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Old 16 September 2024, 12:07 AM   #1
rmlovett1
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Read about this today….This independent is very interesting

I’m sure I’m late to the party….have they been on the TRF radar for awhile?
Read an article about this independent in an email I received from The 1916 Company. They make some visually and mechanically interesting stuff.

https://www.debethune.ch//en
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Old 16 September 2024, 12:34 AM   #2
ChetBaker
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1916 owns the brand. No wonder they heap praise on them. DB is not for me and I really wonder how much staying power they have given their very avant-garde design language.
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Old 16 September 2024, 02:02 AM   #3
Bearxj86
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Hi there. Not much chatter on DB here but some folks own pieces. I would say the brand is very well respected with high finishing particularly with what they do with titanium- heating it blue, yellow and now purple. The number of patents particular for shock resistance is cool. You’ll see some tennis players rocking them in games.

The iconic models for a while were the DB28s that look like spaceships. They are big at 43mm until now with the 39mm. I expect the 39mm to be very popular as it is much more wearable now.

The DB25 are the more classic lines.

I personally own a DB28 steel wheels openworked in titanium. It has a 5 day power reserve and is 8mm thick. Very comfortable.

I encourage you to look at the brand more. The DB 25 starry varius tends to be the most popular piece for traditional collectors. I’ve owned it myself and it’s nice.










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Old 16 September 2024, 02:24 AM   #4
Golden Palomino
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They’ve been around for a bit, but I didn’t really tune in til they released the purple rain more recently. It’s wild and I personally love the look of it




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Old 16 September 2024, 02:54 AM   #5
enjoythemusic
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H. Moser is my preferred of the two. Yeah, think that YouTube guy with 1916 pushes Debethune.
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Old 16 September 2024, 04:02 AM   #6
HL65
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Love the DB25 Starry Varius! Absolutely beautiful!
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Old 16 September 2024, 04:02 AM   #7
FrugalGreubel
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I’ve talked about my love of De Bethune elsewhere on this forum. Great brand and I was very close to buying one but just decided to make different purchases. I would’ve loved to have bought the purple rain but just bad timing for me.
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Old 16 September 2024, 04:13 AM   #8
WatchEater666
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1916 owns an equity stake in them.
When I almost bought one used from them in 2019 or so, the sales guy told me not to lol

Funny what happens :-)
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Old 16 September 2024, 05:21 AM   #9
edo
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Lot of exposure via Michael Jordan, American tennis stars and Mark Zuckerberg lately...
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Old 16 September 2024, 10:27 AM   #10
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Quote:
Originally Posted by WatchEater666 View Post
1916 owns an equity stake in them.
When I almost bought one used from them in 2019 or so, the sales guy told me not to lol

Funny what happens :-)

Ditto. I think 1916 is the main place you will hear about them given their ownership. I suspect they will regret the investment. It’s a very niche piece.


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Old 16 September 2024, 01:39 PM   #11
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Have been enjoying my DB28 all summer, it is my everyday go to sports watch. I bought it before the WB / 1916 acquisition and service and support have only gotten better with their involvement so they've been a good steward for the brand. It is my understanding that Denis has held the line on maintaining quality and production has grown slowly despite WB's desires to ramp up more aggressively. The only downside is pricing has gotten stronger and availability more difficult from when it was relatively unknown....

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Old 16 September 2024, 08:29 PM   #12
brandrea
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Never heard of them till now. Thanks for posting Richard
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Old 16 September 2024, 09:22 PM   #13
1William
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Interesting watches but not for me.
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Old 17 September 2024, 03:21 AM   #14
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The Star Trek vibe isn’t for me. After Govberg lost journe the took a stake in this company and started pumping out videos comparing the two brands and putting out reviews favoring DB. I mean who wouldn’t leverage their media platform to sell a product they own, it’s really common sense. The watches themselves seem well finished if you like the aesthetic.
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Old 17 September 2024, 10:56 PM   #15
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I thought DB was pretty well known already. Surprised that folks are just finding out about them (which is cool). Not a bashing comment at all... just surprised.
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Old 17 September 2024, 10:58 PM   #16
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Golden Palomino View Post
They’ve been around for a bit, but I didn’t really tune in til they released the purple rain more recently. It’s wild and I personally love the look of it




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I tried this on in at Geneva Watch Days a couple of weeks ago. It is an incredible watch. Perfect fit. One of the most beautiful dials I've ever seen. Really looks fantastic. It changed my mind about bluing the case... The purple is actually quite classy and subdue.
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Old 19 September 2024, 07:12 AM   #17
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I like them a lot. Regret passing when they were readily available. I thought watchbox backing them would be a good thing since supposedly they were financially shaky but I'm unsure now. WB seems to be sitting on a lot of depreciating inventory and for some reason unwilling to discount used watches that they've had for over a year even 5%. Seems like an odd sales tactic.
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Old 19 September 2024, 11:27 AM   #18
rmlovett1
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Quote:
Originally Posted by ajw45 View Post
Have been enjoying my DB28 all summer, it is my everyday go to sports watch. I bought it before the WB / 1916 acquisition and service and support have only gotten better with their involvement so they've been a good steward for the brand. It is my understanding that Denis has held the line on maintaining quality and production has grown slowly despite WB's desires to ramp up more aggressively. The only downside is pricing has gotten stronger and availability more difficult from when it was relatively unknown....

Nice!
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