astronomical precision that most collectors will never need to adjust in their lifetime.

The dial surrounding the moon is a hand-guilloché barleycorn motif arranged in spirals and delicately silvered, with a slight curvature borrowed from tall-case regulator clocks. Rose gold Breguet-style hands are hand-curved to glide over the spherical moon display. The case is mirror-polished grade 5 titanium at 40.6 millimeters with integrated, hollowed ogival-shaped lugs featuring openwork detailing. Powering everything is the hand-wound Calibre DB2105V5 with a self-adjusting twin barrel delivering over six days of power reserve. The movement features a titanium and white gold balance wheel optimized for temperature variations, a silicon escape wheel, and the proprietary De Bethune balance-spring with flat terminal curve. It is finished with Côtes De Bethune and visible through a sapphire caseback.

DB28xs Dark Sand: The Stealth Entry in De Bethune 2026

The DB28xs Dark Sand is the kind of watch that reveals its complexity only when you get close enough to see the finishing. The case is matt anthracite zirconium — a metal De Bethune has used since 2012 — with a black satin-brushed surface that absorbs light rather than reflecting it. At 38.7 millimeters and just 8 millimeters thick, this is a compact, wrist-hugging piece that wears far more substantial than its dimensions suggest, thanks in part to the patented floating lugs that adapt to the size and movements of your wrist.

The open dial is where the DB28xs Dark Sand makes its argument. The finely structured base in black sandblasted titanium creates a mineral effect that recalls volcanic sand. The iconic De Bethune deltoid-shaped bridge sits at the center with barleycorn guilloché, its bevelled and polished edges creating material transitions that range from anthracite grey to deep black.

Polished purple titanium hands and hour markers provide the only color against the dark palette, and they ensure legibility without disrupting the mood. The hand-wound Calibre DB2115V13 beats at 28,800 vibrations per hour with 241 parts, 36 jewels, and a six-day power reserve from a self-regulating twin barrel. A linear power reserve indicator on the caseback — finished in mauve and golden tones — adds a final detail that most people will never see, which is exactly the kind of gesture that defines this Manufacture.

DB25 Monopusher Chronograph: The New Calibre in De Bethune 2026

The DB25 Monopusher Chronograph is the headline piece in De Bethune 2026 for one reason: Calibre DB3000 is entirely new. This is the Manufacture’s first chronograph movement, a hand-wound calibre with 296 parts, 31 jewels, and a monopusher button integrated directly into the crown. The chronograph operates a 60-second counter and a 60-minute instantaneous minute counter displayed via a sub-dial at 6 o’clock. Every steel chronograph bridge is hand-bevelled with flat polished surfaces. The barrels are hand-snailed. This is not a modular chronograph bolted onto an existing base — it is a ground-up complication designed entirely within De Bethune’s workshops.

The salmon radiating guilloché dial, divided into 12 sectors, is one of the most visually striking dials in the current De Bethune catalog. Blue Arabic numerals and blued polished titanium hands deliver contrast and legibility against the warm salmon tone. The barley grain engine-turned sub-dial at 6 o’clock for the minute counter adds a second layer of texture. The polished grade 5 titanium case measures 40.6 millimeters at 9.15 millimeters thick, with integrated openwork lugs and a sapphire caseback. It ships on an extra-supple alligator strap with a titanium pin buckle. If you appreciate watches where the movement is the message, the DB25 Monopusher Chronograph communicates at a level few brands attempt.

What De Bethune 2026 Brings to the Independent Watchmaking Conversation

De Bethune 2026 is not about volume. It is not about hype cycles or waiting lists. It is about a small workshop in L’Auberson producing timepieces that advance the discipline of watchmaking through materials research, movement architecture, and hand-finishing that most brands cannot replicate at any price point. Denis Flageollet, the founder and master watchmaker, has said that every De Bethune is a glimpse of the next — that each timepiece embodies the watchmaking of today and fuels that of tomorrow.

The DB25Vxs Silver Moon, the DB28xs Dark Sand, and the DB25 Monopusher Chronograph each prove that philosophy in a different register: classical refinement, material innovation, and mechanical ambition. For the man who has moved past brand recognition and into the territory of genuine horological appreciation, De Bethune 2026 is where you find the conversation at its most honest.

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