Stellar Clock
De Bethune clocks are singular in both aesthetic and mechanical terms. In devising them, Denis draws inspiration from legendary 18th and early 19th century object including marine chronometers and sympatique clocks. The creations stem from a blend of research on historical horology and contemporary technical knowledge.
Hours – minutes – moon phase accurate to within 5.7 seconds per lunar cycle, meaning a 1-day difference in 1225 years – a degree of precision 457 times higher than classic moon phases and ten times higher than the De Bethune standard.
Hands
Mysterious in hand mirror-polished titanium
Dial
Concave De Bethune star-studded sky in blued mirror-polished titanium encrusted with white gold stars and diamonds. Yellow gold hours indicators and rings against a blued titanium background. Spherical moon-phase indicator in sandblasted steel and flame-blued mirror-polished steel
Cabinet
Bronze with 18-carat yellow gold outer case – dimensions: height 13 mm – width 8 mm – depth 5.5 mm. 2 sculpted, hand-engraved, patinated gilt bronze sphinxes. Hand-guilloché base front
Glass
Sapphire crystal with double anti-reflective coating (1800 Vickers).
Back
Solid
De Bethune 1318-010 Caliber
Movement
Mechanical hand-wound movement with pawl-free loose or idle wheel.
180 parts – Anchor escapement equipped with a system of constant device
Jewelling
29 jewels
21 micro-ball bearings
Frequency
18’000 vibrations/hour.
Power Reserve
8 days
Base in yellow gold