The De Bethune DB25GMT Starry Varius, Now In Rose Gold
De Bethune’s poetic take on a practical complication now has a romantic case material to match.
The DB25GMT Starry Varius was originally introduced in titanium – something of a signature metal for De Bethune, thanks in part to the company’s successful use of blue and yellow heat-tempered titanium cases and dial components. The latest version of the DB25GMT, launched last month, introduces a warmer case metal to the model – rose gold; in other technical respects the watch is identical to the 2021 titanium model.
There are three concentric rings from which information is read off. The innermost ring is for the date, and frames a stylized representation of the Sun, and the night sky; these are next to the daylight/nighttime sections of the home time ring. This is not, strictly speaking, an AM/PM division; instead, the 24 hour home time ring is separated into one nighttime section (6PM to 6AM) and one daylight section (6AM to 6PM). Home time is indicated by a tiny sphere divided into a gold hemisphere, and one in heat-blued steel. When the sphere passes 6AM, it rotates to show the gold hemisphere and at 6PM, it switches over to the blued steel hemisphere.
Setting the watch is straightforward. The home time sphere can be set to home time by pulling the crown out to the first position, and the local time hour hand can be set at the second crown position.
One other difference between the original titanium model and the rose gold model is the material for the hour and minute hands; in the original model the hands were in heat blued steel, while in the new model, they’re in rose gold.
In both cases, the hands are curved which is partly practical, as the curvature means the tips of the hands are closer to their respective chapter rings and the curvature eliminates parallax errors. However, it’s also an aesthetic feature as the curvature of the hands echoes the curvature of the chapter rings as well (and helps both the hour and minute hands clear the home time sphere).
The movement is De Bethune’s caliber DB2507, hand-wound, and with a 5 day power reserve out of two mainspring barrels. The overall configuration of the movement is De Bethune’s delta bridge design, with the barrels arranged asymmetrically under the bridge and with the balance at 6:00.
The dial side of the watch is chock-full of visual beauty and poetry but the movement side has its share of visual seductiveness as well. Certainly, it is unlike anything you will see in any other watch unless the other watch is also by De Bethune. The centerpiece is the balance, which is in blued titanium with gold rim inserts, in order to place most of the balance mass at the rim, where it belongs (this optimizes the moment of inertia of the balance, making its motion more stable and more resistant to disturbance by external forces). The balance shape is also designed to minimize aerodynamic drag. The balance spring is De Bethune’s patented design, with an outer terminal coil designed to provide the same centered expansion and contraction as an overcoil balance but without the extra height (despite the three-dimensionality of the design, the case is a fairly slim 42mm x 11.8mm).
Finally, the balance bridge is fixed in place by De Bethune’s triple pare-chute antishock system, which provides additional shock protection but which also helps re-center the balance pivots more rapidly if the watch receives a shock.
The 2021 original was a beautiful and practical take on what is generally a very pragmatically executed complication. The new rose gold model further underscores the qualities of the design; the warmth of the gold aids in expressing the design aspirations of the watch, which is to not just offer a practical benefit, but to also present a kind of visual meditation on the contrast between the warmth and coolness of daylight and evening hours.
The DB25GMT In Rose Gold, reference DB25VGR: case, 5N rose gold, 42mm x 11.8mm, hollow lugs, sapphire crystals front and back; water resistance 30M. Curved hands in rose gold; day/night sphere in rose gold and heat-blued steel; date ring in blued titanium with gold transfer; rose gold minute ring; central dial in blued titanium with white gold pin stars; suburst insert in rose gold. Movement, caliber DB2507, running at 28,800 vph in 40 jewels; titanium balance wheel with white gold inserts, De Bethune balance spring with flat terminal curve; silicon escape wheel; De Bethune triple pare-chute antishock system.