Interview: David Zanetta of De Bethune

AndrewD presents an insightful interview with David Zanetta, co-founder of De Bethune, offering a rare glimpse into the philosophy and operational structure of the independent manufacture. Zanetta's candid responses reveal his commitment to traditional Swiss watchmaking techniques while embracing 21st-century innovation, driven by a passion for creating exceptional timepieces without cost constraints. This discussion provides valuable context for understanding De Bethune's unique position in the luxury watch industry and its continuous pursuit of horological excellence.

David Zanetta, President and co-founder, with Denis Flageollet, of the De Bethune Manufacture. 

David Zanetta, and his son Alessandro, were recently in Australia to meet with De Bethune fans and collectors and I took the opportunity to ask David a few questions. You will see that David has a refreshingly straightforward and honest approach to horology and the watchmaking industry. He has bought his own ideas to the watches of De Bethune and clearly has fun doing it.

PuristS: I asked David about his background and what he brings to the company...

"The idea for De Bethune comes from my experience. I have been a dealer and collector of antique wrist watches. I wanted people to appreciate the beauty, the workmanship and what watches meant to people in the past.

I was involved with a company that made the sympathetic clocks of Breguet, the Mystery clocks of Cartier and watches for Piaget. At a certain time I decided to stop my involvement with this company and commence De Bethune. I felt that the Swiss were subcontracting too much to other countries and I wanted to make my own Swiss watches using 21st Century techniques.

With De Bethune I could work with fantastic watchmakers and I wanted to make the best watches I could without regard to cost. We went from there and I had pleasure in doing it ... but we are always trying to do better.

De Bethune consists of 65 people with approximately 45 watchmakers. We have two different arms to the company: one performs research and development and works on special pieces and the other is our manufacture. These function side by side to develop and produce the watches.

PuristS: I was interested to know how David describes the core values of his watches.

"We are trying to repurpose the greatest of great watches from the past using a contemporary mechanical and aesthetic vision. Mechanical horology is always a fight with weight and friction and it has been this way for hundreds of years. This is what our research focuses on.

With De Bethune watches we remain in the mechanical field but use a modern vibrating system. There is a limit to the Swiss lever escapement; it is as if we are moving from propeller to jet engine technology. This may be difficult to market, but those who understand the past and the basis of watchmaking will appreciate what we are trying to do, both now and into the future.

These are state of the art instruments to tell the time. We keep on researching because there are new things to be learned and new things that can be done. We have a eye on traditional horology but bringing it into the 21st century with new manufacturing techniques. The manufacturing, the finish and the quality of the components is still very important in achieving a high quality product. These things do not change. Whether it is a nice car, good food, shoes or clothes, it is the quality that brings the personal pleasure.

We make all our own components including case, hands and dials. It is the only way to maintain the quality. We buy balance springs but we fashion our own terminal curve. We can make our own in silicon, but it is very expensive. Currently we have a very a large storage of springs that will last many years, as have many other companies.”

PuristS: Why do you think that has been increasing interest in mechanical watches in the last 15 to 20 years?

"My friend Osvaldo Patrizzi said that De Bethune has made more improvements in the last 10 years than the whole Swiss watch industry has in the previous 50 years. Some companies continue to make traditional watches, for example a traditional tourbillon beating at 18,000vph. However, at De Bethune our slowest Tourbillon runs at 36000vph and we made one which ran at 72000vph, but it breaks! We don't want to be limited by past techniques and that's why we use new materials. In my mind there is no advance if there is no improvement in quality or technology."

PuristS: David became animated when I asked if he saw the Internet as an important way of communicating the core ideas of his watches.

"The principal of the Internet is exceptional. What it is lacking is the culture of the users. If you know a small amount about anything you can share this, but there is a problem with the quality of the information. The wrong information can be too easily transmitted, and there is much more incorrect information. And it is hard to fight the ignorance. I am not criticizing the tool, just the messages that are transmitted.

It is good that people with similar interests can connect. But we saw the problem even in the early days of printed materials: there were nine bad books for every good one.

There are the victims of marketing. Many consider Patek to be the best watch in the world, but it clearly is not. The moment that someone states this on the Internet, many Patek lovers become offended. Some refuse to open their own minds and make their own judgment to what they see. So the Internet becomes a source of disagreement. These people are the enemies of progress.

We decided to put all the inventions of De Bethune on the Internet and available to everyone. I want to invest in human beings so that they can learn from our inventions. I prefer to do this than spend money on patents."

PuristS: Do you have evidence that your tourbillon designs improve chronometry? What evidence do you have to support your products abilities?

“Unfortunately our technology is not compatible so we can't put our watches into the chronometry contests. However the watches in these competitions are like a racing engine. It is not a production product. It might last a month, but it is not robust. But our tourbillons are some of the most accurate on the market. We have data that we are at least 20% better than most other products.”

PuristS: I asked David about service and reliability issues.

“Our reliability is very good. We make 300 watches per year and the target is to move slowly up to 500. We couldn't maintain quality if we made any more than this. 99% of the returns are due to user damage such as watches that are water logged or which have undergone severe shocks with significant case damage. In principle the new materials provide a longer interval between services. The current TAT for service is 2 to 3 months. We have a separate after sales service center.”

PuristS: I asked about markets and distribution of De Bethune watches …

“We are very happy with our distribution and business is picking up. In fact very soon we will not be able to cover all the orders. Many of our customers are repeat customers. We use Authorized Dealers for distribution.  Asia is the strongest portion of the market and Singapore is the best market we have. We will open a Boutique in Hong Kong shortly. Russia also remains an important market. But we are quite balanced across the old and new world.”

PuristS: What are your plans for the future of De Bethune?

“I continue to take my time and find pleasure in making new watches. My son and CEO manage the sales and I just enjoy myself. Everything is happy and wonderful!

I don't feel the pressure of the annual watch fairs. We are always making new pieces. There are always one or two new watches waiting to be shown.”

PuristS: Do you have a favourite watch?

“The watch that I am making now!”

On Alessandro's wrist ... the original DeBethune I fell for. Still looks wonderful.

My thanks to The Hour Glass, Sydney, who brought David to Australia to meet with local collectors.