De Bethune DB Kind of Two Tourbillon LE – $250k
New watch alert! Or should that be new watches alert? Assuming you don’t mind paying an insurance premium equivalent to a new Swatch every four hours, De Bethune’s reversible DB Kind of Two Tourbillon is double fun. It’s a Star Trek emblemed tourbillon! It’s a minimalist three hander cum roulette wheel! It’s both! Sporting De Bethune’s trademark floating lugs, the 42.8mm titanium cased watch is just 9.8mm thick, or $25,510.20 per millimeter. Yes it’s a plenty pricey piece but . . .
The caption underneath De Bethune’s YouTube video claims the DB Kind of Two Tourbillon “opens up a whole new field of research.” (My money’s on Cognitive Neuroscience.) DB’s only making ten of them ($25m gross) and the brand’s watches are fetching serious money at auction and on chrono24.com. So the two-faced tourbillon might be a good investment (if you believe in such things). On the other hand, you could buy both designs separately for half the price. But where’s the fun in that?
Citizen Satellite Wave GPS F950 Titanium 50th Anniversary Limited Edition – $5k
If you’re amazed by a $250k Swiss watch, how do you feel about a $5k Citizen? New watch alert! Launched in August, the Citizen Satellite Wave GPS F950 Titanium 50th Anniversary Limited Edition is finally available, limited to 50 pieces. With the exception of the Satellite Wave GPS Freedom (currently discounted to $508.80), Citizen hit the Titanium LE’s lesser-priced brethren with an ugly stick. Repeatedly. So the LE’s the pick of the litter. And you kind of two do need a lightweight case for a 46mm watch. Super Titanium is super light, super scratch resistant and super-expensive to produce. I guess.
Does the F950’s Duratec pink gold come from a recycled Porsche-designed Ford duratec V6? I doubt it. I also doubt I could master the buttonology needed to use the LE’s satellite GPS Timekeeping System, world time (27 Cities, 40 time zones), 1/20 second 20-hour chronograph, dual time zone, alarm, Universal Coordinated Time (UTC) display, perpetual calendar, Daylight Savings Time indicator, power reserve and light level indicators. How could I cope with a G-SHOCK, then; a watch whose average feature set puts the Citizen to shame? Just fine, what with an “extra” $4k burning a hole in my pocket.
H. Moser & Cie. x Oriental Watch Company 60th Anniversary Special Edition Endeavour Centre Seconds Concept – $TBA
New watch alert! Thanks to X-marks-the-spot collaborations, watch names keep getting longer and longer. All hail the H. Moser & Cie. x Oriental Watch Company 60th Anniversary Special Edition Endeavour Centre Seconds Concept for putting a minimalist spin on a maximalist moniker. Unlike the luxury steel sports Streamliner – my least favorite watch from one of my favorite watchmakers – the, uh, Oriental is a perfect example of the Swiss watchmakers’ mastery of less-is-more design.
The 60 Minutes 60 that defiles the Streamliner looks fabulous here – and I don’t use the F word much. Even red/green colorblind types can appreciate the majesty of that fumé dial. Moser’s producing just eight – count ’em eight – H.M&CXOWC60SEECSC’s. The, uh, timepiece celebrates the 60th anniversary of Hong Kong’s OWC – at a time when Hong Kong’s watch business faces the triple threat of COVID-19 isolation, political unrest and a new People’s Republic of China tax regime. There are 12 other Endeavor color variations at $25k a pop, but none have that 60. Oh please . . .
The Truth About Watches is a fully independent website. No commercial considerations provided by manufacturers, no affiliate payments for links.
I guess that De Bethune frame has to be made from two pieces in order to hold the case detent or something? Because that seam at the pivot is a real visual buzzkill.
[…] service wait time. Give me a Sinn running a rock solid, easily serviced ETA 2824 over an in-house H. Moser and Cie any day. Just kidding. But down at the mid to lower end of the watch market, in-housery is mostly […]