The De Bethune DB25 | family history
The DB25 is the older and more classically-proportioned De Bethune round case. Where the DB28 pushed the articulated-lug system into the mainstream independent conversation, the DB25 established the vocabulary: heat-blued titanium, hand-finished bridges, and dial work that treated the watch face as a canvas rather than a readout.
De Bethune’s classic round dress line: a more-traditional case shape than the DB28’s articulated lugs, with the brand’s heat-blued titanium and silvered-gold case construction. The DB25 Starry Varius (2017) carries a hand-painted heat-blued titanium sky with white-gold star indices, on the DB2105 hand-wound caliber.
2007 · DB25 launch
De Bethune introduced the DB25 in 2007 as the brand's dress-watch statement before the DB28 arrived. A mix of white gold and heat-blued titanium in the case construction, silvered-gold dials, and the DB2100 caliber. The DB25 established De Bethune as a serious entrant in the ultra-high-end independent dress watch category rather than just a technical curiosity.
No references from this era in the catalog yet.
2017 · DB25 Starry Varius
The Starry Varius (2017) applied De Bethune's heat-blued titanium technique to the dial itself, creating a hand-painted sky with white-gold star indices. The moon-phase display uses a spherical rotating moon accurate to one lunar cycle in 122 years. The Varius is a niche within a niche: an already-exclusive watch family with a dial treatment that requires individual hand finishing.
How to read this family
Two honest questions for any DB25 buyer:
- DB25 or DB28? The DB25 is the older and more restrained design; the DB28 added the articulated lug system and became the more recognized family. For a collector focused on De Bethune's dial artistry, particularly the Starry Varius, the DB25 offers something the DB28 does not match. For the full De Bethune case engineering showcase, the DB28 is the stronger argument.
- Starry Varius or standard DB25? The Starry Varius dial is hand-painted and unique; no two are identical. That makes it more personal but harder to value on resale. The standard DB25 trades more predictably in the independent watch market.
Related families: DB28 · Calatrava
References in this family
Which ref to buy
The DB25 is De Bethune's most accessible three-hand piece: the brand's polished steel case with their characteristic spherical moon and silicon regulator, without the tourbillon or grand complications. It is the entry point to understanding what De Bethune does with steel finishing.
- 1Open
DB25 Starry Varius: convex dial with stellar map texture, De Bethune polished case, DB2105 caliber with silicon regulator.
- The case for it:
- The DB25 Starry Varius has one of the most beautiful dials in contemporary watchmaking: a concave dial structure with a star-map texture that changes completely under different lighting. The De Bethune case polishing standard is among the best in the industry. At entry-De Bethune prices, this is genuinely remarkable.
- Consider instead if:
- De Bethune secondary market is illiquid. The brand is producing at very low volume. Service requires the brand directly. These are the same considerations as Urwerk and MB&F — buy because you love the object, not because it is flexible.
Rankings last reviewed 2026-06-18. Editorial perspective only. Not financial advice.