Description

The DB28GS is the brand’s interpretation of the sports watch. Very much a De Bethune DB28 offspring, with its floating lugs, delta-shaped bridge and exposed balance wheel on the dial, crown at 12 o’clock and vanguard looks, the DB28GS is larger, more rugged and water-resistant to 105 metres.
Heat-treated titanium is something of an in-house speciality at De Bethune. By exposing titanium and steel to heat in the brand’s L’Auberson workshops, De Bethune’s experiments with thermal oxidation have led to a fascinating palette of colours.
Measuring 44mm across and 12.8mm thick, the ultra-light case is made from two different materials: the caseback and bezel are made from yellow grade 5 titanium with a brushed finish while the case middle is made from black zirconium. The hallmark floating lugs with their bullet-shaped tips, also made from brushed yellow grade 5 titanium, feature polished inserts in a slightly darker shade verging on orange matching the crown at 12 o’clock.
Where things get really interesting is in the lighting department. Conceived as a sports watch, legibility in any potential environment was an important consideration. Instead of just splashing on loads of lume, De Bethune came up with an ingenious, on-demand lighting system from inside the watch. Fully mechanical, the lighting system is generated by a miniature dynamo activated by the pusher at 6 o’clock. With no electronic components or a battery, the pusher activates a small gear train with a tiny dynamo driven by a twin barrel and lights up the watch on demand.