De Bethune DB Kind of Two Jumping GMT Reviewed by Tim Mosso
by Tim Mosso
Watches like the De Bethune DB Kind of Two Jumping GMT aren’t exactly the backbone of the luxury watch hobby. Finding one is hard; buying one is harder. The annual output of De Bethune is less than 400 watches, and it’s safe to bet that no more than ten to twenty are the model on this page.

Dial side of the De Bethune DB Kind of Two Jumping GMT
Wearing a De Bethune DB Kind of Two Jumping GMT requires a certain kind of panache and confidence that’s not universal.

De Bethune DB Kind of Two Jumping GMT
It begs the question, why discuss this watch at all? Because dreams matter. This watch was a dream come true for its creator, an ongoing dream for the fortunate few owners, and a daydream for me to experience. With some luck, it could be that for you, too.
In watchmaking, tracing the lineage of any given idea or style can be an exercise in arduous scholarship and voluminous research. Not here! The clear precursor to the 2022 De Bethune DB Kind of Two Jumping GMT was the 2021 De Bethune x Voutilainen DB Kind of Magic offered at Only Watch.

De Bethune x Voutilainen DB Kind of Magic for Only Watch 2021
That charity unique piece, which achieved CHF 1.3 million for Duchenne muscular dystrophy research, lends everything but its bespoke Kari Voutilainen dial and a few color codes to the production model.
De Bethune is part of my company’s corporate holdings, so feel free to view anything I write through that lens. That said, this is the kind of watch that defies hyperbole. And I have none to sell because they’re sold out. So, enjoy the photos and my impressions of something neither of us will ever own.
The 2021 Only Watch laid down the framework for watchmaker Denis Flageollet’s “big piece” for 2022. While other dual-dial watches have existed, not all of them – think Patek Philippe Sky Moon Tourbillon – permit reversible wear.
Some, like Patek’s Grandmaster Chime, rotate on a vertical axis with pivots and that makes them too broad across the wrist. Others, like the Jaeger-LeCoultre Reverso, require a secondary case cradle that thickens the finished product.

Rotating the De Bethune DB Kind of Two Jumping GMT
The DBKOTJGMT – I promise not to use that moniker again – employs a mid-case pivot point that overlaps with De Bethune’s existing floating lug anchors. As a result, the rotating case adds no thickness to the watch.

Dial side of the De Bethune DB Kind of Two Jumping GMT
Officially, the primary dial is the classical solid silver disc. Its fired blue titanium hands nod to the conventions of Breguet, and its array of Arabic numerals are printed as a minimalist gesture.
There’s a center seconds hand, which is rare for De Bethune watches, and it’s a deadbeat for good measure. Also, unlike most DB timepieces, this one has a hacking seconds function for precise setting.

De Bethune DB Kind of Two Jumping GMT
Travel between time zones is indicator by an hour hand that can move without disturbing the minutes display. A clean vague or “wave” guilloche motif graces the center. “Restrained” is the word.

Both sides of the De Bethune DB Kind of Two Jumping GMT
The Jumping GMT goes from plain to insane when the case rotates. In conversation, Flageollet explained that the skeletonized and mechanized secondary dial glorifies the mechanism first and the time second.
As a result, the near 400 hand-finished parts of caliber DB2517 hit with force, but reading the time takes a moment. It could be described as a dial that’s easy to love but hard to read.

Movement/GMT side of the De Bethune DB Kind of Two Jumping GMT
Still, reading this dial is worth the effort. For reference, the minute hand is an orbital blue stub that rides a gold toned circumferential ring gear. The hour hand is a fired blue titanium bow with a polished chevron indicator that sits superimposed over the balance wheel.
Details of this system reward close viewing. Adjacent to the balance on the right side, a subtle spur gear runs off the going train and drives the minute index. The hour hand floats in its track on a set of delicate ruby wheels.
De Bethune has been evolving its deadbeat seconds system since it debuted on the 2011 DB25 Tourbillon. On the Jumping GMT, the underlying mechanism on the secondary dial is more impressive than the jumping hand itself on the primary.

Movement side of the De Bethune DB Kind of Two Jumping GMT
Flageollet employs two 14-karat gold wheels linked to a bi-planar pallet lever escapement. Each second, a wheel is released, and it transmits a single jump’s worth of energy stored in a hairspring between the two wheels.
14-karat gold is employed on these wheels because it’s visually impressive, reduces the need for lubrication, and can be finished to a stunning degree of detail.

Gold wheel on the De Bethune DB Kind of Two Jumping GMT
Different surfaces of the wheels are polished and satin brushed for contrast, and the wheel interiors exhibit bevels of the most exhaustive manual execution.
For good measure, the steel pallet lever has been brushed on its horizontals and micro-beveled on its edges.

De Bethune DB Kind of Two Jumping GMT
The deltoid form is a universal feature of De Bethune design that appears on dials, barrel bridges, and, in the case of the Dream Watch 5, even case shapes. Officially, the form was drawn from a fallen leaf that Flageollet admired on a walk in the hills outside his home.
Unofficially, the Internet considers this shape some kind of nod to Star Trek’s Starfleet Command Insignia. I may bear some blame for that, which I alternately regret and relish.
Aesthetically, this version of the DB barrel bridge has been reduced to the maximum. Hollowing its planes and honing its remaining details leaves the remaining substance more compelling. Tiered edges give way to polished bevels and media blasted horizontals.
The steel center atop the deadbeat system receives a sharp mirrored finish and internal bevels that reveal slow-going manual application. Put simply, mechanical chamfering tools can’t enter hollows this small. A small quantity of blue lacquer is applied to the “De Bethune” nameplate by hand.
One step down from the deadbeat escapement’s superstructure, the barrel bridge retains two mainsprings in a patented “self-adjusting” arrangement. As a result, this manual-wind watch cannot be over wound by accident. Despite two power-intensive complications, four days of power reserve is assured.
In this application, both the barrels and the ratchet wheel have been skeletonized. Visible mainsprings can, with familiarity, be used as a kind of informal power reserve indictor. The ratchet wheel, which sits above the barrel on the right of the bridge, features micro-beveled teeth – a rare touch even at this price point.
The De Bethune DB Kind of Two Jumping GMT isn’t likely to be anyone’s first watch or even a person’s first model from this brand.

De Bethune DB Kind of Two Jumping GMT
Aside from financial considerations and the fact that production for the year is sold out, outrageous watches like this are only a step removed from the supercar that leaves the garage only on warm weekend days. Like a dream, but attainable if the stars align, this kind of fantasy watch requires a state of mind to embrace and the right moment to arise.
But unlike a dream, the Jumping GMT is available to its fortunate owner on demand – the ultimate daydream.
For more information, please visit www.debethune.ch/en/collections/db-kind-two-1/db-kind-two-jumping-gmt
Quick Facts: De Bethune DB Kind of Two Jumping GMT
Reference Code: DBK2V1
Functions: Dual time in 12-hour formats; deadbeat seconds
Case: 43.3mm grade five titanium with sapphires; 13.9 mm thick; 49.4mm – 52.8mm variable lug-to-lug; 30-meters WR; push-down down crown
Dial: Primary with jumping seconds; skeleton secondary with hours and orbital minutes
Movement: Caliber DB2517, manual wind; 96-hour power reserve; 58 jewels; dual mainspring barrels; 36,000 VpH, deadbeat seconds secondary escapement, stop seconds, 30mm diameter
Clasp: Grade five titanium pin buckle
Limitation: Limited to fewer than 20 per year
2024 Price: $215,000
* Tim Mosso is the media director and watch specialist at The 1916 Company. You can check out their very comprehensive YouTube channel at www.youtube.com/@the1916company
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Hi Tim,
DB architecture is always a delight but what I really like is the restrained white dial. I love the usual blue of a DB but this is a nice change of pace, reminds me of the earlier DB models. Thanks for sharing, it’s the only way most of us will ever see it.
Do you think the Kind of Grande Complication could win Aiguille d’Or this year?
Regards
Ed
P.s. I look forward to the ‘dreams matter’ merchandise being available soon.
I can’t speak for Tim Ed, but I certainly think that the Kind of Grande Complication should win the Men’s Complication category and has a good chance at the Aiguille d’Or. It doesn’t appear to be a particularly strong field this year.
Regards, Ian
Hi Ian, thanks for the reply. I agree, plenty of great watches but somehow less big hitters for top prize. Feels like the potential winners (Piaget concept tourbillon, IWC eternal, Bovet Prowess, DB) have a more mechanical than artistic learning as well.
Regards
Ed
Hey people!!!!!
Good mood and good luck to everyone!!!!!