Infinitely high standards at De Bethune

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In Geneva, the brand presented three new Breitling replica watches and revealed its production secrets: pursuing its verticalization strategy and fostering old friendships!

De Bethune has unveiled three new products during the most important week of watchmaking in Geneva. The first, the DB25T Zodiac—technically demanding with its tourbillon, jumping seconds and five-day power reserve—appeals to the emotions with its twelve signs of the zodiac finely engraved in solid gold. The second, the DB28 GS, which stands for “Grand Sport”, features a titanium case and rubber strap. For this model, the DB28’s characteristic bridges have been given a guilloché finish and the small, spherical two-tone moon has been replaced by a power-reserve indicator at 2 o’Clock. Finally, the DB28 Maxichrono Titanium offers a new version of the single push-piece chronograph presented last year at Baselworld, adorned in titanium for 2015.

The De Bethune business plan can be summed up by one short maxim, which the brand cites readily: don’t do more, do better. “It is by concentrating on quality that we can achieve long-term development,” explains CEO Pierre Jacques. The future lies in innovation and the quality of the products and their components, rather than in the number of pieces leaving the Manufacture—around 400 in 2014. In consequence, everything depends on the brand’s control over the various stages of production and on its choice of partners.

Opposing the industrial way of thinking

From the very outset, the brand has produced most of its Omega replica watches sale  in-house, but it is now stepping up this shift. “Over the past two years, we have verticalized a great deal,” confirms Denis Flageollet, co-founder and technical director. “If I need a specific screw, I can now produce it as and when I want.” In its Manufacture based in La Chaux l’Auberson, nestled on the slopes of the Jura Mountains just a few miles above Sainte-Croix, De Bethune has already excelled in electroplating, polishing and decoration. Now it also produces 100% of the brand’s hands, most of its dials, and all the pieces needed for its limited editions.

Even components produced by external suppliers, such as sapphire crystals, are sometimes made on-site to meet the specific criteria of some commission pieces. To better illustrate his point, Denis Flageollet opens his inside jacket pocket and pulls out a watch featuring a Mayan head sculpted in jade emerging from the center of the top Breitling replica watches crystal. A sapphire crystal with a hole in the middle was needed to house it, and this was produced in-house. For this same piece, “we installed a small workshop in order to cut the stones.”

However, verticalizing production isn’t an end in itself: “As long as external solutions satisfy me, I won’t press the issue. But as soon as there is a problem with quality, we won’t hesitate to internalize the process. By paying attention to every detail and continuously raising our standards, we are opposing the industrial way of thinking that is dictated by brands focused primarily on production volumes.” While explaining the purchase of an automatic lathe, Denis Flageollet also stressed the difficulty of having certain pieces produced in small quantities. “Our expectations sometimes mean that an operator has to be constantly present, and that machines are not left operating alone.” This decision is difficult to accept for sub-contractors, whose profit margins are under constant pressure.

Yet, this doesn’t just concern the processes; the raw materials are also affected. For example, it is difficult to find very high-quality leather for an alligator-skin strap. De Bethune therefore sources its leathers itself, before entrusting a supplier with the strap’s production. “In this field, there are still excellent professionals out there who take the time to stitch neatly by hand, and who stand by high-quality work.” Denis Flageollet has gradually surrounded himself with a whole network of Artisans, personal acquaintances and friendships that considerably predate De Bethune, founded on passion, drive and a mutual fascination for the work of the other. “The quality of our partnerships could never be attained in the context of a purely commercial client-supplier relationship.”

Some crafts that require rare expertise and experience are in fact outsourced, such as hand guillochage, gem-setting and the treatment of certain dials. The same is true for engraving, an essential element of the DB25T Zodiac, which showcases the work of Michèle Rothen with whom Denis Flageollet has worked for a long time. To illustrate her working method, he looks through the photos on his cell phone and finds the first pencil sketches she sent him. From the index, he flicks back to the photo album and shows his reply: the same sketch with a few suggestions in blue pen, which the artist then interprets—without copying—to express the essence of his ideas in a cheap replica Breitling watches  new draft. And this continues, adjustment after adjustment, until the final version is reached.

Bovet 1822: as far as chronometry can go

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Bovet 1822‘s recent unveiling of the Amadeo Fleurier BraveHeart presents a timepiece that pushes the boundaries of chronometric precision. The result is an exceptional creation, a limited edition of course, for which five patents have been filed.

Hotel Beau-Rivage, with its breathtaking vista of Geneva’s lakefront, welcomed us for this meeting with representatives of Bovet 1822. An appointment made early in the year and which would, as always, serve to present the latest timepieces from the brand. It therefore came as something of a surprise to hear Christophe Persoz asking “how much time do we have?” If the answer had been “thirty minutes”, no doubt we would have been sent packing. After all, among the Bovet Breitling replica watches for sale waiting to make our acquaintance was the Amadeo Fleurier BraveHeart, a mechanical and artistic gem that cannot be hurried. Whetting our appetite, Christophe Persoz declared that “in chronometric terms, as a Maison that stays true to traditional watchmaking, hence which does not have recourse to alternative, high-tech materials, I believe we have reached the ultimate limit of what can be achieved and imagined. I don’t see how it would be possible to go any further.”

Vertical integration

First on the list for perusal were the Amadeo Fleurier Monsieur Bovet and Amadeo Fleurier Virtuoso V, both equipped with the Virtuoso II calibre, the first movement without a tourbillon regulator to be entirely developed and manufactured by Bovet. Having made its debut last year in two models, it is now set to extend across the collections, with the one exception of the Grandes Complications range, aided by the fact that it was designed to integrate numerous functions. “Last year we equipped 50% of our cheap replica watches uk with in-house movements,” commented Christophe Persoz. “We expect to increase this proportion to 75% this year, and probably 90% in 2016. In a word, we are carrying on our vertical integration. When we took over Dimier in 2006, it only manufactured tourbillons. We began by increasing quality, while at the same time developing a new calibre, one that wasn’t a tourbillon. As you can see, it has taken us eight or nine years to get there.”

There was nothing fortuitous about this introduction. The Virtuoso II, which displays hours and minutes on both sides of the movement, features a patented seconds carriage with the unique feature of a double-coaxial mechanism. Seconds are shown on each side of the movement by hands which share the same axis. However, the direction of rotation is reversed. Enough to get the designers of the Amadeo Fleurier BraveHeart movement thinking… with the additional difficulty that this dual display must fit around a tourbillon carriage. A world first. “This is generally how we work,” Christophe Persoz confirmed. “We start out with a drawing or an idea, regardless of its feasibility. Solutions come later. The advantage of this method is that it encourages creativity.”

Highly rated

Bovet’s  best Breitling replica watchmakers clearly had creativity to spare in finalising this new calibre, codenamed 17BM02AI22J, comprising 722 parts and intended to stretch the limits imposed by the tourbillon while improving timekeeping precision. Without going into detail, certain aspects of this innovative mechanism command attention. First the choice of a flying tourbillon, for transparency. But not any flying tourbillon: the carriage is “held” at the centre of its axis, so that the escapement can be positioned below this fixation point, and the balance and spring assembly above it. A further improvement to the timekeeping precision of this innovative construction comes from the balance wheel itself – Bovet has developed a three-spoked felly balance in aluminium for Optimum inertia – and from the in-house manufactured cylindrical balance spring: Bovet is one of just five manufactures producing its own balance springs.

Energy transmission has also come under the spotlight, particularly as Bovet had decided against a constant-force regulator. Its solution takes the form of three-dimensional toothing for more efficient energy consumption and a massive power reserve, bearing in mind that power transmitted to the regulating organ is more constant over time. The Amadeo Fleurier BraveHeart is equipped with two barrels that deliver 22 days of power reserve, and a spherical differential gear thanks to which the watch can be fully wound with just 55 turns of the crown, compared with 30 turns for a standard ETA 2892 calibre having just 42 hours of power reserve. Bovet has filed five patents for the innovations brought to this watch which, insists Christophe Persoz, comes well within the criteria required by any chronometric rating. Needless to say, the decoration lavished on this timepiece does justice to the technical innovations it has inspired. Bovet spent fifteen years bringing its idea to maturity and a further four years to develop the replica breitling watches for men, which is a study in the manufacture‘s expertise. It will be produced as a limited edition of 80, at a rate of no more than 30 pieces a year.

SIHH: time eschews excess

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The Salon International de la Haute Horlogerie in January is the launchpad for the trends that will define the horological year. The latest and 25th edition marked the return of classicism and sobriety as brands extolled the virtues of moderation and self-restraint.

In a tense context to say the least, following the Swiss National Bank’s surprise decision to no longer peg national currency against the euro – a major handicap for the country’s exports – trends emerging in Breitling replica watches for sale the coming year, for which the Salon International de la Haute Horlogerie (SIHH) is always a bellwether, became a reflection of the market overall. Exhibitors put on a show of restraint, favouring trusted designs, such as the Portugieser at IWC, classic styles in the vein of the Classima at Baume & Mercier, or references such as the Tonda 1950 at Parmigiani.

Except at the very high end of their ranges, brands were clearly concerned with trimming off any excess, preferring to channel their creativity into suitably sober designs that are far removed from the extravagant forms and functions that dominated the previous decade. While women were firmly in the spotlight, the creations they inspired, not least at Van Cleef & Arpels and at Audemars Piguet, were infinitely more subdued.

Continuity of style

Globally speaking, indications so far suggest that 2015 is following on from 2014, which let it be remembered ended on a 2% rise in Swiss replica watches exports. Trends in metals reveal that yellow gold has lost points in favour of white gold, rose gold and platinum, while intriguing new alloys are thin on the ground, Panerai’s Carbotech being the exception. Round cases sweep the board with the one noticeable distinction of cushion shapes, which Vacheron chose for its new Harmony collection. Launched to mark the company’s 260th anniversary, it makes its debut with seven chronographs.

Another departure from the rule, La Clé de Cartier sits a round dial inside an unusual short tonneau case. Feminine in design, it targets men. Masculine in mechanics, with its 1847 NC calibre, it appeals to women with a rectangular crown that operates much like a handbag clasp. Downsizing proved to be another overarching theme. The pizza-sized cheap Breitling replica watches of the past have given way to more wearable dimensions, with diameters slimming down to 42mm for men, and sometimes less: the Saxonia Dual Time from A. Lange & Söhne measures 38.5mm while Jaeger-LeCoultre‘s Master Calendar is only marginally larger at 39mm.

Just as watches shed vital millimetres, they also kept a low profile in terms of case and movement height, with ultra-thin now calling the shots. Piaget has consistently defended its status as the master of slim, considered a synonym of elegance in replica Breitling watchmaking. This year it introduced a chronograph to its Altiplano range which sets a double world record for thinness. The Grande Complication de Cartier and the Harmony Grande Complication from Vacheron Constantin pursue similar goals. Skeletonwork is another trend that began in 2014 and is making even more of an impact this year. Skeleton movements are becoming an art in themselves, and a wonderful example of sobriety achieved through a technical tour de force. Recognisable for their long, straight lines, with blackened star shapes sometimes replacing the traditional arabesques, skeletons have become a favourite means of expression, evidenced at Cartier (Crash), Parmigiani (Tonda 1950), Piaget (Emperador Cushion), Ralph Lauren (Automotive Skeleton), Richard Mille (RM51-02) and Roger Dubuis (Excalibur).

Reaching for the stars

Turning to the year’s complications, there was a new flurry of astronomical functions which once again matched cosmic poetry with mechanical complexity. Celestial indications were the theme for Jaeger-LeCoultre this year, as well as for Montblanc whose Heritage Chronométrie collection pays tribute to the navigator Vasco da Gama. Minute repeaters also chimed in, with noteworthy offerings from A. Lange & Söhne (Zeitwerk Minute Repeater), Audemars Piguet (Royal Oak RD#1, a concept new Breitling replica watches that was eight years in development) and Jaeger-LeCoultre (Master Grande Tradition Grande Complication). The latter two demonstrate a rarely achieved quality of sound, and have several patents to their name. The Lange also boasts patents for the innovative pusher system that triggers the striking mechanism, with the additional safety guard that the chimes cannot be operated if the remaining power reserve is insufficient.

The métiers d’art proved as exquisite and in some cases spectacular as ever. Carter revived the art of filigree; Vacheron Constantin dazzled with entirely hand-engraved movements in its Métiers d’Art Mécanique Gravée collection while Van Cleef & Arpels delighted with its Charms Extraordinaire. Special mention must also go to the Radiomir Firenze whose case is hand-engraved using the traditional bulino technique, and to the Excalibur Spider at Roger Dubuis, the first watch ever to set diamonds in rubber, on the bezel. Even so, the more subdued mood that prevailed at this year’s SIHH could be felt in the tendency to “hold back” on artistic embellishments, a trend echoed in the distinct efforts made by brands such as Montblanc and Baume & Mercier to propose more accessible entry-level ranges.

Lastly, two watches at opposite ends of the horological spectrum: the Time Walker e-Strap from Montblanc, an automatic watch on a connected strap, making it the first smartwatch to show at SIHH, and the RM 19-02 by Richard Mille, the brand’s first automata best Breitling replica watches in the form of petals that open to reveal the tourbillon every five minutes or on demand. Between these two extremes lies a world in itself: that of fine watchmaking.