Swizz Beatz and De Bethune are back at it again.
The record producer and the Swiss watchmaker just dropped an all-new timepiece, the DB Kind of Two GMT “Season 3,” marking their third collaboration since 2021. And, as usual with this dream team, this release shows off some seriously inspired engineering: The watch offers up two distinct dials—one contemporary, one classic—that wearers can choose via an ultra-precise flipping mechanism.
For this vision from Beatz and Denis Flageollet, De Bethune’s master watchmaker and founder, an extra level of mechanical wizardry was required. For the new launch, known as reference DBK2V1SB, the brand created a hand-wound movement that was entirely developed and produced in its Swiss manufacture. The calibre DB2517 is made up of 394 parts and offers up a four-day power reserve, ensured by a self-regulating twin barrel.
Image courtesy of De Bethune
The contemporary dial, one of two personalities you’re getting with “Season 3,” is made to show off that movement. With a black-and-gold colour scheme, the timepiece features a black open-worked deltoid bridge in its centre, mimicking the shape of a triangle. On this side, a sub-dial at six o’clock shows off the golden hour markers, while the minutes are shown around the periphery—both equipped with polished, blue-steel hands. Alongside the microlight and satin finishes, you can catch a glimpse of the dual central gold wheels of the jumping time mechanism and those silver twin barrels.
Flipping over to the other side, you’ll find the classic GMT dial, done up in silver, black, and hints of De Bethune’s signature blue. Here, you get the polished mirror-finished steel jumping seconds hand in all its glory, tracking the silver numbers around the dial’s outer edge. The hour numerals, meanwhile, are set on a wider ring, marked by blue titanium hands. A hand-guilloché central motif streaked with waves of silver and blue mark the centre of the dial.
Image courtesy of De Bethune
On the DB Kind of Two GMT “Season 3,” the contemporary dial is where you’ll set your home time, using the crown in position three. Then, the second time zone is set on the GMT dial by pulling the crown to its second position.
With a Nubuck strap, the new launch is also housed in a 43.3 mm case, which sits at a 11.4 mm thickness and is crafted from zirconium and satin-finished Grade 5 titanium. The floating lugs were redesigned just for this timepiece, allowing you to move with ease between the two dials. And if you’re into the Jekyll and Hyde effect, you better act fast: Limited to just 10 pieces, the “Season 3” is priced at US$235,000 (CHF 210,000/HK$1.9 million).
As we mentioned, this isn’t Beatz’s first collab with De Bethune. The duo launched the Dream Watch 5 Tourbillon “Season 1” back in 2021, a striking, ogive-shaped timepiece that showed off a flurry of the watchmaker’s signature patents. That first drop was followed by the sleek DBD “Season 2” with a burgundy dial just two years later, a 43 mm number that Beatz described as “the culmination of a constant quest in which beauty meets virtuosity.”
Image courtesy of De Bethune
And, in case you need another reason to celebrate, De Bethune is opening its first dedicated space in the US, joining two other locations in Geneva and Hong Kong. Known as the De Bethune Lounge at the 1916 Company New York, it is housed in the Big Apple’s Fuller Building on Madison Avenue. There, you can explore De Bethune’s rotating collection of timepieces, both old and new, and eventually use its upcoming custom-strap service on your favourite models from the watchmaker. You won’t have to wait long to check it out, either: The new space will start welcoming customers via private appointment starting 24 March.
