Introducing the De Bethune DB28xs Starry Seas

The latest addition to De Bethune’s ongoing assortment of creations of exceptional beauty is the DB28xs Starry Seas, with a smaller 39mm case and a very special dial.

The latest addition to De Bethune‘s ongoing assortment of creations of exceptional beauty is the DB28xs Starry Seas, with a smaller 39mm case and a very special dial. Seeing the vivid blue titanium dial interspersed with white gold flickering stars makes the ‘Starry Seas’ appellation immediately perfect. On top of this, De Bethune declares that this dial is created thanks to a world-first — random guilloché.

At the time of writing, and with only the press release to hand, it isn’t immediately apparent how random gulloché is achieved — traditionally, gulloché is created using pre-programmed cams or a pantograph to guide the machine — though if I had to guess, I would suppose that it would be possible to introduce an element of randomness in the placement of the cams, to ensure a similar but non-repeating pattern. Regardless, this technique is an excellent way of creating a wavelike pattern, which is at once regular and unpredictable. For most brands, this innovative new element would be the star of the show, but for De Bethune, it but a single element in a larger story.

The tale that De Bethune is telling is one of Wabi Sabi — the Japanese concept that encapsulates finding beauty in the imperfect and the impermanent. The randomness of the Guilloché, the modesty of the smaller case, with its apparent simplicity and smaller size, and the watches overall atypical beauty are all aspects the De Bethune highlights as indicative of the watches representation of Wabi Sabi.

Deep philosophical underpinnings aside, there’s a lot to like about the DB28xs Starry Seas. Many will find the 38.7mm case perfectly sized and the fact that De Bethune has put in the work to make their patented floating lug system that is such a hallmark of the DB28 even smaller. Calibre DB2005, which is jam-packed full of patented technology and offers six days of autonomy from two barrels, has also been adapted for this smaller case. Indeed, the lighter weight of this smaller watch adds some benefits when it comes to shock resistance.

For over 20 years, De Bethune has been continually refining their artistic and philosophical watchmaking vision, and for all that this latest exploration is of a smaller size, it’s clear how large that vision looms.

De Bethune DB28xs Starry Seas

Movement: Calibre DB2005, hand-wound, six days of power reserve
Functions: Hours, minutes
Case: Polished grade 5 titanium, 38.7mm x 7.4mm, water-resistant to 3ATM
Dial: Silver-plated hours and minutes ring, random guilloché blued titanium with white gold stars
Strap: Alligator with titanium pin buckle