Never let it be said that there was a bandwagon that Ian Skellern didn’t jump on. It looks like it’s the season for everyone to be sharing their favorite watches of 2021 so here are his top ten horological highlights of the last 12 months.
As might be expected from a collaboration between De Bethune and Ahmed Seddiqi & Sons, the UAE Hawk is absolutely stunning. In essence, it’s a DB27 Titan Hawk in a seven-piece limited edition but it is a touch more classical. What are the other differences? Martin Green takes a closer look.
It’s been ten years since the De Bethune DB28 won the Aiguille d’Or at the Grand Prix d’Horlogerie de Genève. Effectively the “Best Picture” at the “Oscars” of watchmaking, this recognition placed De Bethune among the elite company of Aiguille d’Or winners such as F.P. Journe, Greubel Forsey, Breguet, Audemars Piguet, A. Lange & Söhne, and Patek Philippe. A decade removed from its Hollywood ending, the DB28 remains a grail watch in every sense.
De Bethune’s Dream Watch 5 is more a beautifully sculptured piece of jewelry than a wristwatch, and its organic shape looks fantastic from every angle. The latest Dream Watch 5 Maestri’Art Cempasúchil honors and celebrates Mexico’s Day of the Dead with a colorful, exquisitely engraved case that is also a metallurgic wonder. Horological art doesn’t get better than this!
What a diverse bunch of tourbillons in this Grand Prix d’Horlogerie de Genève category: two of them are beautifully transparent, while one of them is combined with a chronograph. Yet another contains a constant-force device, while one example here can be flipped around. And, finally, the sixth is involved in a space war. Oh, to choose a winner!
The second edition of Geneva Watch Days (August 30 through September 3, 2021) is upon the Quill & Pad team, and among the many brands Ian has looked forward to catching up with is one of his all-time favorites: De Bethune. Here are six watches the brand has recently released as seen through Ian’s lens, including the brand’s unique Only Watch 2021 piece.
One thing that doesn’t change as you travel in the same hemisphere (and only travel east/west) is the night sky. It unites us. And combining watchmaking, travel, and the night sky is a terrific trifecta. The De Bethune DB25GMT Starry Varius is an incredible synthesis of what makes this brand so great.
De Bethune celebrated the tenth anniversary of its groundbreaking DB28 in 2020 and, as Ian Skellern’s relationship with the model goes back the full decade, it seemed an appropriate time for him to share the story of how he came to launch the DB28, own a DB28, and what he thinks of the DB28 after wearing one regularly for seven years.
It will come as no surprise to anyone who has read Joshua’s pieces in the past that he likes a good jump hour mechanism. There is just something about that instantaneous change driven entirely by mechanical means that fascinates him. And yet not all “digital” watches require the use of jump hours and minutes; some don’t even use a jump at all, yet still read digitally. Here, he breaks down a list of his seven (plus change) favorite “digital” watches.
If you love De Bethune and you love green, you will find this new version of the DB27 Titan Hawk mesmerizing. And its verdant, microlight-finished dial center isn’t all there is to love: unusually for De Bethune, the Titan Hawk is now powered by an automatic movement.