De Bethune “De Bethune is undoubtedly the biggest among small brands”

Interview with Pierre Jacques, CEO of De Bethune.

De Bethune has been accepting challenges since 2002, so what new challenges do you have from now to 2020?De Bethune DB28

De Bethune must maintain its independence, mindset, watchmaking and design vision, and protect its roots, not to let the sirens sound, choose the quantity that exceeds the quality or become a marketing brand. Our watchmakers' respect for tradition and innovation requires a lot of rigor. The inspiration for masters Zanetta and Denis Flageollet's watchmaking genius must continue, and we don't make any concessions, whether in technical knowledge or aesthetics or completion.

Has the customer's expectations changed?
Of course, the customer requirements of niche brands are getting higher and higher. These days we are far from the era when some people use their innocence and easy money. Today, customers are concerned about the sustainability of their brands, ensuring after-sales service for ten or twenty years, and the intrinsic value of their products. In addition, from a certain price level, customers demand exclusivity, whether in design or sports, they do not want to see it elsewhere and only need some cosmetic transformation. These are all reasonable expectations that De Bethune has proven its ability to meet. For 14 years, our watchmaker has designed 19 internal movements from start to finish and can immediately identify De Bethune watches without having to specify the brand name on the dial.

In 2015, we will showcase our first GMT movement, while a number of other projects will be implemented in the short, medium or long term.

Finally, the customer expressed a growing demand for personalization, and our fully integrated manufacturers responded very favorably, so we invested more than 10% of our production in one-off products.urwerk replica



From a business perspective, which 2015 innovation do you expect to achieve the best results? Which one are you most proud of?

In response to your first question, the market introduced our first sports model, the DB28GS with a rubber strap and a folding clasp, priced at around 70,000 Swiss francs, which is very encouraging. This is definitely our bestseller. At the same time, the DB25 Tourbillon Zodiac is very proud of us: this is one of our most beautiful movements, equipped with a tourbillon with a jump-second and silicon escapement, but most importantly, the engraving on the dial is very special. Inspired by hand-carved techniques from the 18th century, the dial is made of gold, steel and titanium with a highly refined pattern.

Does De Bethune really need GaëlMonfils to sell watches?
De Bethune doesn't need GaëlMonfils to sell fake watches for sale, GaëlMonfils doesn't need De Bethune to play tennis. It's just a tennis player who loves watches, loves the personal story between De Bethune's tennis players and the fact that the brand stands out, and in return, they appreciate this outstanding player, his game is so different from his peers in the tournament. in. This is first and foremost an exchange of ideas, and we have just begun this partnership. We are considering developing a product based on this collaboration. Our revolutionary silicon/platinum balance wheel and triple chute system can be combined and tested on the swing of GaëlMonfils.