Independents

SJX
[Purist]
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Part III: De Bethune DB25 Moon Phase in rose gold

The original DB25 automatic, which I like tremendously, could be accused of being plain. This version features the trademark spherical moon phase of De Bethune.

The DB25 Moon Phase is available in rose or white gold, and two movement finishes: a conventional Swiss Cotes de Geneve decoration or a smooth, black polished finish. The Geneva striped finish is shown here while the photos of the white gold show the black polished bridges.

At 44 mm in diameter the DB25 is not a small watch, but the movement is appropriately sized with no movement ring used. The calibre inside is a double barrel manually wound movement with a six day power reserve (the automatic DB25 has a 10 day power reserve).

Like the Dream Watch 1 this uses De Bethune’s silicon balance wheel – the wheel, not the hairspring or escape wheel. The balance wheel pictured is not the silicon balance wheel, that one can be seen in the photos of the white gold DB25. This movement also features the triple pare-chute shock absorber, a titanium bridge held by two columns on each end.

Shown here is a variant with a guilloche dial; the dial is silver-plated solid gold and comprised of four pieces, the outer ring with the hour indices, the ring surrounding the moon phase, the moon phase indicator and the guilloche central portion. Made from blued steel, the leaf hands possess an arch to allow them to clear the height of the moon phase sphere. The moon sphere is two halves of steel and platinum, treated over a flame that blues the steel but leaves the platinum unchanged.