Over the years, De Bethune CEO David Zanetta and technical director Denis Flageollet have driven the company’s designs toward a more futuristic style and, in doing so, have redefined what a wristwatch should be. With the DW1, De Bethune has achieved a new design that leaps beyond futuristic and into the realm of science fiction. In the case of the DW1 and its advanced balance wheel, Zanetta says, their primary objective was to create a piece that would deliver precision and accuracy while being worn. Inside Information: De Bethune’s team of designers used silicon, an ultralightweight metalloid, to create the inner structure of the wheel, and they placed a weighty platinum ring on the outside to provide balance. They mounted the hairspring on the back of the disk and attached a micrometric regulator that allows the wearer of the timepiece to control the regulation of the watch precisely from the case back.
