De Bethune Maestri’Art DW5 Tiger & Dragon

De Bethune creates a one-of-a-kind edition of Maestri’Art DW5 Tiger & Maestri’Art DW5 Dragon for Monaco-based watch gallery Art in Time. Inspiration – Non-duality: The joust between Tiger and Dragon.

For thousands of years in Asian collective imaginations, the quest for perfection has involved the participation of the tiger and the dragon, the encounter between heaven and earth: Am and Du'o'ng. Like Yin and Yang, the principle of Am representing the tiger and Du'o'ng denoting the dragon, is based on complementarity. Universal balance unites the strength of the tiger and the spirit of the dragon that are regarded as inseparable.

In its own relentless pursuit of perfection, De Bethune pays tribute to this eternal joust and presents the DW5 Tiger & Dragon pair in the Maestri'Art collection. This duo combines the ancestral Japanese tradition of the tsuba arts, the delicate craftsmanship on the case and the finesse of hand-crafted engravings. Not to mention the discreet yet equally cutting-edge technology of Calibre DB2144V2, which incorporates the Manufacture’s latest innovations and technologies.

Technique – An exclusive alloy, expert hands

Denis Flageollet, master watchmaker and founder of De Bethune, has developed an exclusive alloy inspired by the work of Japanese metalworkers on tsubas, the sword guards that protected a samurai's hand when an opponent's blade slipped on his sword.

It took hours of work by the deft hands of artist Michelle Rothen to create her engravings of traditional symbols and motifs. Using a reinvented technique following the gentle delta-curve shape of the case, she tames the gold-inlaid metal, playing with its volumes and patina to bring out all its symbolic strength as well as the mystical character of the tiger and dragon.

Watchmaking – A cross-disciplinary approach

The spirituality of movement as taught by the martial arts is found here in the union of several cross-disciplinary, ancestral and avant-garde skills which, assembled within this creation, are not merely additional touches but truly transcendent elements.

Technical specifications

De Bethune DW5 Maestri’Art Tiger & DW5 Maestri’Art Dragon

One-of-a-kind edition of two pieces

Case

• Material: Alloy based on ancestral Japanese methods with hand engraving and gold inlays
• Dimensions: Length 58 mm – width 47 mm
• Thickness: 16 mm
• Crystal: Domed hardened mineral glass, Sapphire crystal (hardness 1 800 Vickers) glare-proofed on both sides
• Caseback: Solid screw-in case-back in mirror-polished titanium grade 5 with opening onto the balance
• Domed hardened mineral glass, Sapphire crystal (hardness 1 800 Vickers) glare-proofed on both sides
• Water-resistant to 3 ATM

Dial and hands

• Dial: Aperture frame in blued titanium grade 5
• Display: Jumping-hour aperture at 3 o’clock
• Analog minutes indicator on a dragging turning disc
• Spherical moon-phase indication in palladium and flame-blued steel accurate to within one lunar day every 1,112 years – De Bethune patent (2004)

Movement

• Calibre DB2144V2
• Diameter: 30 mm
• Number of parts: 320
• Number of jewels: 32
• Frequency: 28'800 vph (4 Hz)
• Power reserve: Five days ensured by a self-regulating twin barrel De Bethune innovation (2004)
• Decorations: Hand-crafted finishes and decorations

Specific characteristics

• Titanium balance with white gold inserts, optimised for temperature differences and air penetration – De Bethune patent (2016)
• De Bethune balance-spring with flat terminal curve - De Bethune patent (2006)
• Silicon escape-wheel
• Spherical moon-phase display accurate to within one lunar day every 1,112 years - De Bethune patent (2004)
• Triple pare-chute shock-absorbing system - De Bethune innovation (2005)

Functions/Indications

• Hours, minutes, spherical moon-phase indication

Strap and buckle

• Extra-supple alligator leather with alligator lining
• Pin buckle in mirror-polished titanium grade 5

MSRP

• EUR 241'670 (excl. taxes) for each piece
• EUR 450'000 (excl. taxes) for a set of two

For more information, please visit art-in-time.com