Baselworld 2014 was where De Bethune formally launched the DB28 Digitale. Fortunately, I was able to see this piece in Geneva in January, and of the two pieces I saw that day, this was the one that lingered for longest on my wrist.

Digital by name and nature, this is a jumping hours with a digital display for the hours at 12 o’clock, and analogue minutes indicator on a silver-toned rotating disc set against an arc of distincitvely DeBethune blue sky made of polished blued Grade 5 titanium, with white gold stars.

The famous De Bethune spherical moon-phase also makes an appearance here, set at the dial’s centre and surrounded by more star speckled sky, but still somehow managing to be discreet. The moon’s two hemispheres are polished palladium and polished flame-blued steel, and it has an accuracy of one lunar day every 1,112 years. The dial is hand-guillochéd barleycorn motif, a textural contrast to the smoothness of the two skies.

Size wise it is 43mm with the De Bethune trademark ‘flloating lugs’, all in Grade 5 titanium. The crown is at 12 o’clock and the case back transparent, through which you can see the manual wind Calibre DB2144 with a power reserve of five days.

This is an elegant and beautiful watch that to some degree, photos don’t do proper justice, as it has quite a wrist presence, the blue vivid and alive.

So far, this rates as one of my favourite watches for 2014. For those interested, this is not a limited edition but a regular production model.

Categories: Baselworld 2014, De Bethune, Hands-on, Switzerland, Watch Profile, watches